2015 Mini Cooper S Hardtop 4-Door Automatic - Instrumented Test - Car and Driver (blog)
The denizens of the Mini publicity mill are fond of making go-kart allusions in describing their brand’s products, and those allusions have some foundation in fact. Consider our test car, the new four-door version of the Mini Hardtop, in 189-hp Cooper S tune. It has gunfighter reflexes, hardly a trace of body roll, transient responses reminiscent of a mongoose tormenting a cobra, and steering that’s both quick (2. 5 turns lock-to-lock) and precise to several decimal places. The net-net is a car capable both of distinguishing itself at an autocross and of making its owner feel like Fernando Alonso at track days. Track Day Is Not Every Day That’s all good. And assessed as an everyday car, the Mini has less endearing dynamic traits. Output of the turbocharged 2. 0-liter four is respectable, and allied with a six-speed automatic, it delivers brisk forward progress. A six-speed manual gearbox is also available, delivering positive engagements and a mechanical feel that seems to belong to an earlier era—in a good way. Source: www.caranddriver.com
