Mini Cooper claws grow sharper

As is the norm these days it has also grown slightly longer, wider and a bit taller and under its stubby hood its previous 1.6-litre, naturally-aspirated engine has been replaced by a 1.5-litre force-fed three cylinder that sounds good and kicks out 100kW and 220Nm (and up to 230Nm on overboost) which Mini says is good enough for a 0-100km/h sprint in just under 8 seconds.

But as is traditionally the case with Mini, it is not so much its straight-line speed that makes the Cooper so huggable but the way is sprints out of the stalls and sticks to the bitumen, as the new Cooper and Cooper S were happy to display along the lovely winding road between Gordon's Bay and Hermanus.

Fond memories

It brought back fond memories of the manner in which the early Minis performed on the raceways of the world, lifting their inside rear wheels around fast, tight corners in a pose that closely resembled a dog having a wee against a tree.

However, the newest Cooper doesn't even hint at lifting a wheel when you throw it into a corner at speeds that would make other cars squeal and squirm. Ok, so the new, smaller Cooper is not easy to master initially, particularly because the clutch tends to grab low down and the six-speed box is not all that creamy smooth, but this adds to its playful nature.

Spend R65,000 more than you would on the "ordinary" Cooper and you can slide in behind the wheel of a Cooper S which feels faster, smoother and classier. Thanks to its lively 2.0-litre turbo-charged which pumps out 141kW and 280Nm it is just over a second faster than the standard Cooper.

The S accelerates smoother than the standard cooper and feels as though it's never going to run out of steam as it heads for its flat-on- the-floor speed of 235km/h. On paper its slightly faster sprint time doesn't seem to too impressive but you become instantly aware of its sharper feel and performance the minute you fire it up and floor it.

Worth it

Click it into S for Sport mode and it serves up a double instead of the single shot the non-Cooper serves up. Smiling comes easily when you show the S the whip and like a thorough- bred race horse it eagerly delivers. To me the S is well worth its more expensive price tag. It sounds, feels and handles like a true race-bred Mini should. Armed with a manual shift it certainly is the cub in the Cooper litter with the sharpest teeth and nails.

Both the Cooper and the Cooper S are available with more expensive automatic transmissions which will probably be sniffed at by enthusiastic drivers but should appeal to those who face the daily frustration and strangle of rush-hour traffic. The cool gang and the trendy ladies who think either a pink Suzuki Jimny, bright blue Citroen C1, fire-engine red Fiat 500 or two-tone Mini Cooper S is the only mode of transport to be seen arriving in at the gym, restaurant or coffee shop, will probably also opt for the Cooper auto versions.

No matter which transmission you opt for the new Cooper is a classy and attractive car that oozes emotional appeal and also scores well in key departments of fuel consumption, connectivity technology, comfort, safety, top notch quality and finish, bucket loads of sporty flair and pleasant ride comfort.

Extras

Exterior design has improved with clever cosmetic touches and buyers now have a choice of five body colours with a roof in contrasting colour at no extra cost. In terms of size the Cooper has been stretched by 98mm and raised by 7mm. The seats have been re-designed and the back seats can now also be split 60:40.

Driving pleasure has also been increased with MINI Head-Up-Display, parking assistant, rear-view camera and driving assistant (including camera-based active cruise control), collision and pedestrian warning with initial brake function, high beam assistant and road sign detection.

The Cooper's go-kart character has also been further enhanced with new suspension technology and reduced body weight. Standard features on the car include Dynamic Stability Control (including Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) and Electronic Differential Lock Control (EDLC), (in the MINI Cooper S) also Performance Control. Dynamic Damper Control is now also an option for the first time in MINI. The braking, too, has been improved and all variants now also flash light 16-inch alloys as standard (18-inchers are an optional extra).

The new Coopers and their prices (including a two-year, unlimited distance warranty, five-year /100,000km Motor plan which has been upped from a three-year /75,000km Motor plan) are: