BMW-built hatch reaches its third
generation. Turbocharged three-cylinder engine in mid-range Cooper delivers
134bhp and 0-62mph in just 7.9sec
Remember when people used to argue about
whether the modern-era Mini was worthy of wearing its famous badge? Or when BMW
was reluctant to even imply a connection to the Issigonis-designed original?
How things have changed. Thirteen years on
and BMW has managed to sell 2.7million of its ‘Binis’ over two generations,
taking the franchise into several unlikely niches in the process, while no Mini
presentation is complete without a brace of the ten-foot-nothing originals in
full Union flag regalia. Which is probably all the explanation you need as to
why BMW’s third take at the hatchback, which is mechanically all-new, looks
like a slightly enlarged photocopy of the model it replaces. If it ain’t broke,
don’t try and fix it.
Its
various improvements make the new Mini more desirable and practical than ever
before
As the Mini clan has grown, it’s become
easy to lose sight of what a decent car the basic hatchback has always been,
even in its less powerful forms. Which is why I arrive in the somewhat unlikely
launch venue of Puerto Rico (this for a car that’s built 12 miles from my
house) keen to drive the new Cooper and experience the three-cylinder engine
that BMW has pretty much bet the corporate farm on.
Underneath its
familiar-yet-slightly-different form, this Mini has switched to an all- new
platform, one that will also underpin the lower cars of the BMW range when they
switch to front-wheel drive. And excepting the top-spec Cooper S, the rest of
the Mini range – both petrol and diesel – are the first recipients of the new
three-cylinder engines that have been spun off BMW’s modular powerplant
architecture.
The
relocation of the Mini's instruments from the centre dial to just in front of
the driver is a big success
That’s right, the three is basically just a
four with a cylinder lopped off. Or, if you prefer, half of the company’s
straight-six. All the engines share the same bore centres, and most are
designed around a common 500cc displacement cylinder, giving the Cooper 1.5
litres of swept capacity and, with the help of a turbocharger, a sprightly
134bhp. The basic Mini One gets a scaled-down 1.2-litre version of the same
engine, and the Cooper S sticks with a turbocharged four, albeit not the
1.6-litre unit of the outgoing Mini, but the new2- litre engine that we’ve
already seen in 20i, 25i and 28i versions of the BMW1-, 3- and 5-series.
The
technical highlight is undoubtedly the new Mini's three-cylinder engine, which
is energetic and engaging to use
The new Mini is bigger than its
predecessor, although spec-for-spec weight has barely changed, and it’s gained
a pudgy front overhang that effectively rules out the ‘wheel in each corner’
claim the company historically loved to make. It looks a bit tubby compared to
the first two BMW Minis (which were near- clones in terms of dimensions), but
we’ll probably get used to it. Getting inside reveals a cabin that feels far
higher in quality than the last Mini’s, and more sensible too: the speedo is
now behind the steering wheel, where you’d expect to find it, and the electric
window switches have been moved to the doors, so you no longer have to fiddle
with a row of low-mounted toggle switches to locate them.
