2023 MINI Hardtop 2 Door

NICK YEKIKIAN: When you think of the word "hot hatch," the Mini Cooper S we've been running in our long-term fleet for the last year might not be the first car that comes to mind-- or the second. And what we have here is almost the quintessential modern mini. It's painted in British racing green, has a punchy little turbocharged 4-cylinder engine under the hood, and is the two-door hardtop model. But only almost because while we would have loved the 6-speed manual, Mini could only give us one with the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. We typically like to buy our long-term cars. But Mini lent us this one in signature spec for a year. A base Mini Cooper starts at around $27,000. This more powerful Mini Cooper S starts at a tick under $31,000. But ours was optioned up to $33,700 thanks to options like the driver assistance package and the touch-screen navigation. After just over a year and 16,000 miles, we're pretty confident that we have a well-rounded impression. Let's start with the good stuff. The Mini's most obvious advantage is in the name. It's weeny little wheelbase and short overhangs means it's agile around city streets. Also, because it's so small, visibility is great. It's easy to maneuver, park, and squeeze into small gaps in traffic. As far as efficiency goes, it's been hit or miss. Over the course of our ownership, we've averaged 26.2 miles to the gallon, which won't win any efficiency awards. But on one of our more frugal runs, we netted a hybrid-rivaling 38.2 mpg. We've been able to squeeze almost 400 miles out of its tiny 11-gallon fuel tank. And that's no small task. So why the large gap in mpg? Well, it comes down to one thing. This thing is actually really fun to drive. It might not seem like you can have that much fun because it only has 189 horsepower. But it's really fun to squeeze and squirt in and out of traffic or out of corners. And it really grips and goes. It's like a little go-kart. We hit zero to 60 in 6.4 seconds. But it feels a lot quicker from behind the driver's seat. Even though there's not that much power, zero to 60 lands somewhere between the Golf GTI and the Civic Si. And that's because there isn't that much weight to lug around. To be fair, it's not as sharp a driver's car as our long-term Subaru BRZ. But on a back road, it feels like it can keep up with any of the cars I just mentioned. But don't take just my word for it. JOHN ADOLPH: I've got a hellish commute. So it was comfortable when you were going 5 miles an hour. But when it opens up finally-- a big section of my commute is on the 110 in Pasadena. And it handled the curves. And it was just enough power to have a lot of fun. And it handles great. NICK YEKIKIAN: By the way, if you want to read up more about the Mini, the BRZ, or our long-term Civic Si, feel free to head to Edmunds' long-term blog. And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel too. And the automatic transmission, despite not being our first choice, is snappy and easy to use thanks to the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends for the Mini because key pieces of this package are compromised. Remember the sporty handling and agility I mentioned earlier? It's the result of some really stiff suspension. Our test car came on 17-inch wheels, which are too big for a car this small. And they're wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 low-profile summer tires. The result is a lot of road and tire noise that makes its way into the cabin. And you kind of just grit your teeth every time you go over a pothole or an expansion joint. Needless to say, the Mini isn't perfect for longer trips, as one of our editors found out when he took it from California all the way to Utah. JAKE SUNDSTROM: We took the Mini Cooper on about 1,500-mile road trip to Salt Lake City. And while, for the most part, it was a pretty good road trip car-- the fuel economy is great, especially on the highway. And when you get to your destination, it's also a terrific city car, easy to park, easy to get around in. There were a couple of things that made it not such a great experience. I think the first one was that the ride can be a little bit stiff. There's no real lumbar support. The side padding is also not terrific. The other thing is that the air conditioning is just not very effective. It's very, very noisy, especially on warm days, but even on days when it's in the mid 80s. It does struggle to keep the entire car cool. And that was a pretty big drawback, especially when we were driving through warmer places on the way to Salt Lake City, including Nevada, Arizona, the desert, basically. NICK YEKIKIAN: We knew the back seats were tight going in. And we've only put full-size adults back here for really short trips. And we're talking like to the store and back and nothing else. As for putting a car seat back here, it's miserable, as my colleague, Will, found out. WILL KAUFMAN: I figured I'd try and get my toddler into the back seat of this. Getting his car seat in was a huge pain in the butt. Every car seat is a little different, based on the way that they're shaped. But for my car seat, I had to turn it upside down and sort of Tetris it in through the door. It was a pain in the butt. The only way to get the car seat set up is to climb in through the driver's side so that you can get into the back of the Mini and basically kneel on the floor and attach the car seat. And I actually wound up doing the same thing when I was getting my kid in. The way that car is shaped, it's just difficult to lean around the door pillar in a parking lot and get my kid all buckled in tightly. So even just to buckle my kid in, I was still climbing in through the driver's side of the car. And he didn't even really like riding in this car. NICK YEKIKIAN: If you want to fit anything of any size back here, you got to do some Tetris with the rear seats. And it's the only way you're going to get a laundry basket or anything bigger in there at all. Golf clubs, forget about it. But, Nick, wait. It's a Mini. What did you expect? And to that I would say, the Mini is bigger than it's ever been. And we don't think they've made the best use of that space, even in the front seats. The door pockets are barely big enough for your phone. The cup holders are tiny. And the center console is kind of a joke. The last pain point for the Mini-- and this isn't really our biggest complaint, but it's still worth mentioning-- is the infotainment. This 8.8in display sits inside this circular housing. And there's a ton of black plastic on either side. And that means that its placement is compromised. And the menu icons are tiny, which means there's going to be a lot of tapping that goes on to get to whatever it is you want to see or do. Also it runs an older version of iDrive, which means menus for days. There is an iDrive-style controller. But it's sort of out of the way and in an awkward spot to use. And we don't think anybody's going to use that over just tapping the screen. Also you might as well just skip straight to CarPlay. But there's no Android Auto. So if you have an Android phone, you're kind of out of luck. Thankfully, the Mini was a low-maintenance machine. Nothing broke. And aside from the 285 bucks we spent on a new tire, it ran without a single issue. Our maintenance costs came out to zero. And aside from that new tire, the Mini only made one other dealer visit for an oil change that was free of charge. You'd have to think pretty hard about if the Mini is right for you. It's great for city dwellers and makes a fun first car for enthusiasts. In the right conditions and on the right road, you can just catch a glimpse of the old Mini magic. But its interior space is crowded with a lot of compromises. And if your household size is bigger than just two, the Mini might not fit into your lifestyle. It's also worth noting that there's a new Mini coming right around the corner. And fans might want to wait to see what Mini has in store for the first new car in an entire decade. Overall, it's been real with the Mini. Thanks for watching. We'll catch you on the next one. They're eagle ones? [GROANS] [BLEEP] Oh, Jesus. [LAUGHS] CREW: Fun, huh? NICK YEKIKIAN: Yeah, it's great I love it.