What do you guys think - does the new MINI look better than ever?! Or would you choose another small hatch instead? LIKE this comment if you'd choose the MINI, or COMMENT with what you'd go for instead!
I bougth recently a Mini Cooper 5 doors from 2017 and I must admit that I am surprised with how good it drives. I have never driven before a car that is so much fun. There are some points that are compromised but in general I think the experience you get is it muth worth it and this you can't find it in most of the small cars.
@@NgocBao-zz8xe I Recently bought a 2018 Cooper S 5 door. No issues at all so far. just really annoying rattles (especially from sunroof). Luckily car was under warranty and BMW replaced sunroof rails at a 3,200$ cost. I recommend checking for rattles and noises while test-driving. take the car on a bumpy road , windows and sunroof closed and radio off and listen for anything. otherwise I love the car
@@d4nyll Worst part is that soft limiters are truly pointless... Theyre only there to annoy car enthusiasts, 90% of drivers wont even know the car got a soft limiter.
Love my countryman jcw.. Had more comments about it then any of the alfa qvs I've owned.. Fast, great sounding exhaust, great fun on moutain roads and plenty of space and fits skis or moutain bike in back.. To be honest I don't like the Cooper looks the jcw looks more angry box which kinda grows on you
@Teamgeist The difference is only the slightly more projecting line/shape on the corner of the back bumper, and in objective, ie real measured terms, it's marginal. Against that the extra rear doors (with electric windows! ... only fixed windows on the 3-door) and the extra boot space is a huge practicality improvement on a car which is very impractical in 3-door form.
genuinely don’t care at this point I just think this thing looks fckn cool 🤣🤣 in a darker colour with all the trim blacked out? Sorted. It certainly beats some of the dull slabs of metal that are plastered all over the roads currently.
I love Minis! There’s something classic about them but also modern, like a old car in the exterior but a race car in the interior IMO. Of course depends on which model you have. It will definitely be my first car (not this model specifically).
@@Harribelt I agree that some of the new minis don't look the best, however discrediting beauties like the new jcw clubman is wrong. The interiors have definitely improved as well. but your point about the proper british mini is fact.
@@Harribelt Well the John cooper works is by far the most powerful car in its class with 231 hp. A Ford Fiesta ST for example only got 200 hp. That’s a big difference.
I love the Mini! I don't find it girly, because you can make it look quiet mean with that piano black exterieur. I love the looks even more with the LCI2. It drives like a charm, it's so compact and nimble, really enjoyable. I just wish there was a 5 door JCW, that's so sad!
@@crabrangoon2493 Bad, second Susan's comment. I'm from N.Ireland. Just a punt but I've noticed us and the scots share a lot of slang. I just think it distorts the design of the original to the point where it looks awkward as if the F56 Mini's weren't bloated and oddly proportioned enough. Got my hopes tentatively up for gen4 where we're expected to see a return to form.
I have the MINI JCW and it's the dogs shiny bits, I've had compliments on it's looks in white/silver with a red roof when parked up but it has three doors and not five so looks uber cool and the performance is amazing. The inside is indeed quirky and it's so comfortable. Mine has all the toys which work well, remember this is a premium brand it's a BMW. Matt picks up on things that I'd never experienced any problem with, think he was a bit picky and I've had no problem with hard braking from speed. Yes it's a firm ride and there's engine noise when worked but what does that matter when your looking that good?
Mini's sure have really good handling and feel. Makes you smile while you're driving it. And they look awesome. Considering you have that silver white with red roof, must look sick :D
Mr Matt always being honest about the pros and the cons of the car, and you as customer get to decide whether you'd still want to buy the car or not . . . Keep it up . . .
Just bought myself a 2017 Cooper S 5 door. Mine is all back with JCW bits and it only has 24,000 miles. I’m delighted with my choice, it’s a hoot to drive. A heck of a lot cheaper than the new one, which is a lot of money and out of my price bracket.
I'll be honest. This car is so full of quirks. I feel like this video should be titled "Style over substance?" Instead of the C-HR review. So many sacrifices and annoyances for styling.
