Safe enough; other issues loom larger in my view
Written: Mar 04 '04 (Updated Jun 20 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Styling, character, quick steering, balanced handling
Cons: Low RPM power, heavy steering, awful shifters, ride, rear seat and cargo space, interior materials
The Bottom Line: The styling and handling are good enough to justify buying a MINI. But I'd like to see improvements in the interior materials, shifter, and steering.
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| mkaresh's Full Review: 2004 MINI Cooper |
Two years I test drove a MINI Cooper S and was less than impressed. The car lacked the light, tossable feel and razor-sharp steering I expected from such a diminutive car. But as I noted then that test drive was not performed in the best conditions. I was visiting my family in Virginia, and the roads there were too smooth to evaluate the car’s ride quality. Even worse, the roads there if anything possess fewer curves than those here in Michigan, so my handling evaluation was largely based on turns at intersections. Finally, it was hot, and I had to run the air conditioning, which is especially a burden for small engines. Consequently, I’ve been planning to test drive another MINI for quite some time. Problem is, there are very few dealers, and the only one in the Detroit area is nearly twenty miles from my house.
But yesterday, feeling that a second test drive could wait no longer, I made the drive. I extensively sampled two 2004 MINIs, a fairly stripped Cooper and a fairly loaded Cooper S. In some areas my conclusions this time were far different. Chalk it up to different conditions and how much automobiles have progressed in even just the past two years.
MINI Cooper Reliability
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Styling
The original Mini was a styling icon. The exterior of the new, BMW-crafted MINI perfectly recaptures the essence of the original. This is quite a feat considering that the car has grown two whole feet in length (to meet modern expectations for comfort, safety, and much larger wheels) and been brought thoroughly up-to-date. The stubby nose, long roof, and wheels at the extreme corners—features that made the original so distinctive—are all here. Large wheels play a key role in disguising the growth of the car. Where the original MINI had ten-inch wheels, the new one comes standard with 15s, and 17s are available on the S. Sir Alec would not have approved—such large wheels take up volume that could be better used for other, more practical things. Since the human mind gauges the size of a car largely based on the relative size of the wheels, without another basis for comparison the new MINI looks every bit as compact as the old.
BMW recognized that people would buy MINIs as a statement of their individuality, so they made the exterior of the car highly customizable. The roof and mirrors can be body color, black, or white. Or, if you prefer, the roof can be covered with a huge decal of the Union Jack. Only in America will people want this. Europeans, especially the British, tend to hate flags. Racing stripes can be added to the bonnet (Brit for hood), in black or white. Different wheels are available, with and without white paint. Chrome trim is available for the bumpers. In all, so many different combinations are possible that a creative owner should not have to ever see another MINI just like his or her own.
The MINI’s interior similarly reeks of style. There are endless details to surprise and delight. For example, the row of toggle switches at the foot of the center stack is an interesting touch. In cars without the optional navigation system (which to me makes no sense in such a car) the speedometer is a huge retro-looking dial in the center of the dash. (Hard to read at a glance there, but trendy right now.) In cars with the nav system, the speedometer is housed like the tach in a pod attached to the steering column. Which is more functional, but takes something away from the character of the interior. I’d pass on the nav. It goes without saying that the currently fashionable metallic trim—available in two different finishes on both the Cooper and Cooper S--adorns various surfaces. Clearly a great deal of thought went into this car, unlike most others on the road today. At least this is what my eyes tell me.
Two years ago I was impressed by the quality of the interior materials. What was I thinking? This time around I was shocked by the prevalence of hard plastic on the dash and doors. Worse, the plastic control stalks and knobs felt very insubstantial, even brittle. I kept thinking I was going to break the turn signal clean off the column. Why the change in my evaluation? I think two years ago I was impressed by the appearance and by the nifty toggle switches. This time I paid more attention to how the various bits felt. Also, since then many new small cars have benefited from upgraded materials. The new Mazda3, for example, feels much higher in quality inside. The Chrysler PT Cruiser was already around then, but I had not yet driven one. It also has an impressively well-finished interior. The VW Beetle might suffer from hard plastic even more than the MINI, but this time around did not serve as my primary reference point. At the very least BMW should attend to the feel of the stalks and mirror control knob.
On the exterior, I noted poorly fitting hoods, with large, uneven gaps between them and the fenders.
Accommodations
Last time around I stated, “The new MINI further maintains the spirit of the old by providing a decent amount of room for adults in both the front and rear seat. Sure, this is no Lincoln Town Car, or even a Honda Civic, but two people can actually fit back there as long as the front seats aren’t pushed too far back. Headroom’s the important thing anyway, right? The long high roof means there’s plenty of that.”
