MINI have kindly provided us with a MINI Cooper S to live with for a week. 24th November: Day2, Getting Familiar

Delivery Miles: 2483
Miles today: 72
Total miles covered: 113
Average MPG (according to trip computer): 29.6 mpg (imperial)
Average Speed (according to trip computer): 29.8 mph
Pictures: Photos from the day
Forum discussion: Here

Day two of living with the new MINI Cooper S, and the advantages of having a car to live with in order to be able to offer a more valuable and considered opinion are starting to show. Living with the new MINI as our family car, compared to our current 2006 MINI Cooper S is already starting to be a little more revealing.

Lets start the small niggles and moans we’ve picked up on. The radio, a “Boost CD” unit, is really not that good. From our impressions listening to CDs it’s not as good as the old MINIs “Boost” set up, the sounds seems a little more hollow somehow, but I’m no audiophile, I just listen to a lot of music and like to sound good, and the Boost system is OK. The FM quality seems much of a muchness compared to the old system, but listening to AM radio (my old favourite BBC Five Live), sounds again very hollow, I usually listen to this station on DAB at home, and AM in the MINI, but I’ve never struggled to tell who’s voice I was listening to until I put it on in the new car.

The seats, all cloth sports seats in this particular MINI, are very comfortable, and very grippy. However the drivers seat cloth base (the bit your bum goes on, not the underside) is looking a bit saggy already. If this is a case of early wear and tear, or poor fit in the first place we cant say, but it doesn’t look great. We tried to photograph it, but with the check pattern and general fit it was pretty much impossible to demonstrate in an image the ripples in the fabric.

Finally, for us most worryingly, the window creaks, just about all the time. It sounds similar to small rain drops falling on the glass the entire time you’re driving, and if you put on the slightly whistley fans, or the radio, then you cant hear it, but if you drive in silence, in particular on the country lanes, it chatters away almost constantly. Once you pick up on it (if you do), it’s annoying.

On the plus side, in almost avery aspect the new MINI is a better, quicker, more practical car than the old model. The rear seat access is much improved, the comfort is up a great deal, and even with the “non sports” suspension the handling feels that much more assured than the old S. In fact, this is the area that has pleased us most. Having only driven second generation MINIs with Sports suspension up until now, it’s a bit of a revelation to drive the standard set up. While the ride can feel a little more soft and bouncy over undulating roads, the grip and road manners are much better. There’s a “corner with a hump” near our place that if you hit a little too fast in our 2006 S with SS+, you end up on at least in the middle of the road, no two ways about it. In the new car, while as passengers you feel you’re thrown up and down a little more, the car stays more planted on the road and carries on with much less fuss.

So, while there are a few gripes and mumbles, overall, only two days in, the new MINI is really starting to impress, and feels a better car in almost every way. More comfortable, more refined, faster and better handling (didn’t think I’d be saying that) than the previous model. The fuel consumption though is still under whelming, we certainly hope that improves over time!