The minis hedonist’s delight. After 11000 miles with our coopers we can confirm that this is one decadent small car. Yj07 mbr is stuffed with exec-barge niceties such as piped leather seats, dab radio and ambient lighting that bathe the cabin in the color of your choice. It’s the apotheosis of the topsy-turvy 21st century car market. small car cant skimp on toys as urban downsizes want it all and , crucially are prepared to pay a premium for luxurious little ‘uns. Cooper is right up there with the most desirable hot hatches on sale and the quality of the thing is light years ahead of any fast Renault , Vauxhall or Honda . Only few details like the cheap metal look fascia plastics let the side down. On the road our cooper is awesome. it got 17 inch alloys , the 1.6’s 173bhp pace is ballistic for a supermini and its lazy torque delivery makes performance so much accessible than the all or nothing , hyperactive civic type r . Gripes? We have been disappointed by the economy of our first long termer with bmw’s efficient dynamics. “Combined economy of 45.6mpg”, boasts the brochure. But we are only managing 34.3mpg.
We say. Ed does plenty of clever things – cuttings the engine at a standstill, shutting off the alternator when not charging – but even this cleverness cant defeat gti pace. Come to think of it, my new cross country commute rarely involves a single halt, which might explain why stop start failed to shine. But as our years with the mini draw to a close, we still rate the cooper s highly. It’s pricey, but four journos at car reckon it’s the best car in the class. Enough said.
