FIRST DRIVE We liked electric MINI, but is petrol car better?
John McIlroy John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk@johnmcilroy
MINI is pushing relentlessly towards electrification – with two EV versions of its latest, all-new generation of three-door hatchback a case in point. But the brand knows that plenty of customers aren’t ready to leave combustion power just yet – so it is also launching petrol editions of the same model, and we’ve had our first chance to try one of them.
Although the new J01 MINI EV sits on bespoke all-electric components, the petrol version of the same car, codenamed F66, uses an updated version of the previous generation’s UKL1 architecture. The idea is that the same ‘top hat’ gets fitted over different underpinnings – but the EV and petrol cars aren’t quite identical; the ICE models are very slightly longer, a little narrower and, as you might expect without a battery in the floor, a few millimetres lower overall.
The general look is the same, though, with the classic MINI shape shorn of adornments and the panel surfacing smoothed out to the point where some may call it cool and sophisticated, and others might think it a bit (whisper it) dull.
Petrol power remains a much cheaper way into MINI ownership, of course. The basic MINI Cooper starts at £23,135, the thick end of seven grand less than the cheapest electric model.
For now, the petrol car is available with two different engines. The MINI Cooper features a 1.5-litre three-cylinder motor producing 154bhp and 230Nm – enough for a 0-62mph time of 7.7 seconds. But here we’re driving the Cooper S, which packs a four-cylinder 2.0-litre engine with 201bhp and 300Nm of torque, and slashes 1.1 seconds off the Cooper’s 0-62mph figure. A hot JCW version is on the way too.
There’s no manual-gearbox option this time; both versions use the same seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and most editions don’t even get steering-wheel paddles that would allow you to override whatever the transmission has determined as the best course of action.
Still, there is far more good news to report here than negative, because on the road, the Cooper S feels every bit a modern MINI. The engine has excellent punch from low down, making the car feel really nippy as you squirt it through traffic. Yet there’s a real duality to its character; if you’re pushing along, it delivers an artificially enhanced roar and the occasional pop from the exhaust. But if you’re pootling around town, the auto gearbox
