2012 Mini Cooper S Coupe - Fun Over Function? Ignition Episode 11 - video Dailymotion

MotorTrend

On this episode of Ignition

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:02 This week on Ignition, something a little different.

00:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:08 When I think of a mini, I think of a car that's

00:20 interesting, if a bit eccentric.

00:23 I think of a city car that wants desperately to stand out.

00:27 And it isn't until a few tugs at the wheel

00:29 do I remember how much fun they are.

00:32 Now this car in particular, this is the Coupe.

00:34 And what Mini's done here is a bit crazy.

00:37 They've removed the back seats from the hardtop model,

00:40 lengthened it slightly, and focused on--

00:42 I'm quoting the PR line here--

00:44 making it fun to drive.

00:47 We'll come back to that in a little bit.

00:48 But what I'm curious is, how does a Mini handle a city?

00:52 After all, the beauty of the Mini Cooper

00:54 is its competency as a commuter.

00:57 The Coupe's turning circle is just slightly larger

00:59 than a Mazda 2.

01:01 But the Mini's actually shorter in length.

01:03 It's easy to see out of, and it's easy to park.

01:06 Rated at 30 MPG combined, it gets decent gas mileage too.

01:11 The interior is well equipped, as it

01:13 should be for an as-tested price of over $32,000.

01:17 I have comfortable seats.

01:18 I have navigation.

01:19 I have an iPod hookup, and so on.

01:23 And then you stick your foot into it.

01:26 What's that noise?

01:27 That is the turbocharger attached

01:31 to the side of this 1.6 liter inline four under the hood.

01:35 It makes 181 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque.

01:40 That engine is connected, thankfully,

01:42 to a real six-speed manual.

01:44 The Mini also has a spoiler that deploys automatically

01:48 at 50 miles an hour.

01:50 Thing is, Mini isn't only claiming

01:52 this is the most fun Cooper around,

01:54 but it's also the fastest model to model.

01:57 Let's see if that's the case.

01:58 So when you enter a corner, the Mini Coupe bites hard,

02:08 sets in line, and pushes just slightly.

02:12 I like the way it drives, though,

02:13 because it's not unrelenting understeer.

02:15 It gives you options once you face that limit.

02:18 You lift off the throttle, the back end

02:20 will move around just a little bit.

02:21 And it gives you that certain degree of security

02:24 to know that everything is safe, but you can still have fun

02:27 while you're pushing it hard.

02:29 This would be a great car on a canyon road.

02:31 So I have sport mode on, traction and stability

02:39 control off.

02:39 Now, launching the Mini Coupe is a little tricky.

02:42 There's a fine line between bogging the engine

02:44 and roasting the tires.

02:45 The sweet spot seems to be about 2,800 RPM.

02:49 So you dial that in, dump the clutch,

02:52 ride the wheel spin through first gear.

02:54 Doesn't seem to chirp to second.

02:56 And then all you got to do is hit your shifts after that.

02:58 60 miles an hour, 6.4 seconds.

03:01 The quarter mile, 14.8 seconds at 95 miles an hour.

03:07 And that's pretty much what we'd expect this car to do.

03:11 It's got the same power to weight ratio as Mazda Miata,

03:14 and it runs at about the same speed.

03:18 Now we begin our 60 to 0 braking test.

03:23 Pedal feel is pretty good.

03:25 The car doesn't wiggle that much.

03:26 It's not like you'd expect from a short wheel based car.

03:29 Actually feels pretty good.

03:32 So Mini's right.

03:33 This is the fastest Cooper S we've ever tested.

03:36 In fact, it's just a tenth or two slower

03:38 than the last John Cooper Works version we had.

03:41 And that car has 208 horsepower.

03:44 Still, outright speed has never been

03:47 the priority of the Mini Cooper.

03:49 Now this thing is focused on fun.

03:52 And my favorite part is testing that claim.

03:54 It is fun.

04:05 I can't help but love the way this thing drives.

04:08 The steering feel is brilliant.

04:10 It's communicative.

04:11 It's playful.

04:12 The pedal placement allows for effortless heel toe shifts.

04:15 The shifter's throws are a little long,

04:18 but it's still fun to row the gears.

04:20 I get the sense that I can just throw this thing into a corner

04:23 with the same recklessness that a kid throws around a dodgeball

04:26 with.

04:27 And I simply adore the soundtrack from this engine.

04:30 This may be one of the most engaging sounding turbo

04:32 4s on the market today.

04:34 It has a wonderful growl.

04:36 It backfires and burbles and pops.

04:39 And then you get the whoosh of the turbocharger building

04:42 boost.

04:43 I simply can't resist holding onto gears through higher revs.

04:47 This car is so willing and engaging,

04:49 it's basically begging for me to do irresponsible things.

04:53 So it's unfortunate that it has to look the way it does.

04:57 You see, eccentricity isn't so much a trait of Minis

05:00 as it is a design focus.

05:02 And that's unfortunate, because you end up

05:04 with a car that doesn't look so much

05:06 like a descendant of the original Mini,

05:08 but a caricature of it.

05:10 I'll just say it.

05:10 This helmet looks silly.

05:12 And this interior is trying too hard.

05:14 I get it.

05:15 This is supposed to be a quirky car.

05:17 But to me, it's chasing quirkiness to a fault.

05:20 And why does the speedometer have

05:21 to be this center-mounted thing that's as big as my head?

05:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]

05:26 OK, I get it.

05:33 That quirkiness attracts some people.

05:35 There's a certain joy in driving and owning something

05:38 that's just different.

05:39 And even though it's not for me, I

05:41 admire how unapologetic this car is.

05:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]

05:46 This is a car so focused that I can't help but smile

05:52 when I'm driving it, when I'm around it,

05:55 when I'm talking about it.

05:56 It's such that I can almost forgive

05:58 that interior and that helmet.

06:01 Never mind that it's not as functional as the four-seater.

06:04 It's fun.

06:05 And why aren't more cars today built with fun in mind?

06:08 Why don't we demand more from our cars than just

06:11 bland transportation devices?

06:13 I'd rather have a car that's fun and compromised but interesting

06:18 than any of the cars on America's top selling list.

06:20 And that is the attraction of the MINI Coupe.

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06:53 [MUSIC PLAYING]

06:56 (gentle music)

2012 Mini Cooper S Coupe - Fun Over Function? Ignition Episode 11

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