MINI Cooper Review

MINI Cooper

The controls are tactile and eye-catching however, the heater and window controls suffer from the retro styling and whilst undeniably cute and totally in keeping with the original MINI are not the easiest to operate.

Storage space inside the cabin of the MINI Cooper is as you would expect of a car of this size - limited and comprises of a glove box, rear passenger cargo nets on the back of the rear seats, deep storage shelf within the dashboard and good size door bins.

The boot is of 'mini' proportions but unlike the original MINI, the bucket-style rear seats do fold down with a 50:50 split and with both seat backs folded down the boot capacity is increased from 150 litres to 670 litres. Lighting in the boot of the MINI Cooper is standard and the rear seats have been designed to accommodate the ISOFIX child-seat system.

Access is relatively easy with the doors opening to 80 degrees making the car wider than it is long when fully open. The driver and front passenger seats fold down and move forward in one easy action. The seats return to their initial position through an ingenious mechanical memory mechanism.

Rear leg room is limited and except for short journeys the rear seats are best suited to children, as adults will undoubtedly find their legs cramped on longer journeys.

Should you need or want to check under the bonnet gas struts help the bonnet open smoothly and remain upright for ease of use without the need for a prop.

Safety and Security

The following safety & security equipment is standard on the MINI Cooper:

Four-sensor ABS (anti-lock braking system), EBD (electronic braking distribution), CBC (cornering brake control), four disc brakes (front ventilated), tyre pressure warning indicator, MINI Mobility System, front driver and passenger 'smart' airbags, front side airbags, three-point safety belts, front seats also fitted with belt pre-tensioners and belt-force limiters as standard, remote central locking and immobiliser (Thatcham category 1).

Our test car was fitted with optional ASC+T (automatic stability control with traction control).

For personal security all MINI's built from September 2002 automatically lock at 9mph and unlock when the ignition is cut.

MINI Cooper