Can The New Mini Cooper S Cut It As A Posh Hot Hatch?

If you're after a hot supermini, you're well catered for these days. There's the Ford Fiesta ST, the Peugeot 208 GTI and the Renault Clio RS, to name but a few. But what if you want a little more badge kudos? For that, you'll want a Mini, and that's a safe choice; hot Minis have a habit of being rather good, after all. But does the newest Cooper S continue that trend?

On the outside, it's scarcely different from the outgoing Mini. You can't blame BMW for not toying too much with what's been a very successful recipe, but the biggest changes - which are at the front - aren't particularly pretty. There's more overhang than before, which looks rather awkward, and the larger grille - which now incorporates the number plate - gives the new Mini a gormless, gaping-mouthed look.

Despite the slightly bloated look of the car, and ignoring comparisons with the titchy original Mini, it’s easy to forget that this is actually quite a small car; in fact, it’s shorter the Audi A1. That means when you step inside, there’s not a lot of room, particularly with the substantial dash you’re greeted with.

The interior treads a fine line between being claustrophobic or nicely cocooning, but it’s more towards the latter. Thankfully, the inside is more aesthetically pleasing than the exterior; the aircraft-style toggle switches on the centre console are especially exquisite, and the silly centre console-mounted giant speedo of old has been replaced with a screen. We could do without the lashings of fake carbonfibre, though.

On the move, the Mini feels firm and a tad jiggly, but not intolerably so. Leaving town and with Sport Mode engaged – which reveals a patronising picture of a go-kart and a rocket, accompanied by the words ‘maximum go-kart feel’ – you’re treated to a driving experience that soon makes the urge to put your fist through the silly display screen disappear.

The Cooper S loves to be thrown around, and offers a very rewarding drive. In Sport mode the suspension firms up noticeably, and on particularly bumpy B roads the ride borders on violence. The flip side is that you get great composure, backed up by heaps of grip. Things are livened up by an auto rev-matching feature – something usually restricted to just dual-clutch autos – which blips the throttle on each down change on the six-speed manual gearbox. Then there’s the fantastically rude exhaust, which rarely stops crackling away.

Shouting through that antisocial exhaust is a turbocharged 2.0-litre four pot, which offers 189bhp and 207lb ft of torque. That’s enough for a brisk 0-62mph time of 6.8 seconds, and a top speed of 146mph. Sounds decent, but when the road opens up, the Cooper S doesn’t feel as quick as you’d expect. As far as power deliveries go, it’s too laid back compared to its punchy rivals.

When the road opens up, the Cooper S doesn’t feel as quick as you’d expect

With the premium image the Mini offers, you’re expected to pay a premium price. The Cooper S starts at £18,650, but as we’ve come to expect with modern Minis, you don’t get a huge amount of kit as standard, meaning it’s easy to add serious money with a few option boxes ticked. The car we tested, for example, came in at £24,895, which is hard to stomach considering the new, well-equipped and better-to-drive Ford Fiesta ST-3 will set you back £19,250.

Regardless, the Mini does have a lot going for it, especially if you can love its looks. Badge kudos is important for a lot of buyers, and few badges at this end of the market come with as much cachet as the Mini. It’s also a pleasant car for everyday driving thanks to its high-quality interior and great finish.

For me though, it just doesn’t feel thrilling enough to drive when you take into consideration its rivals and extremely keen price. Here’s hoping the forthcoming ‘Works’ version livens up the new Mini accordingly.