After I picked up the 2025 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2-Door, I knew it’d be enjoyable. Because the fashionable BMW-made MINI’s debut in 2001, the performance-oriented Cooper S fashions have been a blast to drive. Plus, they ooze with character and novelty.
My take a look at automobile wore Sunny Aspect Yellow paint with a black roof, 18-inch wheels, and efficiency tires, and it actually regarded like a very good time. Would it not proceed the Cooper S legacy of being a fun-sized boosted highway rocket?
In brief: The most recent MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2-Door goals to proceed the heritage of providing spirited efficiency and nice driving dynamics in a sensible subcompact bundle. The most recent mannequin presents a bunch of modifications that — for higher or for worse — modernize this MINI whereas nonetheless holding on to being a driver’s automobile (with one main caveat). There’s extra energy, extra tech, and revised styling. However the lack of a handbook gearbox or a strategy to manually choose your personal gears takes away some fanatic attraction, but is an indication of the occasions concerning fashionable vehicles.
Nimble, tight go-kart-like dealing with and braking
Trendy, minimalist, and novel inside
Fast acceleration
Enjoyable styling
No strategy to manually choose gears
Irritating infotainment system
Vital highway and wind noise
May use extra steering really feel
Andy Lilienthal
2025 MINI Cooper S Assessment
(Picture/Andy Lilienthal)
My spouse and I picked this automobile up on the airport after arriving dwelling from a visit. We opened the rear hatch, which had already had the rear seats folded down, and our carry-on baggage was simply swallowed up. This is the reason I like hatchback configurations; they’re so versatile.
I used to be additionally wanting ahead to spending time with an precise automobile. Lately, greater than ever, a tiny MINI thumbs its nostril on the boring crossovers of the world and the jacked-up 4x4s used solely to retrieve one’s offspring from faculty.
No Handbook Shifter, No Handbook Shifting Means
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As soon as I bought into the MINI, I seen it was an computerized. The gear selector is a small tab on the dashboard’s decrease left. You press it right down to go from park to drive. Then it occurred to me that there wasn’t a strategy to manually shift this factor: no paddle shifters, no handbook mode for a gear selector, nothing.
How can the performance-oriented Cooper S not supply the driving force management over gear choice? The brand new Cooper S is a point-and-shoot affair, one thing which will flip off fans.
Spunky Turbocharged Engine
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Twist the key-shaped begin knob, and the TwinPower engine involves life with a satisfying growl. Making 201 horsepower and a wholesome 221 pound-feet of torque, this front-drive hatchback has plenty of zip. MINI claims a 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds and a prime pace of 150 mph. There’s loads of energy to maneuver round this 3,014-pound hatchback.
(Picture/Andy Lilienthal)
Round city, the MINI Cooper S 2-Door looks like a go-kart. Acceleration feels brisk, with easy, fast shifts and a satisfying exhaust notice. In case you had been questioning, the MINI Cooper S 2 Door is rated at 28 mpg metropolis, 32 mixed, and 39 freeway mpg on premium gas.
There’s Actually a Go-Kart Mode
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Sure, there’s an precise Go-Kart mode, considered one of a bunch of “experiences,” as MINI calls them, that modifications the center-mounted gauge cluster’s look and driving dynamics. Go-Kart mode will increase accelerator pedal sensitivity and adjusts computerized shift factors to be held longer, optimizing the engine’s energy for efficiency.
A Scorching-Dealing with Scorching Hatchback
The MINI Cooper S has at all times been identified for its dealing with, and that actually continues for 2025. The automobile has absolutely impartial suspension with entrance and rear stabilizer bars and digital torque vectoring.
(Picture/Andy Lilienthal)
The busy-looking black-and-machined 18-inch alloy wheels are wrapped in grippy 215/40R18 Perelli Cinturato P7 tires. The automobile rides stiffly, and you are feeling each crack within the pavement. Street noise is plentiful, as is a good bit of wind noise.
The hatchback handles just like the aforementioned go-kart. The steering is quick and tight, albeit it might use extra really feel. The automobile is a blast to drive within the corners, because it darts simply and confidently via the twisties. The enjoyable issue is excessive with this hatchback.