True except for the bit about rear legroom. There simply isn’t any unless especially short people occupy the front seats. I drove a MINI last time with a friend who is 5-4. Did I sit behind a front seat adjusted for him? I wouldn’t think so—I generally take care to adjust the front seat for me before checking out the back. But this time around when I adjusted the front seat for myself there was barely enough room between the front seatbacks and rear seat cushion to squeeze in a pair of shins. It’ll do in a pinch, but that’s about it.
Unlike many small cars (such as the Mazda Miata and Scion xB), I did not drive this one with the front seat all the way back. In fact, the front seat slides back until it contacts the rear seat cushion. This permits comfort for the especially long of leg, at the expense of even marginal utility for the rear seat.
Last time around I drove a car with a vinyl interior, and thought it not a bad way to save $1,250 (now $1,300) vis-à-vis the leather. This time around I drove a cloth Cooper and a leather Cooper S. The cloth is nasty stuff, lending the entire interior an econo-car feel. The leather is pretty nice. But the vinyl might still be a good way to save a few bucks.
Similarly, I sampled both the standard Cooper seat and the sport seat optional on the Cooper and standard with the Cooper S. Unless you’re a very casual driver, you want the much better bolstered, more substantial feeling sport seats. The last time around I noted that the seat recline lever is prone to break. It felt more substantial this time, so maybe BMW effected a fix. I’d still prefer a rotary control for finer adjustment, though. I was also less frustrated this time by the seat’s height adjuster. Still, I’d like to see separate adjustments for front and rear seat height, so seat tilt and height could be independently adjusted.
The S I drove was fitted with a dual-pane sunroof that covered nearly the entire roof. The front panel retracts above the rear, fixed pane. Nifty. A pair of shades are provided for exceptionally sunny days.
Cargo room is limited to a row of shopping bags with the rear seat up. It folds in two sections. The resulting floor is far from flat, but does allow for much larger cargo.
On the Road
The last time around I disliked the non-linear nature of the S’s power delivery, and wondered if the less powerful base car is the way to go. This time I drove both back to back to find out.
The 115-horsepower base engine is merely adequate for a 2500-pound car. A slightly more powerful 1.8- or 2.0-liter would be a better fit. With the five-speed manual it moves the car reasonably, but without excitement. It’s a fairly smooth four, but could use more character.
The S’s 163-horsepower supercharged engine is easily the most likeable of the two. Last time I attributed a lack of responsiveness to boost lag. But with a supercharger there should be no such lag, and after my second test drive I no longer think this is the problem. Rather, there isn’t much low-end to this engine. Compared to turbochargers, which use exhaust pressure to drive an intake air compressor, mechanically-driven superchargers have advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is no boost lag. The disadvantages include a greater drain on engine power and less boost at lower RPM. Consequently, while turbos often have plump low ends once the boost is up, supercharged engines can be peaky. The Coooper S engine suffers such peakiness. Until it hits the 4000-RPM torque peak, there’s not a whole lot to work with. Mind you, it produces adequate power low down, but for grins you must wind the bejesus out of the thing. On the flip side, the engine’s top end is quite vibrant. Once past 4000 RPM the engine screams for the redline. All you have to do is keep it there.
The way to do this is by working the gears, and here we come to a continuing major issue with the car. The Cooper’s five-speed and S’s six-speed use different shift mechanisms, and they’re both bad. Both suffer overly long throws and vague action. An extremely long lever doesn’t help, and the round knob isn’t especially comfortable to hold. The six-speed adds to the mix the distinct sound and feel of operating cables. How could BMW have dropped the ball on such a critical system? Beats me. Hoepfully some sort of shift kit is available from the aftermarket.
Last time around I noted a more mechanical feel from the S’s shifter. The feel was much lighter and looser this time around. I’m not sure if the car I drove this time had been broken in more—it had about 700 miles on it, most of them likely hard miles—or if BMW has attempted a fix or two. This six-speed is an unusual twin differential design shared with the Ford Focus SVT and I believe also the Hyundai Tiburon V6. In those cars I also noted a more mechanical feel, but had less of an issue with the shifter overall than in the MINI. None of the three has a stellar shifter. They should get together and find a solution.
