Launch report:

MINI Cooper And Cooper S review

by David Morgan (2 November 2006)

When BMW's new MINI makes its debut in Mark 2 guise on November 18 buyers can expect more of the same - only better. More refinement, cleaner engines, better economy and a neater interior are just some of the delights waiting for the growing legions of Mini buyers.

But there's a lot more. It might look the same, but every exterior panel has been changed, the interior redesigned, the chassis tweaked and the engine and transmission sets replaced with high-tech BMW-designed petrol units that consign the sluggish old 1.6 engines to the scrapyard.

If there was a weak link in the five-year old Mark 1 MINI, this was it. Petrol units were rough and unresponsive, apart from the supercharged S, and the less I say about the dismal turbo diesel the better. You'll have to wait until 2007 for a replacement diesel, but MINI executives told me it will be "dramatically better than before". It had better be. The same goes for the 95bhp MINI One, which won't makes an appearance until the first half of next year, powered by a 1.4-litre PSA Peugeot Citroen engine and starting the range at £11,595.

For now there are two models available - the Cooper and Cooper S. Both are significant improvements of already impressive icons and cost £12,995 in Cooper guise and £15,995 as the Cooper S. Handling, steering and ride quality are so sharp, so direct and so refined that I was hard-pressed to compare the old with the new. The new MINI is lighter and feels tighter, more agile and more kart-like than ever.

This is no mere mid-life tart-up. MINI engineers have worked hard on their golden goose to make sure it continues to deliver golden eggs and push sales higher. It's virtually a new car from the wheels up. The second-generation MINI has lost weight and gained stature, and will continue to cram in sales simply because the reincarnation is so good.

On the twisting mountain roads of Catalonia the new Cooper and Cooper S were superb - balanced, great fun and with a new-found power delivery that will give it an edge other small hot hatches will find it hard to match.

Power increases over the arthritic old 1.6s are modest, but there's more to it than that. The engines are a lot lighter, rev freely and generate torque levels the old engines could never reach. The Cooper's cracking 120bhp delivers 118lb/ft of pulling power thanks to BMW's VALVETRONIC timing system. That translates into a 0-62mph sprint in nine seconds and a similar time to cover the vital 50-70mph overtaking gap. In practice, it's a willing and smooth engine that is much better and livelier to drive than the old Cooper.

That's as much to do with the new close-ratio six-speed gearbox as it is with the superb new engine - slick, light and with a gate that is spoiled only by the proximity of reverse to first that led me into a few embarrassing moments trying to sprint away from traffic lights. MINI needs to sort this one out. Wrong-slotting first and reverse can have serious consequences in city driving situations - a stronger preventer spring would solve the problem.

That said, the Cooper flies through mountain curves with virtually no roll and a chassis that makes the most of its power-to-weight ratio. Snatching gears and calling up revs is a delight, the bigger front disc brakes take care of braking and the new electric steering is as instant and accurate as you could wish on a fun-packed road car.

Impressed as I was with the Cooper S, the more modest Cooper is the MINI to have. I liked the new turbocharged S engine, but three grand is just too much of a premium on a car that has a unique iconic appeal which primarily encourages owners to personalise their little four-seater. It's not a performance car and gains little from the extra grunt that you won't get from the Cooper.

Both models score high on economy. The 1.6s are ultra-clean and efficient. Exhaust emissions have been lowered dramatically - so dramatically that the Cooper falls into VED Category Band C with just 139g/km. Better still is the fuel economy, which leaps by nearly 20% on the Cooper from the old model's average 41mpg to nearly 50mpg. The Cooper S is better still with a 25% improvement that delivers an average 40mpg compared to the supercharged predecessor's 30mpg.

The exhaust is cleaner too, helping cut running costs and slotting the S into VED Band D. Like the Cooper, the new S produces more torque. with acceleration times to 62mph in seven seconds and blisteringly low overtaking times - and it retains a Sports button that sharpens steering and throttle response.

But it's still the Cooper for me. Like the rest of the Mark 2 MINI family it gets new suspension, better standard equipment, a marginal improvement in interior space, rake and reach steering wheel adjustment, head airbags and a new six-speed paddle-shift automatic option that could turn out to be something of a "must have" item on the Cooper and S.

The new MINI is a far better car than its successful predecessor. When it hits the sales floors on November 18 it will please the memory of the father of the original Mini, the late Sir Alec Issigonis, who would have been 100 years old on the same day. What a sensational centennial birthday gift!