MINI Cooper

I bought an 8-yr old Mini Cooper (M) over 1 year ago and must say that from the moment I bought it, I started to think twice about how good Japanese cars are.

From the solid build to the well thought-out styling, this car impresses in all ways. Thanks to the stiff and strong body, handling is tighter than any Subaru WRX hopes to be (that was my previous car for 2 years).

The interior may feel plasticky, but it's part of the fun factor of having gigantic rev and speedometers. Interior space is also amazing for such a "tiny" car, as it could comfortably sit 4 regular sized adults. Other 2-door cars such as the Scirocco, GT86 and Audi A1 FAIL when it comes to rear headroom.

Despite not being the "S" model, I love the responsiveness of the engine. Whether you're tapping the accelerator or flooring it, the car feels like it's genuinely doing what you're asking it to do. Perhaps it's also due to my choice of manual gearbox; the proper way to drive a Mini, IMHO.

Some other reviews remark that it is expensive to own. True, given the high margins of the dealership. The trick is to get a 2nd hand one and budget a couple K for repairs, just in case. And with the high OMV and export value (compared to Japanese cars), the depreciation of such an iconic, eye-opening car is too low to even worry about.

The MINI Cooper may seem and feel small, but it's a more than adequate car. This is the first continental car I hav driven and the first thing I realised is its weight and the relatively heavier steering wheel. On the road, it's responsive and powerful enough to climb uphill without being dragged down. It's best when driven on long straight roads where you can feel how zippy this car is. It's a little annoying when there is start-stop traffic. Its interior is definitely attention-grabbing with the large speedometer in the middle and when deciding between the Audi A1 and the Cooper, the iconic interior styling won the day and made the decision easier. I just wished that bluetooth connectivity and the enhanced Radio Visual Boost screen were standard fittings.

Test drove for a short while, found the auto transmission to be responsive and can accelerate very well

Own a base auto cooper & daily drive for 1.5yr now: >20K mileage

Mod: NO

Petrol: caltech/shell 92-98 mostly 95

Inside:

1 Nice red/gray color complement.

2 Aircon control casing feels cheap, assembled like using a cut out plastic board

3 Compared to 2010 UK model, No Sports button, No Start/Stop

4 Aux is a cheap looking box underneath

5 Wiper/Light Control stick feels rough behind, no proper smoothing

6 Center Speedometer is made of cheap plastic

7 The bluetooth & voice steering button is for show only HAHAHA

8 Rear seat/boot is cramp but remember this is strictly a 2+, for 2 adults space is quite comfy, u can slide seat all the way back

9 Radio, speaker, reception is very good (must be the cute long tail on top)

10 Aircon sound is so bad, like an amplifier to the engine rev, sounds like some some metal chain being driven behind, when turned off its a blessing to the ear

11 Not much pocket space for personal stuff, just the door pocket & the carry under the aircon casing

12 Seat is mostly cloth, no wet resistance when entering on heavy rain days, barely any room for umbrella inside

13 windscreen is wide just like widescreen LCD but hard to see traffic light above

Engine/Drive:

1 power is delivered at 3K midrange rev, above 4K for serious high speed overtaking, on the road, 2K is cruising

2 exhaust note is usually not heard but if rev very hard then it starts to hum like v8

3 steering is heavy but no problem for guys, steering wheel is small & easy to handle

4 cornering, yep here is where it shines, it's designed to counter bodyroll, u can do hard cornering with heavy footing and still stay within ur lane at the other end,

5 from cold start at night u will wake up ur neighbours with the exhaust loud humming (hard to sneak out at night)

6 FC is 12-13km/L for 50/50 highway/city

Exterior:

1 getting common now, but still head turner can see 0-3 per 30min trip

2 very nice for parallel parking, u give extra 1 man passage way on both side

3 low drive position feels dangerous when driving at night,

4 size matters! some truck/bus like to bully u on the road, avoided several near accident from lorry changing lanes aggressively

5 nice loud horn, can wake people up, but when others eg taxi dont give a damn, then its useless

A perfect car for a couple or those who are probably single. While test driving the car, the space for the back passengers was so teensy that the only passenger who was likely to be comfortable was my dog. Oh yes, don't expect too much from the boot as well.

That aside, the furnishings of the mini cooper are pretty excellent. They definitely feel "solid" and different colour combinations of the interior and exterior make your car feel a little more "oh so special"

When given the chance to test drive the car, pick up was not really fantastic. If you are looking for a speedier car I would recommend going for a golf. However, do note that this car is pretty good on handling and is extremely easy to make turns and makes switching lanes a breeze.

Signalling between lanes would take some getting used to though. Another downside, is that there isn't any reverse sensors, which isnt really necessary with the mini being so teensy. but it would have been nice to have the sensors included considering the hefty price paid for the car.

Great lifestyle car but I didn't receive the accessories that were part of my package (ipod connector and extra pair of fog lights) and it has been 3 months since i collected my car! Cannot believe this! So people, don't think that mini cooper is all about accessorizing as they claim, the issue here is when will you get the accessories that you were promised?!

After a long 3 years of waiting to own one of this car, finally got ride of my old Station Wagon and got hold of one today.

Great car to drive around in Singapore and the 1.6L engine works performs fantastically well.

The interior design and the quality of the material has improved significantly from the early models.

For a small continental car the pricing is a little at the high side.

However, still worth owning one!

From the onset, the cute exterior was the one of the biggest draw for me. And driving one around Singapore's busy streets is definite a breeze as it handles pretty well and without much noticeable disadvantage in power to a casual driver like me.

Mini copper has a very unique exterior and interior design. Its kind of retro and you can personalise it to ur own preferred style. Thats why all Mini copper out on the road is different! Thumbs up to the interior design of MINI too. Very stable car, good for corner-ings. Powerful engine for a 1.6litre car. Everything is great! Just the handling is not very good becos the steering becomes tight at times. Overrall, this car is excellent =)

I believe that this is a car that many females like me wish to own. As agree with other discussion on this model, it has a quite a few successful predecessors. This classic mini cooper has improved in its features and comfort along the years. A prestige car to me and will be working hard for it.