2025 MINI Cooper JCW Iconic

It's been more than a decade since the Mini Cooper was last redesigned, and the British automaker is celebrating the milestone by completely overhauling the little pocket rocket. The two-door hatch is pretty much the same size as before — helping it deliver the classic Mini driving experience — but a healthy list of tech and powertrain enhancements make it more desirable than the outgoing model. Here's what we thought about the new Mini after attending a drive event in verdant Washington state.

What's under the Mini Cooper's hood?

We liked the old Mini's base turbocharged three-cylinder engine, but it exhibited a few characteristics that weren't ideal. While sprightly around town, the motor ran out of juice as the revs increased, and the agricultural sound it produced wasn't for everyone. We also noted — in long-term tests of a 2014 Mini Cooper and 2023 Mini Cooper S — that despite being down a cylinder and 55 horsepower, observed fuel economy favored the Cooper by less than 1 mpg. In other words, going with the four-cylinder Cooper S got you a lot more performance and only cost a little more to run.

Mini fans will be ecstatic to learn that a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder now lies under the hood of every Cooper. In the entry-level Cooper trim, it produces 161 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, up from the three-cylinder's 134 hp and 162 lb-ft. All models come standard with front-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. While a manual transmission no longer appears on the options list, Mini's PR team is quick to point out that they haven't claimed a manual would never be available — it's just not currently available.

Following tradition, a Cooper S version is also available. It boosts output to 201 hp and 221 lb-ft, a not-insignificant upgrade from the previous model's 189 hp and 206 lb-ft. Later in the year, Mini will launch the almighty JCW version for maximum attack. Specs aren't confirmed for that version yet, but we expect it to surpass the previous JCW's 228 hp and 236 lb-ft.

How does the Mini Cooper drive?

My drive was in a 2025 Mini Cooper S two-door — the first trim off the production line in Oxford (base Cooper trims enter production this month, with JCWs due late this year) — on a route from Yakima, Washington, to Seattle. The bulk of our journey was on State Route 410, a mountain road that follows several arms of the Naches River system. The perfect place, then, to test the Mini's performance.

This Mini Cooper is a little wider than the vehicle it replaces, but it's also marginally shorter. In other words, the Mini is still mini, and it exhibits the nameplate's road-hugging driving dynamics. The body doesn't roll much in harder cornering, and my tester's Pirelli Cinturato P7 summer tires undoubtedly helped give it extra grip while tackling the sometimes serpentine roads closer to Mount Rainier.

If there was any fault in the driving experience, it was with the steering, which is numb in the area immediately off-center. Since you don't experience much effort buildup as you turn the wheel, navigating on certain roads can be challenging. This is true of high-speed sweepers; given that there's no increase in steering effort, and because the Mini reacts quickly to steering inputs, you need to focus on turning the wheel only slightly to keep on your intended path.

My impressions of the powertrain were more positive. The 2.0-liter turbo churns out 201 horsepower, and the ample power on deck plus the hatchback's relatively light curb weight (it tips the scales at a hair over 3,000 pounds) allows the Cooper S to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in a respectable 6.3 seconds, according to Mini. We never felt the Cooper S lacked power, even when climbing uphill, and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic felt like it was always in the right gear. Select the Go-Kart sport mode, and the transmission will hang onto gears longer, so when you do lean into the throttle, the Cooper S sprints forward without hesitation. Oddly, the Cooper S does not have shift paddles or any other way for the driver to select which gear they're in. The driver can only click the transmission selector into an L mode to force the gearbox into a low gear (useful if you want to descend a mountain road without overusing the brakes). This seems like an unusual oversight that we hope is fixed with a new steering wheel choice or in the JCW model.

Although positioned as a premium product, the diminutive hatchback has never offered an exceptionally comfortable ride. If that's part of its charm, buyers will be happy to know the new Mini Cooper is just as lively as its predecessor. My test vehicle, with 18-inch wheels shod in low-profile summer rubber and absent the $500 adaptive dampers (which could theoretically make the suspension softer), exhibited riding-a-skateboard-downhill-and-hitting-a-set-of-train-tracks levels of jitteriness. It felt more composed on rough roads than Edmunds' long-term 2014 Cooper, but shoppers looking for a better handling vs. comfort balance should consider a bigger, more refined hatch like the Volkswagen Golf GTI. The Cooper S also lets in quite a bit of road and wind noise, partially due to its boxy styling and sporty tires.

How's the Mini Cooper's interior?

The 2025 Mini Cooper's interior still adheres to the minimalist aesthetic of the outgoing model, but the automaker has made improvements to make the redesigned version feel modern. First and foremost is a circular 9.4-inch central touchscreen with brilliant OLED graphics. Seven "Experience Modes" change the look of the user interface. They include the cool blue default Core UI and the creamy Timeless design, which invokes the instrument panel of classic Minis. The black and white Go-Kart overlay is tied to the Mini's sport driving mode.

Since there isn't a traditional IP in front of the driver or a set of physical climate controls, all that information is displayed on the touchscreen. When you connect your smartphone to the system, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto will fill the center of the screen, with critical information and high-level controls filling the top and bottom frames. Below the touchscreen is a small horizontal control panel with the transmission selector, Experience Modes toggle, a volume knob and the engine ignition switch, which turns like a key.

In true Mini fashion, the Cooper's cabin is chock full of little idiosyncrasies that make it feel special. The two-spoke steering wheel borrowed from corporate owner BMW features a stylized nylon strap in the 6 o'clock position, giving it the appearance of a three-spoke wheel. There's also an inexplicable strip of synthetic leather on the passenger side dashboard; it doesn't seem to serve any practical purpose other than to irritate Mini's accountants for having to budget for it, and for that, I salute the design team. A cute little dog named Spike even serves as the voice assistant's avatar. And just like my dog back home, it rarely understood my commands.

How's the Mini Cooper's tech?

The Cooper comes standard with a basic set of advanced driver assist features, including front and rear parking sensors, forward collision warning with automatic braking, and lane keeping assistance. Selecting the midtier Signature Plus trim adds blind-spot warning, and you can add adaptive cruise control for a little extra.

I didn't notice any faults with these systems during my limited drive, but it's worth noting that, like many newer BMWs, the new Mini range does not have a dedicated following distance control button for the adaptive cruise control function. If you want to change the gap to the car in front, you have to go through several touchscreen menus to change the distance. I've found this to be a major pain point in stop-and-go traffic, where you might change the ACC distance multiple times depending on traffic density and other conditions.

The 2025 Mini Cooper is a thoughtful evolution of the pint-sized hot hatch. The loss of the manual transmission — for now, at least — is a bummer, but the improved ride and overhauled tech interface make it more livable than its predecessor.