Exterior and interior

Despite having grown considerably in size, it’s still unmistakably mini. The lines, large grill, bug-eyed headlights and Union Jack integrated into the rear lights all combine to make it a stand-out hatchback.

The interior retains the classic speedometer in the centre of the dash except of course it’s grown considerably in size and is the infotainment system and go to place for most of the Cooper’s settings including climate control, vehicle gauges and park assistant.

It has decent resolution and works well with Mini’s latest operating system, including wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

There is however a lot of information and it gets a bit busy which means you need to quickly figure out what information is shown where which can be distracting.

Below that, there’s a toggle bar housing the engine stop/start function, gear selector and drive modes.

Experiences or drive modes include Timeless Mode, Vivid Mode, Balance Mode, Personal Mode which are introduced with a unique chime and alter the look and feel of the interior. In Green or Go-Kart Mode the driving characteristics are also changed.

I eventually settled for Timeless Mode which is as close as you’re likely to get to an old school dash set-up.

Because it’s assembled by BMW, you know the fittings and finishings will be top-notch with a combination of materials that give the Mini Cooper S a quality interior look and feel.

As a three door don’t expect massive amounts of space especially for rear passengers and with a boot space of 210-litres (530-litres with the rear seats down) it’s suited more for singles or a couple without children.

Power

It’s driven by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine (used in various states of tune across the manufacturer) that delivers 150kW and 350Nm of torque coupled to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, that they say will reach 100km/h in 6.6 seconds and top out at 242km/h.

The essence of the Mini hasn’t been lost in terms of driving dynamics.

It’s still fun to drive, but despite the 2.0-litre turbo engine in a small-ish body, don’t expect blistering performance.

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