Mini Cooper S review, test drive

The latest Mini stays true to traditional design, but under the skin, it’s much more than a standard hatch. Read our comprehensive review.

Published on Nov 08, 2012 12:56:00 PM

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The Mini’s low roof necessitates some amount of bending on ingress, but once past the wide-opening pillarless doors, what you get is a very cozy cabin. There is decent space for front occupants, and the upright A-pillars allow for fantastic view out the front. The nicely crafted seats are snug and well bolstered, but sadly do without electric adjustment, which is a shame in a car that costs so much. While the Cooper S can seat four, it is best to think of it as a 2+2. Accessing the back seat is not the most elegant of procedures, and once you get in, the seat can feel cramped over long distances and the knees-up seating position is not very comfy.

The Cooper S cabin uses circular cues to echo the exterior’s retro theme, and to good effect. The Mini’s signature oversized analogue speedometer looks like your grandma’s transistor radio sitting at the top of the centre console, and is so coolly retro. It also neatly houses a display for the very modern (but optional) BMW iDrive-based infotainment system, which is intuitive to use with easily navigable menus. However, we found ourselves relying more on the small digital speedo readout on the steering-column-mounted tachometer, because looking at the central console is not easy while driving. The big dial with a tiny needle is pretty hard to read anyway.

Adding personality to the cabin are the very retro toggles switches on the centre console and roof. However, the standard buttons for climate control are a bit small and the volume knob for the audio system fiddly. These minor grouses apart, we found cabin quality comparable to any BMW and well in keeping with the car’s asking price. We particularly liked the rich leather finish to the dashboard and door pads, the high-quality textures and the overall fit and finish, which is nothing short of exemplary.

Given the car’s small size, it comes as no surprise that the Mini’s boot only holds 160 litres. The rear seats do split and fold to increase luggage capacity, though. There is also not much space for smaller items in the cabin, though a hidden recess in the dashboard can be used to stow a couple of CDs.