Mini Cooper S Review - One of the best hot hatchbacks on the market

By Jeffrey Mills

A Big thanks to Cars.co.za, WesBank and Panthera Media for inviting us to the Evaluation Day. The day saw judges test a number of vehicles as a part of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards. We were fortunate enough to go for a ride in a number of vehicles as the judges tested these vehicles. Head over to the Cars.co.za website to find out more about the Consumer Awards.

With a large number of hot hatchbacks on the markets, it becomes quite hard to find a car that stands out from the crowd but the mini cooper is exactly the car to do that. The mini cooper is very well known for being a small, exciting and fun to drive car to drive and the S variant of the mini cooper is where things get dialled up to eleven!

The Mini Cooper S is equipped with a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder delivering 141 kW and 280 N.m of torque. It achieves 0-100 km/h in 6.8 seconds which is on par with other cars in this market segment. The car is available with a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed dual clutch automatic. Average fuel consumption is a claimed 5.4L per 100 Km.

The Mini Cooper S is renowned for its go-kart-like handling which perfectly describes the cars zippy nature. The car is also very easy to drive and offers decent comfort when cruising around. Mini Cooper S models offer daytime LEDs, a touch screen for the infotainment system, PDCs in the rear as well as ambient lighting in the cabin. Some of the issues with the Cooper S are to do with the small boot and insufficient leg room in the back seats (when choosing the three door model).

The Mini Cooper S is a great car and caters to a large variety of people and is a car that can be enjoyed without getting yourself into trouble. If you can look past the few drawbacks the car has, it becomes a really enticing product. Bags of fun and decent fuel consumption make the Mini Cooper S a car for everyone.