It's very difficult to articulate just how much fun these cars are. Bought my wife an F56 Cooper S and she is constantly moaning about me 'borrowing' it at the weekend! Visibility is somewhat restricted but otherwise, this is just a pure fun machine.
Yet all major British manufacturers are either supplied to or straight up owned by Germans. Rolls is BMW. Aston's engines and electronics is AMG. Jaguar and Land rover are owned by India's Tata. Soooo that leaves us with TVR. Wait, does TVR even exist anymore?
I do agree about the armrest though! It gets in the way of changing gear on a manual and the handbrake too. Even when you fold it back out of the way, it's still, in the way
The facelift does it no favours that’s for sure. I owned a pre-facelift Cooper 3 door for nearly 3 years and I loved it. A real characterful car. I drove mine from home in the UK down to Monte Carlo via some great Alpine passes. It was great fun. MINIs get under your skin when you own one. The only disappointment for me was fuel consumption. I would own another.
That instability when braking hard caught me by surprise as well on the F56 3-door Cooper S! It feels like you are braking on wet road, very scary - and I believe it is simply due to no weight being in the back. The car would probably drive better and brake more stable with 4 bags of cement in the boot. Took me a lot of time on the track to regain confidence in the car - you just need to believe that the tires do really have traction in corners, and the braking instability isn’t a sign you are driving on slippery road or worn tires.
I own a 2014 cooper s and when it is just me in the car it is scary to absoulety send it on the country roads with the heavy breaking; however, a good amount of shopping with some heavy items from the garden center in the back, and immediately, the car feels so so much better. Almost as if it needs some ballast adding to the rear to make it stickier, but I imagine that'd have impacted emmsions standards and road tax etc etc in the EU.
The question we all ask ourselves, how many times did Mat have to film the scene where he filled the back cup holder with water? You can clearly see that it is wet around the outside (;
The pre face-lift versions looked much nicer and less fussy. I've got a 3 door cooper S and it's brilliant. Handles well, fun to drive and throw around yet still gets near 40mpg. 2015 model with none of the opf filters
I don't understand; Matt said: 'I would go for the manual', but then recommended the auto/ dual-clutch gearbox to save any faffing around. Perhaps he should have tried the manual box though, as I hired a MINI Cooper for a week recently (and also test-drove a Cooper S) and my first impression was that the clutch was way too stiff in traffic, plus I kept crunching the gearbox when trying to drive it swiftly and coming down the box. You may argue that as an owner I would get used to it, but that really put me off, and as a so-called driver's car it should have a perfect box if they're offering it with a manual. PS. This is yet another video where Matt didn't address the titular question.
Personally, as a mini owner, I'd get the first or second generation of the F series Mini. I've got a 15 plate mini, the F55, which is the first model of this generation, and it's far better looking and more practical in my opinion (for example the armrest in the one I've got doesn't obstruct the handbrake)
It’s probably the RFT with handling and driving. Had them on my BMW and replaced fronts for Michelin’s PS4 and it’s massive difference. Much better, comfier and quieter
I think that Mini owners love that other people hate them. I’ve owned a 2 door Cooper S and a countryman. Both cars had quirks which anyone else would have got mad with and thrown in the towel. If you can get past this and enjoy the styling, and the feel of the drive, then you’ll be a happy camper. Those that want reliability and functionality need not apply.
It’s quite fun to drive. Visibility and cabin design functionality are awful though. The standard brakes BMW are putting on cars these days is an absolute joke considering the power they have
Expensive but the interior quality is way ahead in its class, I don't know any other small car with this good interior. And not to mention frameless windows are amazing.
@@k2singh877the interior is shocking, the 2019 model doesn’t come standsrd with either carplay or navigation. An A class same year has a much nicer interior
@@oliversears9867 I'm not talking about features but interior quality. In my personal opinion A class interior is more futuristic but mini has better-built quality. A class has wobbling panels. I mean you may like modern interior but mini interior is different, not bad. Secondly Mini is a small size hot hatch. A class is way bigger than Mini, Not a fair comparison and even the companies don't treat them as rivals. A-class rivals are BMW 2 series and Audi A3. And A-45 is way powerful and more than twice as expensive as a Mini. While Mini rivals are Golf GTI or Ford Focus RS or i20N, But basically Mini has no rivals as its in it's own category. The design(3 door) The luxury interior and then the performance which is not the best when it come to handling or power delivery but still amazing, makes it special.
