Mini Cooper 1.6 Review: (M)ore (M)ini for yer (M)oolah

I love the driving position, and the fact that the seats, which I thought looked deceivingly unsupportive, cradle my broad shouldered frame nicely.

The steering position was absolutely perfect as it adjusted to my liking with both tilt and reach capabilities. All this despite my short, 170cm height and my preference of setting the seats down to the lowest possible height, thus stretching out my legs.

MINI’s claims of the car having go-kart like handling abilities does show in tight corners, but do take this with a pinch of salt. Remember, you aren’t piloting a Lotus, much less a racecar, so there still is a fair amount of suspension travel and a little body roll. For the non “S” version though, the ride quality beats anything that it’s size, hands down.

Dunlop Sport Max 205/45s are standard equipment on this MINI, and so are the 17 inch wheels.

Plenty of fun can be had while driving along an open stretch of road. In a succession of tight corners, the MINI does not disappoint. It has the cornering ability to surpass most compacts. An exception might be the 200hp Golf GTi, although that belongs to a more powerful class of hot hatches.)

You shift gears WAY faster than you might be doing in a race car. No exaggeration - it is that easy and so smooth, you'll feel like a professional everytime you slot the delightfully chunky gearknob into place.

I can't really say the same about trying to heel and toe though - the keyword here is "trying". Doing it smoothly needs a fair bit of practise, and a contortionist-like right foot.

We managed a 0-100km/h time of 9.5 seconds, an average of three tries. 190km/h seems to be as fast as the Cooper will go.

It is far quieter at speeds above 120km/h despite minute whistling noises coming from the closed sunroof panels. The engine is far smoother quieter when pressed, and it doesn’t sound as grumpy as the older, Chrysler sourced unit.

Overall, the MINI still packs in that old charm, with additional road holding and somewhat neutral handling characteristics. The brakes are definitely up to the task of hard driving, but if you are going to bring the car to a grinding halt repeatedly, or engage in extreme stunts on the race track, then you might need a short cool down lap or two.

It might not be an all out go kart, but it comes awfully close for a front driven hatch that has many devotees. In addition, you do your daily driving in one hell of a detailed interior. All this for only $98,000 - a far cry from the six figured sum that the Cooper was going for when it was first launched.

Guess what? They won't be disappointed.

Now all we have to do is wait until we get our hands on the MINI Cooper S...keep your eyes posted!

Credits: Amery Reuben