2022 Mini Cooper S Review
Mini Cooper S
Price as tested: $36,250
2.0 Liter Turbo 4 Cylinder
189 HP / 207 TQ
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Quickly think of sporty and yet affordable small cars and you will probably come up with the following:
— Civic Si/Type R
— GTI/Golf R
—Veloster N/Elantra N
What is missing from this list is the granddaddy of them all…the Mini Cooper S. The original proveyor of all things hot and hatch, the Mini Cooper original formula of a box o’fun on wheels is something that has withstood the test of time. Sure the German, Japanese and Korean rivals score points on affordability, scootability and reliability but there is a playfulness in the Cooper that none of them can match.
That playfullness can be further translated into this:
“The Mini Cooper is brimming with soul, personality and character. It’s not perfect and in that it is almost perfect”
Let’s go ahead and break it down:
The Great
Yes the Mini, ain’t mini anymore but think about it this way…it’s relative. The Mini has grown as other vehicles have grown so it’s size is relative to what is on the road today. Saying that, it is still errrr Mini. Small enough to squeeze into any opening in traffic, fling into any parking spot and toss into any corner…and yet have enough room for front passengers and a child seat in the back, the Mini’s size is on the verge of mathematical perfection.
Obviously you can’t talk about a Mini without talking about it’s handling. Adjectives in the entire English language cannot do it justice. The only thing I can come up with is this:
It’s just fun!
Would a Si or a GTI outhandle a Cooper S? Maybe? But I don’t care, I promise you that the Cooper S driver is having more fun behind the wheel. Which is saying a lot because it’s not like the other two vehicles are fueled by Zoloft either but the Mini is playful, bubbly and just a hoot!
In other words:
Take everything that makes a Miata great and put into a front wheel drive hatchback…that is this Mini Cooper S
The Good
Out of all the manual equipped vehicles I have reviewed…this Mini Cooper S is the only that doesn’t have the annoying ‘rev hang’ between gears. Somehow/someway Mini and/or BMW’s engineers solved that problem that is plagued literally every other manufacturer and my God it’s makes a huge difference behind the wheel. Shifting up between gears is now a joyous and SMOOTH occasion without the lurch that is found in everything else.
If you don’t know what i’m talking about, then let me explain. You’re going along and need to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear. So you do the following:
-Clutch In
-Instead of the revs dropping to match engine speed to road speed, the RPM remains the same…it ‘hangs’
-Slide the shifter from 2nd to 3rd
-Clutch Out
-lurches into gear and RPMs jump up to match and you sound like an idiot.
Add that the lack of rev hang, easy clutch, lovely shifter and rev match downshifting, this Cooper S is an absolute cinch to master.
Oh and the Mini looks SWEET! Just so much detail from it’s Union Jake tail lamps, the easily missed but beautiful color gradient roof, to it’s retrochic interior. It’s just fun!
The Bad
Yes I know that cargo space in a Mini is a bit of a misnomer but it should, at the very least, fit a not-so-large camera case without folding down a seat.
The Ugly
So while the original Mini was a bargain, the 21st century variant has always been well….not. It’s expensive and comparing competitors such as the Civic Si and the Veloster N, the $5,000 difference in price is errrr alot
The Overall
Taking the price out of the equation…this Mini Cooper S is one of the most enjoyable cars I have ever driven. Trust me on this, get one and you will be smiling every single time you get behind the wheel.
