MINI Cooper S 5-door: Have your cake and eat it

The last car I reviewed was an automotive icon. Thankfully, we don’t live in a world where there can be only one. Last week, I had the pleasure of driving another iconic set of wheels in the form of the 5-door MINI Cooper S.

No other car can be personalised as much as a MINI without looking kitschy. You could spend hours on the interactive configurator to find the perfect design for yourself, but sitting inside the car is the best way to appreciate all of its little customisable details. Only then will you understand what it means to make this car your own. It’s about joining a club, but still being able to express your individuality.

The MINI has a cult following built up over decades of heritage and motorsport history. In the realm of hot hatches, the MINI Cooper S has often been compared with many traditional rivals, but none of them has been able to continue delivering the slightly raw and analogue experience of the MINI.

That was my impression when I started up the engine in the press car and drove out of the MINI showroom at Eurokars Habitat. It’s a supermini and you feel it when you’re seated inside – even in the 5-door model – but it never feels claustrophobic. Despite the increase in dimensions over the previous generation, you still have a good idea of where the front corners of the car are, thanks to the raised headlights poking up just above the dashboard.

The handling characteristics of a MINI make every journey behind the wheel fun and engaging. The Cooper S’ 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo engine produces 192 bhp and, through its 6-speed Steptronic Sport gearbox, delivers very linear acceleration from a standing start. It’s nippy and will go from zero to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds, numbers that easily earn it a place in the “more than good enough” category on Singapore’s roads.

The press car came with the John Cooper Works sports leather steering wheel, with the JCW badge at the bottom spoke, perforated leather, and contrast stitching in chilli red. To say it was a delight to hold is an understatement. The steering, naturally, is weighted on the heavier side for greater driver engagement.

The bucket-like sports seats for front occupants were comfortable even for hour-long drives, and they kept me in place despite going around sweeping bends at excitable speeds.

MINIs have been (in)famous for their firm suspension which contributed to their lauded handling, although that also earned them complaints from passengers who didn’t share the same enthusiasm for the sporty experience. Thankfully, the Cooper S comes with Dynamic Damping Control, which allows drivers to decouple the settings for the powertrain and chassis when they favour ride comfort over the unfiltered road sensations. It means you can still enjoy the exciting acceleration and exhaust note without the overly bumpy ride. The default damping is also a lot more refined than the car’s predecessor, providing a reasonably pliant ride that’s almost comparable to our family’s Golf.

In several ways, this MINI has grown up. With each generation’s unveiling, overall dimensions have had to increase, thanks in part to safety requirements. In so doing, however, MINI has also taken the opportunity to provide greater convenience and practicality in the form of rear legroom and boot space.

 

Particularly for the 5-door model, passengers can now access the back row with more dignity, although their door openings are smaller than what you might expect. There’s also enough head- and legroom for rear passengers, even when the seats in front are positioned for occupants with above-average height. At 278 litres, boot capacity is 30% larger than the 3-door’s – it’s still not spacious, but it’s definitely more usable.

Having said all that, perhaps the most important issues have nothing to do with any of these. When the new hatchback was unveiled to the world, many vocal pockets of the internet and media lamented it had grown too big and was no longer a MINI. Some dismissed the 5-door model, saying it was not true to the MINI ethos. Others complained the car had lost its identity thanks to its softer suspension.

These MINI purists may have a point – or several – but the average person has also grown in stature over the years, and so the MINIs of today shouldn’t just be built for smaller people to enjoy. For someone who hasn’t bought into the idea of the Countryman, the 5-door Cooper means you don’t have to give up on MINI ownership despite growing responsibilities in life. As for the softer suspension, it makes a lot of sense when you have more people in the car with you, because you don’t have to listen to as many complaints as you otherwise would with a stiffer ride.

If anything, the 5-door feels like a natural progression of its 3-door sibling, and these are changes I’d happily live with. I had a couple of issues with the car though. The brakes felt a little soft for a hot hatch, and operating the handbrake causes your left forearm to knock against the central armrest. The first is a relatively easy fix, whilst the second is a design compromise that can be circumvented by stowing away the armrest altogether.

When it comes to choosing a hot hatch, it’s no surprise that the MINI often gets pitted against the Volkswagen Golf GTI. They may appear similar on paper, but numbers don’t tell the whole story.

The GTI is built on the practicality of a family hatchback. That foundation makes it an established and reliable all-rounder. You can drive it like a regular Golf if you so desire, but when you’re in the mood, the power is easily attainable. It’s simple, precise and almost clinical in the way it goes about things. It’s very German, and that’s not a bad thing when it comes to cars.

On the other hand, the MINI Cooper S has always been a supermini, and the British marque never hesitated when it came to sacrificing practicality in its preservation of the MINI’s ethos. The car is about delivering fun to the driver, which I’d imagine had sometimes been a double-edged sword, as the car’s perpetually excitable nature can quickly become tiresome for those who don’t share the same passion for spirited driving. An ex-colleague who owned the R56 (previous generation) likened the car to a Jack Russell Terrier, always raring to go.

It’s a good thing then that the latest generation allows drivers to customise the car’s settings to their moods. And with the extra space in the back thanks to the additional doors and larger luggage capacity, MINI owners can now have their cake and eat it.

Thankfully, we don’t live in a world where there can be only one.

Special thanks to Eurokars Habitat and BMW Asia for this opportunity.