Grown Up a Countryman
When we were kids, there were Mini Coopers, the odd Clubman van/stationwagon thing, and that was about it. All of them were tiny and twitchy handling-wise, but were heaps of fun to drive. Like the Beetle, there were so many around that they almost formed part of our landscape.
Starting the car involves depressing the starter button on the right-side of the dash. There is a slot for you to place the car keys, but I find this really pointless, as it is much better to just carry the key in your pocket.
Steering weight is excellent, with communication from the road coming through. I could have sworn I felt the front go over a bug while going round the first fast corner I encountered, and dried bird poo around the second one. Ride quality is firm but overall comfortable enough for long journeys. The punchy 1.6 litre turbocharged four, mated to a 6-speed automatic, pushes a very impressive 184bhp, with maximum torque of 240Nm at a low 1,600rpm, ensuring that lag is kept to a minimum. Century sprint timing is listed at 7.9 seconds. Yes, there are faster cars out there, but the MINI still performs well.
Paddle shifter usage needs plenty of time to get the hang of. Instead of the usual “pull right to gear up” and “pull left to drop a gear” arrangement, MINI had devised it such that pulling on either one, changes gears upward. Pushing on them instead, drops your gears. This initially resulted in me switching up two gears when entering some corners, instead of dropping them.
The run-flat tyres can show their unforgiving side, when the car hits undulations at speed, and the ride can get a little jarring. On the flip side, the non-existent spare, means that there is the weight saving benefit, and additional boot space as mentioned.
In sports mode, the suspension stiffens up, and the car responds to bumps on the road with a little bit of skip. It can be rather fun flicking and twitching the little car around.
At 1,410kg, the MINI is pretty nimble, and takes very well to directional changes. The taller body and the longer wheelbase (2,595mm), versus, say the 3-door hatch Cooper S (2,495mm), induces a little more roll around the bends. But the go-kart magic that MINI has come to be known for is retained, staying true to the original MINI built years ago, with minimal overhangs, greatly reducing front plough when taking tight corners.
Front seats are supportive, and they do hold you in place if you do race up a long spirally carpark ramp.
There are some cars which can offer more, in terms of interior space and even power delivery. The MINI is just sheer fun. We would have preferred if they did spend a little more time with product development, as the quality of some materials used, were not to expectations for the price.
Functionality of some items, like the console rail and the clunky handbrake were definitely not to our liking. But overall, it is still worth taking a look at. You can have so much fun driving this car.
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