Sorry Matt I have a 2021 Mini Cooper S and it is absolutely amazing. You are a little bit off on this subject this is not just about the looks but it is the performance that stands out the most. Great show.
The Mini became maxi during the last years. In the beginning it was a perfect city car and it was easy to find parking places. But now you have to pass many parking places beside the road because they are too small. Sad!
Y’all really don’t like change. Car manufacturers are going with the trend, crossovers and suvs seem the be the thing right now and manufacturers are trying to keep up with the changes.
I have just bought a new mini cooper latest edition, July 2021. It suffers from road and tyre noise - changing the tyres made no difference. My 2013 mini is far quieter. My wife and I found the noise so intolerable that we have sold it back to the main dealer after just a few weeks, replacing it with a 10-month old pre-facelift one which is much quieter.
Wait.. so this "178 BHP" 5 door heavy hatchback can do 0-60 in 6.2 seconds yet an old Polo GTI or Fiesta ST 200 which both have near enough 200hp each only do 6.5 0-60 despite being lighter and more powerful?
@@spennell98 He would’ve lost his mind if any other car with 178hp did 0-60 in 6.2. But he seemed unfazed. There’s definitely some sort of negative bias here.
We don't have much of a selection of cars in this class in the US. Admittedly, we did not look at the cars that might be considered competitors. We are happy with our new MINI: the design, the added standard features, the build quality and the driving experience.
I’ve got a 2013 GP as a daily, and I was thinking of getting a new Mini to replace it. The 2022 facelift is hideous, but it’s too late to custom order a 2021. Genuinely annoyed!
We drove a 2020 MINI Cooper sport 5 door (the post facelift one) and my dad was said it was much different to drive than his 3dr 1499GT. The extra length means it isn't as fun as the 3dr car, if anyone is reading this and they are considering the 5dr, see what you think of it. The 3dr is cheaper and really not that much less practical, if you want a bigger MINI go for the Clubman as it's not much more expensive and more refined at higher speeds
Thanks for another great review Matt. The first generation BMW/Mini was true to the original and its Retro gimmick worked. The current batch are bloated, over styled and over-priced. Retro only goes so far against the superior competitors in the marketplace.
The three door is a classic I had one of the very first in scotland with cables not handles to open the door. The first Mini Cooper s was the Veyron of its day truly unbelievable on the roads nothing could live with it.
@@saleh-dt3qj no they shouldn’t, they’re still typically smaller than their rivals in te same class. Times haves moved on, no manufacturers make cars as small as they used to.
@@spennell98 that clubman is a rocket hey! The last JCW I had was a 2009 155kW back in 2010, so really excited for this. I do wish it had the same exhaust note as the outgoing model if I’m honest but it’s hardly a deal breaker. I’m super tempted to go for a JB4 with software to push it closer to 300hp tho 😂
@@ReTrospectiveVids ya stupid regulations have really tuned out fun exhaust pops and bangs! Lol My Clubman has 301 HP or in the UK it’s 306 BHP. It’s wicked fun.
@@spennell98 currently have a 2.0TFSI 162kW Tiguan as the ‘family’ car but really tempted to sacrifice a bit of boot space (got a Thule roofbox) for the same engine as your clubman, but the Countryman 🤩
I’ve got a 2016 Cooper S 5dr with the Works 210 tune and exhaust. Great fun to drive, but the brakes are a bit underwhelming. I do wonder why they reduced the power output from 192 to 178bhp for the new ones. Along with the PPF ruining the exhaust sound, they seem a far less appealing choice now.
I have the exact same 2016 mini but 3dr and I added the jcw exhaust kit. I’m too am surprised it has less power (wondering if it’s to do with the new EU regulations) and they no longer do the Thunder Grey colour so I think I’m gonna keep mine and upgrade the exhaust instead
I test drove one tonight and it immediately made me want one so fun to drive surprised me really wasnt expecting...that handling he talk about is real facts it does get scary lol but if you have experience speeding youll be fine
