2022 MINI Hardtop 2 Door Review

When someone says "Mini Cooper," the Hardtop 2 Door is the vehicle that pops into your head as the smallest vehicle in Mini's lineup and the one that hews closest to the classic mini-cars that made the company famous. It's hard to believe the current generation of this car has been on sale since 2014, but the 2022 Mini Hardtop 2 Door does get a refresh to help the coupe keep up with the newer competition.

Much like the Porsche 911, the Hardtop 2 Door will retain some form of this shape for all time, but the refresh does tweak some of the details. A body-colored panel now fills the oval-shaped front grille instead of the previous black panel, making the grille appear as more of an outline that overlaps the front bumper rather than a separate trim piece. The grille, badges, door handles and tailpipes are also available in gloss black to give the 2022 more differentiation. (In 2021 those pieces were only offered in chrome.) Out back, the bumper has new styling, but we are glad to see the taillights keep Mini's signature Union Jack design.

The Hardtop 2 Door remains one of the most customizable vehicles around, with a variety of roof shades, interior upholstery options and paint colors that let customers make the car their own. The roof color options have expanded widely to include blue, yellow and gray paint in addition to the previously offered white, black and body-colored roofs. There's also a new Multitone roof option that features a color gradient shifting from blue to black. Trim-specific changes include an aggressive rear diffuser for the John Cooper Works model and fewer yellow accents on the exterior of the electric Cooper SE.

There are some notable interior revisions as well. The electric Cooper SE's digital instrument panel is now standard across the model line, as are an 8.8-inch central display, satellite radio and lane departure warning. A heated steering wheel and adjustable ambient lighting join the options list. Apple CarPlay smartphone integration remains an optional extra for the gas-powered models (it's standard on the Cooper SE), and there's still no support for Android Auto. Other key components, from the suspension and powertrain choices, are unchanged from last year, though we do lose the high-performance GP model.