My evaluations of the MINI’s handling and ride were also different this time. First, the handling. The 㢨 MINIs still did not feel as light and tossable as I’d like, but their steering felt far quicker than I remember. I like quick steering, and the MINI’s is about the quickest I’ve experienced. What might help is a moderate reduction in steering effort. In hard turns and/or at slow speeds the car feels less agile than it might because of the steering’s heaviness. In more sweeping turns and/or at higher speeds, however, the car’s handling is outstanding. Then the steering feels perfectly weighted. I’d still like a bit more feedback, though. I like a steering wheel to feel alive in my hands, and this one has had much of that sought “alive” quality refined out of it. Admittedly, I might be asking too much. Quickening steering necessarily makes it heavier, and dialing up assistance to lighten it kills feedback. Still, better systems can be found in the Honda S2000 and Mazda RX8. Steering issues aside, the chassis remains a very find piece, with very good balance for a front-wheel-drive car and very little lean in turns. In all regards the S’s sport suspension, optional on the Cooper, makes a noticeably difference, especially in chassis responsiveness and handling sharpness.
Perhaps it was the Michigan roads, but the Cooper especially in S form felt considerably less cushy to me, this despite both cars wearing the base wheel/tire combos. The Cooper had a busy, occasionally jarring ride, and the S’s was even worse. Fitted with the optional 17s I imagine the S would ride worse still. The ride was not the worst I’ve experienced in a currently sold car—the 350Z likely earns that distinction, and the Honda S2000 is no Lincoln Town Car—but its down there near the bottom. Still, in the context of cars I’ve driven in past decades the ride is far from the worst. It’s a testament to how far suspension development has come in the last decade or so that even the worst-riding cars today are not nearly as bad as just about any car with sporting pretensions was twenty years ago.
Fuel economy is less than expected for such a small car, yet pretty good considering the MINI’s mass. EPA ratings are 28/37 for the Coooper, 25/34 for the S. Note those high highway ratings. Especially with the S’s six-speed the engine’s not spinning like crazy on the highway. It turns about 2,400 RPM at 60. Wind and road noise are also moderate, so commuting on the highway shouldn’t be too tiring.
Safety
This is a small, fairly light car, and so it obviously won’t fare well against a huge SUV. But I still don’t think it warrants the “deathtrap” label. First, it’s not all that light. In S form the Cooper weighs about 2,700 pounds, as much as the average compact these days, a few hundred pounds heavier than the current Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, and about 1,000 pounds heavier than the similarly-sized Civic CRX of the mid-1980s. (Which at least partially explains why it lacks the light, tossable feel I liked to much in that old Honda.) Mass matters more than size in a crash, and in terms of mass the MINI simply isn’t all that disadvantaged.
Beyond mass, the MINI’s structure has been designed to perform very well in a crash, as proven by excellent crash test scores. Backing up this structure is just about every safety feature currently on the market. Six airbags and a very sophisticated ABS system (pardon the redundancy) are standard on both models. Traction control is standard on the S, and included with the optional ($500 on either model, also in the sport package) stability control on the Cooper.
Last time I noted a cut-off switch for the front passenger airbag. This was gone this time, it seems replaced by an occupant sensor.
Pricing
For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.
The rest of this section dates from when the review was first written.
MINI prices have barely budged over the past two years. The Cooper now starts at $16,999, the S at $19,999. Of the $3,000 between the two, I’d guess at least $2,000 is for the supercharger and extra gear, with maybe $1,000 for the other extra equipment standard on the S: sport seats, sport suspension, larger wheels, etc.
The Cooper I drove had only two options: $400 metallic paint and the $550 Harman/Kardon sound system. This brought the sticker to $17,949. Edmunds suggests dealers continue to sell MINIs at list. This seems pretty steep for a car with a “stripper” feel. Best add a few more options, though the $350 park distance control seems silly in such a small car.
The Cooper S I drove was relatively loaded, with the $1,300 premium package (nifty sunroof, automatic climate control, cruise, leather wheel with radio controls, trip computer), $1,300 leather upholstery, $500 stability control, and $300 seat heaters in addition to the two options mentioned above, for a total of $24,349. Pretty steep.
What to cut? I don’t see all of the premium package contents as necessary—BMW offers many items on the MINI that seem more suited for a luxury sedan—but the price isn’t much higher than the sunroof ($850) and cruise control ($350) ordered alone. Ordered separately, its contents would cost nearly $2,000. So it’s hard to pass up unless you want only the sunroof—or none of it. As I’ve already mentioned, the leather is a cutting floor possibility. Do without metal bits in your paint and you’ll save another $400. Stability control is nice to have, but $500 is significant money. It comes down to how much driving you tend to do on slick surfaces. Ditto the seat heat with regard to your particular climate. In Michigan, I’d want them. Finally, the sound system. I have no idea how good the base system is, or how much a good aftermarket system would cost. I’ll cut it to get the price down, but that’s not necessarily the way to go.
