2012 Mini Cooper S Coupe - Fun Over Function? Ignition Episode 11
On this episode of Ignition
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:02 This week on Ignition, something a little different.
00:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:08 When I think of a mini, I think of a car that's
00:20 interesting, if a bit eccentric.
00:23 I think of a city car that wants desperately to stand out.
00:27 And it isn't until a few tugs at the wheel
00:29 do I remember how much fun they are.
00:32 Now this car in particular, this is the Coupe.
00:34 And what Mini's done here is a bit crazy.
00:37 They've removed the back seats from the hardtop model,
00:40 lengthened it slightly, and focused on--
00:42 I'm quoting the PR line here--
00:44 making it fun to drive.
00:47 We'll come back to that in a little bit.
00:48 But what I'm curious is, how does a Mini handle a city?
00:52 After all, the beauty of the Mini Cooper
00:54 is its competency as a commuter.
00:57 The Coupe's turning circle is just slightly larger
00:59 than a Mazda 2.
01:01 But the Mini's actually shorter in length.
01:03 It's easy to see out of, and it's easy to park.
01:06 Rated at 30 MPG combined, it gets decent gas mileage too.
01:11 The interior is well equipped, as it
01:13 should be for an as-tested price of over $32,000.
01:17 I have comfortable seats.
01:18 I have navigation.
01:19 I have an iPod hookup, and so on.
01:23 And then you stick your foot into it.
01:26 What's that noise?
01:27 That is the turbocharger attached
01:31 to the side of this 1.6 liter inline four under the hood.
01:35 It makes 181 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque.
01:40 That engine is connected, thankfully,
01:42 to a real six-speed manual.
01:44 The Mini also has a spoiler that deploys automatically
01:48 at 50 miles an hour.
01:50 Thing is, Mini isn't only claiming
01:52 this is the most fun Cooper around,
01:54 but it's also the fastest model to model.
01:57 Let's see if that's the case.
01:58 So when you enter a corner, the Mini Coupe bites hard,
02:08 sets in line, and pushes just slightly.
02:12 I like the way it drives, though,
02:13 because it's not unrelenting understeer.
02:15 It gives you options once you face that limit.
02:18 You lift off the throttle, the back end
02:20 will move around just a little bit.
02:21 And it gives you that certain degree of security
02:24 to know that everything is safe, but you can still have fun
02:27 while you're pushing it hard.
02:29 This would be a great car on a canyon road.
02:31 So I have sport mode on, traction and stability
02:39 control off.
02:39 Now, launching the Mini Coupe is a little tricky.
02:42 There's a fine line between bogging the engine
02:44 and roasting the tires.
02:45 The sweet spot seems to be about 2,800 RPM.
02:49 So you dial that in, dump the clutch,
02:52 ride the wheel spin through first gear.
02:54 Doesn't seem to chirp to second.
02:56 And then all you got to do is hit your shifts after that.
02:58 60 miles an hour, 6.4 seconds.
03:01 The quarter mile, 14.8 seconds at 95 miles an hour.
03:07 And that's pretty much what we'd expect this car to do.
03:11 It's got the same power to weight ratio as Mazda Miata,
03:14 and it runs at about the same speed.
03:18 Now we begin our 60 to 0 braking test.
03:23 Pedal feel is pretty good.
03:25 The car doesn't wiggle that much.
03:26 It's not like you'd expect from a short wheel based car.
03:29 Actually feels pretty good.
03:32 So Mini's right.
03:33 This is the fastest Cooper S we've ever tested.
03:36 In fact, it's just a tenth or two slower
03:38 than the last John Cooper Works version we had.
03:41 And that car has 208 horsepower.
03:44 Still, outright speed has never been
03:47 the priority of the Mini Cooper.
03:49 Now this thing is focused on fun.
03:52 And my favorite part is testing that claim.
03:54 It is fun.
04:05 I can't help but love the way this thing drives.
04:08 The steering feel is brilliant.
04:10 It's communicative.
04:11 It's playful.
04:12 The pedal placement allows for effortless heel toe shifts.
04:15 The shifter's throws are a little long,
04:18 but it's still fun to row the gears.
04:20 I get the sense that I can just throw this thing into a corner
04:23 with the same recklessness that a kid throws around a dodgeball
04:26 with.
04:27 And I simply adore the soundtrack from this engine.
04:30 This may be one of the most engaging sounding turbo
04:32 4s on the market today.
04:34 It has a wonderful growl.
04:36 It backfires and burbles and pops.
04:39 And then you get the whoosh of the turbocharger building
04:42 boost.
04:43 I simply can't resist holding onto gears through higher revs.
04:47 This car is so willing and engaging,
04:49 it's basically begging for me to do irresponsible things.
04:53 So it's unfortunate that it has to look the way it does.
04:57 You see, eccentricity isn't so much a trait of Minis
05:00 as it is a design focus.
05:02 And that's unfortunate, because you end up
05:04 with a car that doesn't look so much
05:06 like a descendant of the original Mini,
05:08 but a caricature of it.
05:10 I'll just say it.
05:10 This helmet looks silly.
05:12 And this interior is trying too hard.
05:14 I get it.
05:15 This is supposed to be a quirky car.
05:17 But to me, it's chasing quirkiness to a fault.
05:20 And why does the speedometer have
05:21 to be this center-mounted thing that's as big as my head?
05:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:26 OK, I get it.
05:33 That quirkiness attracts some people.
05:35 There's a certain joy in driving and owning something
05:38 that's just different.
05:39 And even though it's not for me, I
05:41 admire how unapologetic this car is.
05:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:46 This is a car so focused that I can't help but smile
05:52 when I'm driving it, when I'm around it,
05:55 when I'm talking about it.
05:56 It's such that I can almost forgive
05:58 that interior and that helmet.
06:01 Never mind that it's not as functional as the four-seater.
06:04 It's fun.
06:05 And why aren't more cars today built with fun in mind?
06:08 Why don't we demand more from our cars than just
06:11 bland transportation devices?
06:13 I'd rather have a car that's fun and compromised but interesting
06:18 than any of the cars on America's top selling list.
06:20 And that is the attraction of the MINI Coupe.
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06:56 (gentle music)