Martin
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MINI Cooper DOne of my team is being seconded to a role for 6 months, that's 45 miles from where he is based now. I'm obviously a very kind boss as when I looked at the list of possible pool cars and took into account his age (24), I decided to select the MINI rather than a 1.4HDi 307 Estate, 1.6HDI 407 and a few other similarly exciting cars. As it was ready on Monday and he's not picking it up until Wednesday, I decided to use it for 24 hours!
I know the Cooper D (and every other MINI flavour!!) has been reviewed before, but the interesting thing about this car was that even though it is not quite 2 years old, it has done 66,000 miles. Not that we will be keeping ours that long, but it's interesting to see how it feels with 10x the mileage of ours.
The short answer to that question is surprisingly well. I drove it for just over 200 miles and didn't hear a single rattle, everything was where it should be and nothing looked in any way worn. I probably shouldn't be surprised as 66k miles is hardly a lot, but it's nice to know that the solid engineered feel is a real one. The only thing I could pick out, which may be normal rather than a fault, was quite a small shudder from the engine when the stop/start activated and a slight delay when it re-started.
The spec is interesting, as whoever ordered it must have randomly ticked a whole load of boxes! It had the Chili pack (so loads of options lumped into that), but also had a CD Auto changer, Climate Control, DAB Radio, auto lights/wipers/dimming mirror), heated windscreen, bonnet stripes, chromeline interior and chromeline exterior. That must take the price to somewhere north of 18k. Which is a lot.
It was very strange getting a diesel rattle when starting it up, as it obviously looks and feels very similar to ours. It pulls better than I thought and revs nicely for a diesel, although 4,000rpm is all it will do really, but it makes overtaking easy and cruises nicely at 90 leptons with sufficient 'go' in top gear to save you having to change down.
Whilst it was still fun, it did feel quite different to drive than ours. The steering wasn't as good and there was a slight pitching motion on anything less than a totally smooth road, that you don't get in ours. I don't know whether this was worn dampers, higher profile tyres or the shorter wheelbase. Having said that, like every MINI I've driven, it's cracking to drive. It doesn't encourage you to be a hooligan like a Cooper S, but you just want to drive all around Milton Keynes so you can chuck it through roundabouts!!
The MPG was pretty good, I got 51.4 on a journey (55 miles dual carriageway / 35 miles A road) that would have seen 43-44 in the Passat and 47-48 in the Jetta. I reset the computer this morning and on the trip to MK, it managed 58.2 and that was driving normally. After about 35 miles, all on A Roads, the average was reading 63mpg!
So, in summary, you'd have to hate diesel to get a Cooper rather than a Cooper D as in normal driving it feels quite a bit quicker and it's dirt cheap to run, but the MINI is a great car whatever version you go for!
I would be fairly happy to run it for a longer period, the only things that would rule it out are the total lack of space (it really is tiny compared to the Clubman, I still can't believe how much less space there is) and the increased road noise over something like the Jetta.
The last words must go to Mrs M (not the first time!!), who took it for a 20min run and told me that she would have been fine with the diesel, she actually liked the cream part leather (even though lounge leather was a non negotiable) but she didn't know that cream was an option and think of all the money we'd have saved with 40-50mpg, cheaper insurance and £35 a year road tax
Women.... 
I need to go out in the Cooper S 
Apologies for the crap pictures, I used the Blackberry again I'm afraid.
I don't care what anyone else thinks, I think the Cooper S looks much nicer than the std Cooper and the Clubman nicer than the hatch  
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SpecB
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I hated the Clubman when it first came out. It is growing on me somewhat, especially in Cooper S form as you say.
The photos are interesting to compare the sizes of the two - there is more difference that you would think if you saw the cars apart.
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PG
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Interesting write up. Mrs M's comment is really interesting and bears out the reality in many cases. In real world day to day use, the diesel would do 99% of what the Cooper S does and save money. But yet, that 1% is worth a huge amout at certain times.
I've never driven a MINI (driven lots on Minis though) - something I must rectify.
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Dr. Hfuhruhurr
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I prefer the Clubman to the normal hatch - the extra length suits it. Though my favourite now is the new roadster.
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Martin
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| PG wrote: | Interesting write up. Mrs M's comment is really interesting and bears out the reality in many cases. In real world day to day use, the diesel would do 99% of what the Cooper S does and save money. But yet, that 1% is worth a huge amout at certain times.
I've never driven a MINI (driven lots on Minis though) - something I must rectify. |
You should!
There are three reasons why I got a Cooper S over a Cooper D and would do so again.
1) The S is a lot (lot) quicker
2) It looks a lot better (I don't like the std chrome grille, chroms foglight surrounds and the bumpers)
3) The D was the same price as an S with comparable spec (at 6 months old)
At 5-6k miles a year, the extra mpg isn't going to make much difference either.
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Grampa
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Re: MINI Cooper D | Martin wrote: | | the interesting thing about this car was that even though it is not quite 2 years old, it has done 66,000 miles. Not that we will be keeping ours that long, but it's interesting to see how it feels with 10x the mileage of ours. |
I was very impressed when I first drove my daughter's MINI One (petrol Mk1) - it feels like it's done 20,000 miles, yet a quick glance at the speedo reveals it to have done nearly 100,000 more than that.
The interior of your new pool car is exactly the same as our MINI - IMO one of the nicest MINI interiors you can get - as you say, your pics don't do it justice and it feels a lot classier than it looks here.
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Martin
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It is a very nice interior indeed. Not quite as nice as ours, the leather parts didn't feel like leather for example, whereas ours is lovely and soft and leather like.
I got a call yesterday from the lad that's using it and he's delighted. He thinks its fantastic and already regrets not seriously looking at the MINI when he was looking for a car. He prefers it to his Fiesta ST already, even though it's a diesel. It's a good job it isn't the Cooper S!!
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