Regardless of its measurement, the turning radius is 36.4 ft. By comparability, a Fiat 500e has a 31.5-foot turning radius.
The steering wheel is super-fat and chunky. Actually, the ten and a couple of o’clock positions are comically massive and border on too large. The wheel additionally has stereo controls and cruise management.
Difficult Infotainment
MINIs have at all times had pleasant, upbeat interiors, even when they’re not probably the most ergonomic or simple to make use of. That’s the case with the brand new Cooper S. It’s minimal, fashionable, and sporty, with attention-grabbing textures, supplies, and lighting.
(Picture/Andy Lilienthal)
I like the large spherical heart cluster’s look. It’s actually totally different, however enjoyable and simple to see. The display screen is sensible, however some modes are too shiny at evening and require dimming. Most controls and readouts are dealt with on this display screen.
The HVAC, infotainment, heated seats, steering wheel — and almost every thing else — are managed on the touchscreen. As I briefly talked about earlier than, there are a number of totally different “experiences” you possibly can select from, some altering the efficiency, others, providing a change in aesthetics.
For example, you possibly can choose Eco mode, or a gauge cluster that merely seems to be like an old-timey dial. These modifications are mimicked by the retractable heads-up show — sure, you possibly can disable it.
I discovered the MINI’s infotainment difficult to make use of. Initially, the time was manner off. The navigation system, even when wirelessly hooked to Android Auto, confirmed me to be round 25 miles from the place I actually was. It doesn’t matter what I did, I couldn’t get both to work.
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Easy, Snug Inside
(Picture/Andy Lilienthal)
Know-how apart, the inside is engaging and cozy, at the very least for 2 individuals. Anybody with legs most likely wouldn’t wish to be relegated to the again seat. With the rear seats folded, you’ll get 34.4 cubic ft of cargo-carrying capability; 8.9 cubic ft with the seats folded up. These searching for more room might wish to examine the Cooper S 4-Door.
The entrance seats are snug and heated, and so they supply ample bolstering and help. You’re in a low-slung seating place, which was nice after driving so many crossovers. That is an precise small automobile, a section almost lifeless in North America. I needed to retrain my mind to get out and in without having to step down 1 / 4 of a mile. Refreshing.
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There are two USB-C retailers and a 12V socket in entrance of the armrest. That armrest, nonetheless, is static and doesn’t open up for storage. In entrance of the armrest is a large spot for stuff like telephones, gloves, and so forth., after which two cup holders, and a large vertical space with a strap. This space presents wi-fi cellphone charging, but it surely’s so massive that you possibly can most likely get an iPad or pill there. I want there have been extra cubbies as an alternative.
Outward visibility is nice, and it has one of many crispest rearview cameras I’ve seen.
Retro Styling Executed Proper (Once more)
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Restyling a automobile meant to be a retro tribute will be tough. You don’t wish to lose the unique fashion, however you might want to hold it recent. MINI has carried out this proper since its first refresh, and that continues right here — it’s unmistakably a MINI Cooper.
From the spherical headlights (with illuminated halos) to the general sq. hatchback form, the automobile retains styling cues from the unique 1959 BMC Mini. The restyled semi-triangular taillights present a part of the Union Jack flag, too — regardless of the automobile’s German meeting. The automobile is offered with or with out a black roof. Ours additionally had twin sunroofs.
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2025 MINI Cooper S 2-Door Assessment Wrap-Up: Enjoyable & Funky, Not Excellent
It’s simple to have enjoyable on this automobile. The dearth of a handbook transmission or at the very least a strategy to manually change gears removes from driving luster, however occasions change, and maybe consumers immediately gained’t care. For those who overlook this, the Cooper S is a real driver’s automobile.
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The MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2-Door begins at $34,600. Our tester included the $1,700 Iconic Trim, and $995 price of vacation spot, for a complete of $37,295. Which will seem to be loads for a small automobile, however it is a efficiency sizzling hatch in a tiny, nimble bundle.
Perhaps a John Cooper Works mannequin will give us again our capability to row our personal gears, or at the very least choose them.
