Road Tests: Full Test

Road Test Editor John DiPietro says:
By the time we got our Mini for this road test, I was tired of the endless hoopla surrounding this car. C'mon, I thought, it's a little box with 115 horsepower; what's the big deal other than the retro styling (which I was never crazy about in the first place)?

Ahh, but after a 50-mile blast up Pacific Coast Highway and through my favorite section of twisty canyon roads, I found myself an eager passenger on the Mini bandwagon. With only 2,315 pounds to pull around, those (seemingly stronger than normal) 115 horses are enough to make for peppy performance once the tach swings past 3,000 rpm. Our car, with only a few hundred miles on it, did have a glitch in its manual gearbox. If one made the 3-2 downshift even slightly aggressively it resulted in a graunching of gears.

But with the Mini, it's all about the handling. Don't let the blocky body fool you; this thing is a sports car under that unassuming form. The steering feel is fantastic; nothing is lost in the translation from the road surface to the driver's hands. The Mini is so much fun that it will have you grinning like an idiot without having to risk the loss of your license. Easily one of the most entertaining cars I've driven with a price tag under $20,000.

If there were no such thing as a Ford SVT Focus, I'd probably buy the Mini if I were in this market. But there is an SVT Focus — a car that boasts equally athletic handling and 48 percent more horsepower than this Cooper. Although the base Mini stickers for about $1,000 less than the SVT, I'd gladly pay the extra grand for the seriously tweaked Focus. And with Minis actually going for considerably more than their sticker and the SVT being sold for slightly under its list, it would be a no-brainer.

Road Test Editor Erin Riches says:
This is one of the most entertaining front-wheel-drive cars I've ever driven. The chassis is incredibly lively, and at the same time, very controlled. I knew exactly what the car was doing at all times (and reveled in that awareness), and whenever I hurled it into a turn, the body settled down almost immediately, making it easy to power out. The grip was amazing — it seemed that I could do no wrong with this car. And this is as it should be, given the Cooper's widespread appeal; regardless of their skill level, owners are going to be able to have fun with this car. The highway ride wasn't ultra smooth, but still good enough to please the eager Mini driver. Overall, I thought the balance of ride and handling was ideal; I'm not sure that I'd need an S to satisfy my performance appetite. Of course, the steering is also a fine example of BMW engineering — it has great weighting, quick response times and a small turning radius.

Although I loved the way the car drove, I disliked the driving position. The seats are the main problem; there is no lumbar adjustment — nothing to diminish the size of the giant bolster pushing against the middle of my back. As a result, I wasn't able to position the seatback in an erect position for driving. The other issue for me was the tight footwell — initially, I had trouble getting my foot off the clutch because it kept getting hung up the lower part of the dash. And the well just wasn't wide enough to allow me to rest my left foot comfortably on the dead pedal. Otherwise, I liked the interior — most of the materials looked and felt high-quality, and for once, a manufacturer has pushed the circle motif far enough so that none of the elements have a tacked-on feel. The integrated tweeter and release handle on each door is particularly ingenious. As in BMWs, the Mini's stereo controls are tiny and hard to reach, and some of the climate control markings were difficult for me to interpret while driving.

As expected, the hatch is tiny with the rear seats in use — given this limitation, the uncomfortable driving position and the attention the Cooper attracts, I would be inclined to buy an SVT Focus instead. But I wouldn't discourage anyone else from buying a Cooper — in fact, I'd be happy to borrow it on weekends.

Senior Editor Christian Wardlaw says:
Much ado about nothing? Could be, as I came away from my test drive in the new Mini Cooper longing for what could have been and generally unimpressed with what is. When you look beyond the history and the styling and novelty of driving a pseudo-British icon that nobody else possesses around a painfully self-aware city, what you're talking about here is a three-door hatchback with a four-cylinder engine. A modern-day Chevy Chevette, if you will.

My malaise stems from the fact that the Mini's exceptionally stout coachwork is suited to support a far more competent suspension than the one provided on our test car. This is a tight vehicle, never mind the way the doors clatter shut when you slam them. And it's a small vehicle, one that looks as though it begs to be flung from corner to corner. And yet it cannot be flung, what with its awful tendency to plow through turns and its meager 115-horsepower engine barely able to increase velocity on uphill grades with two people aboard.

Couple the weak motor and floppy underpinnings with somewhat lifeless steering and a brake pedal that offers displeasing feel and actuation, and you've got a recipe for few miles of smiles. I'd love to give the Cooper S a try before deciding that if I never drive another Mini I can still die without regrets.

The interior, now that's another story. In many respects, BMW has been more successful at creating the proper retro-ambience in the Mini than Volkswagen was in the New Beetle. Our test vehicle had the standard leatherette upholstery, which doesn't breathe well, but the front seats were quite comfortable. Loved the center-mounted speedometer, which is large enough that its location there in the middle of the dashboard isn't much of an ergonomic problem. I thought the chromed rocker switches were a nice touch. And aside from the blatantly cheap plastic panels on the dash, the materials were on par with the 3 Series lineup of entry-luxury Bimmers.

Yes, the Mini is cute and generally competent. But ultimately it's more of a fashion statement than anything else. I demand more utility and purpose in a car like this, and fun to boot. Give me a Ford SVT Focus, please.