New MINI Cooper S Review
It's always difficult to reinvent the wheel, so how have BMW done with the reinvention of the MINI Cooper S. Well not to bad at all by the looks of it, in fact so good they've done it twice, first with the introduction of the first MINI's in 2001 and now with the new generation MK II MINI's for 2007.
Slightly larger than the model it replaces, the new Cooper S, as with all MK II MINI's, shares no body panels with the outgoing model and it gets an all-new engine, gone is the old Brazilian built power plant and in its place is a Peugeot-BMW-developed British-built turbocharged 1.6-litre engine, incidentally, the same engine fitted to the new Peugeot 207 Gti. With 175 bhp the Cooper S will take you from 0 - 62 mph in a shade over seven seconds on its way to a top speed of 140 mph, these figures may not compare that well to other hot hatches, but few will compare with the Cooper S when it comes to fun. Fuel economy has also improved with the introduction of this new engine and the new Cooper S claims a further eight miles per gallon over the model it replaces.
This redesign may have been somewhat unexpected in some quarters, but the main reason does appear to be stricter safety regulations, particularly with regards to pedestrian safety when it comes to an impact with the bonnet and the distance between the engine and the bonnet. As a result BMW have not only improved this aspect, but have also significantly strengthened the overall car and now expect to achieve a full five star rating in their Euro NCAP crash safety test.
Like the looks of the MINI Cooper S why not check out the Ford Ka or the VW Beetle.
Finance your new MINI Cooper S on a PCP car loan work out your monthly payments using our Car Finance Payment Calculator.
