Mini Cooper S - Experience

Minis are pretty simple cars despite the lifestyle image they depict. There are no surprises, they are all small, stylish and excel only on certain parameters, even if that means drawing flak for everything else. The all-new Cooper ‘S’ then is the obvious choice for anyone looking for a performance-oriented Mini and a cordoned-off road is the best place to safely test it to the limit.

Since this is an all-new car we wanted to test if Mini has managed to improve on other aspects like practicality and ergonomics. But an hour on an airstrip with only the traffic cones as reference points for gymkhana-styled circuit was never going to be enough. Here then are our initial impressions (mainly on performance), till we drive the car on public roads for a comprehensive review.

Same Difference – Mini’s tag line is as odd as the fact that this car is a completely new product based on a new platform with a new drivetrain and does not share much with its predecessor. To the uninitiated, it looks pretty much like the previous car, only bigger.

This does not necessarily work in its favour, the size is a big problem and is not in line with the name of the car. The Cooper S is still pretty much a compact car, but with the increased size it is not as cute and adorable. In fact, the new Mini S with the sporty additions over the standard model attempts to looks like a brute and does not really succeed in the attempt. Still if you are to buy one of these, rest assured you will get plenty of attention – mainly due to the cult image of the Mini brand and also because they are still a rarity on the roads.

The Mini is a fashionista and everything inside including the centre console, music system and all the switches are designed to be trendy, more than being ergonomic. Even then, the new one is friendlier than the previous model – the giant centre console has been replaced by an even bigger music system that is easy to operate. The power window switches have moved to the door and everything is much easier to understand as compared to the previous generation Minis. It still uses toggle switches for the rest of the functions, including a big red one for engine start/stop.

The three-door car has a second row, which is more useable as extra space after occupying the 210 litre boot. Making an adult sit here is like a medieval punishment; there is no head-room or knee room and getting in will be a harrowing experience even for the most fit and flexible.

The Mini Cooper S uses the new 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder engine with forced induction, but instead of a single turbocharger like before, this one has two that manage to pump out 189bhp and 280Nm of torque. It uses the six-speed automatic transmission that is not the quickest, but works well enough in the Sports Mode.

It reaches 100kph from standstill in 6.7 seconds. Now those may not be sportscar quick numbers, but for a car that has dimensions to go berserk even in the city traffic, they are good enough. The fact that there is no turbo-lag makes a huge difference, the peak torque delivery begins at 1,250rpm and the power is then linear all the way to the red line of 6,500rpm.

Turbocharged 2.0-litre engines can produce a lot more than 189bhp, but Mini has consciously kept it on the lower side. More power would mean the need of AWD and limited-slip-differential (LSD) and that would be a huge deviation from simple cars that the Minis have always been.

Like the company claims, the front-wheel-drive car does handle like a Go-Kart, but has a very funny way of announcing it. There is some understeer without the electronics, but till the time you are within the tyre limits, the car will turn instantly. The precise steering completes the overall package; and among the premium hatchbacks available in India, this is without doubt the best handling car by miles. Of course, this prowess comes at the cost of the ride quality – the car also has the harshest ride, though it has supposedly improved compared to the previous generation. We drove it only on the runway, but rest assured that the ride on the city streets would not be a pleasant experience for most.

At Rs 34.65 lakh, the Mini Cooper S is certainly not an affordable hatchback even by luxury car standards. It isn’t spacious, comfortable, feature rich or even economical and there are plenty of cars available doing all of that. The Mini Cooper S looks purely at the fun aspect of motoring; sure it might make you want to rant about a few things, but if you are one of those people who look at cars as more than just a means of transport, the Cooper S will add a lot of fun quotient to your life.