Cutting all but the premium and cold weather packages would drop the price to $21,599.
For this kind of money there are many viable alternatives, many of them better performing and/or cheaper. For maximum acceleration at this price level, the Dodge Neon SRT-4 is hard to beat at around $20,000 out the door even with the optional sunroof. But the engine is the best thing about the Neon; the rest of the car doesn’t measure up.
The Ford Focus SVT is not as quick as the Dodge or even the Cooper S but is a very well-rounded package. With sunroof and seat heaters it lists for $20,365, but the typical dealer discount and a $2,000 rebate drop this to about $18,365 according to Edmunds. The Focus has a much more usable back seat than the MINI, handles better in some respects and equally well in others, and has if anything a higher grade interior. So it’s a viable way to save over three grand.
For a higher grade interior and very good all-around performance (and the class’s only other optional nav system if you’re into that sort of thing) check out the new Mazda3. With the moonroof and ABS packages the 3 hatch lists for $19,105. Leather adds another $590. (Sadly, seat heaters are not available.) Edmunds suggests only minor discounting so far, though I find this hard to believe. Alas, as with the Dodge if you want only one pair of doors you’re out of luck.
For a Euro hatch check out the VW GTI. Even with the 1.8-liter turbo (a six is also available) it’s easily as quick as the Cooper S, and has a considerably larger interior. Handling is soggier, though, even with the standard sport suspension and $400 17-inch wheels. (I haven’t driven the Golf recently, but have reviewed the very similar Jetta.) Skipping the alloy wheels, but with luxury package (sunroof and upgraded stereo) and heated seats the GTI lists for $21,215, quite close to the MINI. But dealers discount these, dropping the actual price to about $19,500.
Those who have no need for a rear seat might check out a more conventional but less agile sports car, the Hyundai Tiburon. Figure high teens even with V6, sunroof, and leather. The Acura RSX is a much more refined car with a much higher quality interior than the MINI, but in Type S form will set you back about $23,000. And its engine is the peakiest of the bunch.
Of course, none of the above competitors can match the MINI for retro charm. The Beetle and PT Cruiser also lag in this area, but represent a closer match on this criterion. The former in 180-horsepower Turbo S form comes standard with heated leather and stability control, so figure $23,399 for the comparable MINI. The VW lists for $24,425, but the typical discount (Beetles haven’t been the hot thing in years) drops this to about $23,000. So these two are close in price. The MINI is likely the better choice for most people.
The PT Cruiser is available with a base 150-horsepower four, a 180-horse turbo, and a 220-horse turbo. The latter and the sportiest suspension tuning are available only on the GT, which comes loaded with leather and sunroof. A comparable MINI costs $22,899. The PT GT lists for far more, $26,300. But the typical discount and a $2,500 rebate drops this way, way down to about $21,500.
Of course the PT is a much different animal than the MINI. You sit much higher off the ground, and even with the GT’s sport suspension it does not corner nearly as flatly. It rides much better, though, and the steering does have a satisfying tightness to it. In GT form it is quicker than the Cooper S, and torque is much more abundant at low RPM. Obviously, the PT provides much more space for rear passengers and cargo. Finally, its interior is higher in quality. All in all, it seems the much better buy. But if you want an ultra-compact car with extra-quick steering, then the MINI cannot be beat.
Overall, the list prices compare well with other list prices, but the unavailability of discounts make the MINI pricey. I’d personally prefer a PT Cruiser among retromobiles, and either a Focus or Mazda3 among sporting hatches.
Last Words
Ultimately, the MINI has three strong points: style, character, and handling. In most other respects the car is at best acceptable. Shifter feel, ride quality, rear seat legroom, and interior materials are the car’s major weaknesses. If these don’t concern you, and you just love the look of the car, then by all means buy one. There is, after all, no rational argument possible against aesthetic attraction.
Note that I do not count safety as a major weakness. Given its structural design and safety features, the MINI should be only marginally less safe than the average midsize sedan. Sure, neither will do well against a large SUV, but for me this hardly justifies the only logical implication, putting everyone in a large SUV. Then we’d all be less safe, as large SUVs are not as good at avoiding accidents.
To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, visit www.truedelta.com.
My reviews of related vehicles:
Acura RSX
Chrysler PT Cruiser Turbo
Ford Focus SVT
Hyundai Tiburon
Mazda3
VW Jetta GLI
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 24,349
Model and Options: Cooper with stereo; Cooper S with premium package, heated leather
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