Taking its cue from the legendary MINI designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, the new MINI was an instant hit when it first hit the roads in 2001. It was not quite the fuel-sipper its predecessor was but it quickly became a fashion icon.
Hopping in the car quickly changed our personality. We were suddenly morphed into attention-grabbing, fun-loving people. And we were glad that it hasn't changed much from the first generation MINI. So what exactly has changed?
Cosmetically, changes can be easily missed to the undiscerning eye. BMW (the owner of MINI) claims that the entire body is brand-new and nothing can be swapped with the first generation MINI.
If you look hard enough (side by side, no less), you will notice that the new MINI is slightly taller, wider and longer. A dead giveaway could be the addition of the rear fog lamps.
Under the hood, the engine is completely new. The whiney Cooper S supercharger power plant makes way for the more efficient turbocharger unit. Now for it’s interiors, it’s as plush as you would expect from a BMW car (and a car of this price) but the MINI adds a tinge of fun to it. To name just a few: the driver-controllable ambient lights has 5 colours to choose from, it sports old-style toggle switches and a humongous speedometer that would work against you if you were ever caught speeding. While we were content with the earlier model, we are certainly not complaining about having a better car around the block. The new MINI Cooper S has swung us around and we are in love, baby.
The engine put out 175bhp and some 240Nm of torque starting at 1,600rpm, bringing the MINI Cooper S to 100km/h in a fraction of over 7 seconds. But you would be missing the point if you were expecting faster numbers. The Cooper S isn't about raw speed or power. We found this out quickly (no pun intended!) when we tossed it into the back-roads and turns. Calling it a plush go-kart on steroids is apt.
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