Prime
The highly customised 2018 Mini Cooper
The Mini Cooper is a cheerful little car, with playful styling and enthusiastic performance coupled with a light weight that navigates corners with ease. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
The Mini Cooper is a cheerful little car, with playful styling and enthusiastic performance coupled with a light weight that navigates corners with ease.
The 2018 Mini Cooper is either a two- or four-door hatchback. Its relatively small shape makes it unexpectedly quick, but its hatchback, practicality is what makes a lasting impression.
Little on the Mini Cooper has changed from last version such as a standard rear view camera and some package reshuffling; the back seats can be folded for more boot space. Additionally, while the fuel gauge is digital in some 2018 versions, the turning indicator did not change.
The Mini Cooper is also offered in a soft-top convertible, or as a cool four-door wagon with swinging doors at its tail called the Clubman. Regardless of body style, any Mini is instantly recognisable on the road.
The Cooper is powered by a chunky turbo charged 3-cylinder engine. Turbo charged 3-cylinder engine cars rely on eager steering and the Cooper’s relative light weight supplements the shortcomings of that engine. While it negotiates corners exceptionally well, its speeds are not that good on a straight road.
Styling
The 2018 Mini Cooper looks amazing and that is complimented by the endless supply of customization options. The multiple variations in the Mini Cooper 2018 model make it look better than great.
Interior and exterior
One would be forgiven for mistaking this car with the version released 15 years ago. While the 2018 model interior presentation is the universal Mini lineup, it manages to look fresh, thanks to its high degree of customisation. That is because it is comfort oriented. Motorists will be glad to learn that most components are where they would expect them to be and the switches are easy to understand. As a bonus, the optional head-up display switch has been moved from the central stack to the other side of the steering wheel. That aside, round, eyeball vents build toward a large round centre display that houses the infotainment screen and mood ring that changes colour depending on drive mode. While it may seem like a lot to take in initially, deeper analysis reveals that all these shiny buttons and switches help to add color to the dull trim.
Oval lights on the front fenders, upright windshield, standard LED headlights, white-trimmed interior, synthetic leather, 15-inch wheels, and a 6.5-inch infotainment screen with Bluetooth connectivity and an oblong grille which normally holds the car logo make this model worth the purchase.
While the convertible and Clubman models are nearly identical from the front fenders forward, they diverge in wheelbases, cargo space, and obviously their roofs.
Performance.
While straight-line speed is not the 2018 Mini Cooper’s best attribute, it negotiates corners with ease. The base engine is a 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder.It has great braking and handling, and these are reasons enough for its great performance.
Mini uses customisable drive modes to control transmission behaviour accessed via a switch at the base of the shift knob; sport modes firm things while green slows everything down. However regardless of setting, the Mini rides firmly without crashing over bumps.
Comfort & quality
The 2018 Mini Cooper is offered in three different sizes, but the Clubman is the best for families and can comfortably sit four adults despite its short stature. However, even when the hatchback model adds a few more inches for leg room, it is not exactly spacious.
Safety
According to Federal and independent tester they do not agree on the Mini Cooper’s crashworthiness. However, they gave the Cooper a rare four-star overall rating.
All Mini Coopers are fitted with eight standard airbags; front, side, and side-curtain airbags that cover the windows. Knee airbags are included for front passengers.
There is a rearview camera that makes reversing very easy as the back view is displayed on the infotainment screens.
Outward vision is not the Mini’s best feature, despite its small shadow but the roof supports are thicker than they appear. At least a rearview camera is standard.
Unique features
The 2018 Mini Cooper can be as unique as a fingerprint, but much easier to see. The automaker offers countless ways to customise the interior and exterior, but none of them are cheap.
The Mini Cooper was redesigned three years ago, with the most noticeable change being a longer nose. The taillights are also a little more squared.
OTHERS
According to www.motoring.com.au Cooper’s most basic turbo triple offers ample performance with a bit of character in what is a compact, lightweight package, while the 2.0-litre turbo four in the Cooper S and more powerful JCW delivers incremental performance gains in both models.
