Coupe

So this week BMW/Mini has sent me the new Mini Coupe to review and the first thing I have to start with is the roof. I'd say it looks like a chav wearing a baseball cap backwards......and since I'm not exactly a huge fan of 'chav attire', this doesn't bowed well. So the looks will definitely divide opinion, but you can't always judge a book by its cover (The Nissan Leaf is an obvious exception to this rule......) and since this is the Cooper S model, which pumps out a not to shabby 184hp, resulting in a 0-62 time of 6.9 seconds, I decided to reserve judgement until at least driven it in anger after work.

6pm came and as I got in to the car to the expected "Oooo is that Nicky Clarke?" and "I wouldn't let you cut my hair!" I found myself starting to like the look of the exterior, it is very different and quirky but the lines flow well from the 'standard' Mini frontend through to the rear. Speaking of the rear, one of the biggest shocks about this car is the size of the boot. For the size of the car, you would never imagine that the boot would be able to take a push chair, tennis racket and an overnight bag with space to spare, but it really does. Admittedly, you do lose the rear seats, but as anyone who is above the height of a pixy will know, being in the back of a Mini Hatch is like sitting between 2 fat people onboard a twin prop Cessna whilst attempting loop-de-loops......you're going to need a sick bag.

The lack of rear seats would normally present me with a problem as I have my 21 month old sons' baby seat to take with me, but thanks to the fact that you can disengage the passenger airbag, Max would be able to sit next to me and enjoy seeing everything that was going on, and I'll admit I quite like having him there too.
Soppy stuff over, lets talk about how it drives. To give it a decent run I decided to take the longer and much more twist (less dull) country road route home and I was really glad I did, as it highlighted 3 things that I instantly fell in love with:

1) The handling, the feedback through the steering wheel is superb. It tells you everything that's going on with the car. It feels more alive than the standard Mini Hatch, more chuckable and controllable which means you have the confidence to push it harder than you would in the Hatchback equivalent. Basically put, it handles like a go kart.

2) The engine is a joy to push hard. It simply eats the road up like no other coupe in the market segment for the same money. But it is also worth mentioning that it is as easy to drive at low speeds too. Most small performance cars feel like they always want to go Mach 3 in a race to beat the sun, but in the Mini, you simply turn off the 'sport' mode and it will happily pootle around town.

3) The exhaust popping when you lift off the throttle!!! It sounds just like the original (pre-BMW) Mini and instantly brings a childish grin to my face.

Now normally what happens after I get home is I'll put Max to bed, have some wine and a little food, followed by more wine and then write reviews (which might explain the low standard of some of them....) until time for bed at stupid o'clock. Not tonight though as I was off to a friend's restaurant re-launch in Nottingham. I wasn't able to take 'the fun route' over as I had to collect my 'semi-adopted' Mum up on the way, but I did manage to throw it around the few bends on route to the restaurant just enough for her to comment on how planted it felt at speed (this is a lady who used a 996 GT2 as a daily runner...... & has the ability to drive it like she stole it too which is commendable considering that cars nick name is The Widowmaker).
There are 2 reasons why it feels so planted, It has a much stiffer body than the hatch and it has completely revised suspension, so when you push it hard, you really notice the difference. These things, coupled with the superb engine are the reason this is the second fastest Mini ever produced (the first being the JCW Mini Coupe with 211hp).

After I'd left Fire & Ice in West Bridgford, Nottingham, 0115 9819000 (a shameless plug I know, but I can't remember the last time I paid for a drink in there so I think its only fair) at 1:30am, I took the REALLY long and twisty way home, and was able to explore the limits that little bit further.......and it just further solidified my thoughts that this is a wicked little car. You tell it what you want to do and it does it. If you push it hard enough to exceed the cars limits and the back steps out, you can catch it with great ease. The steering has a lovely weighted feel to it to, not too heavy but not stupidly light either.
If it hadn't been for the fact that it was 2:10am when I got home, I'd have carried on driving until I'd ran out of Super Unleaded.

Bleary eyed at 7:45am later that Morning, ready for the nursery run, and I have to say that the looks had grown on me. Now this might have been helped by the way it performed earlier in the morning but I don't really care, in fact it could look like the love child of John Mccririck and a London Black Cab as long as it still drove as well as it does.
Max loved it too, like Daddy, he's a little speed freak too. He loves it when I put my foot down (a little) and when I lift off and slow down, he shouts "again, again" which always delights his speed conscious Mummy (another perk of only having 2 seats!).

I can honestly say that I don't want to give the Coupe back. It is a superb all rounder considering it's a 2 seater coupe. I'd love to take this car on a track like Cadwell Park as I think it would be simple stunning to drive through the Goose Neck and Hall Bends etc.... (hint, hint Rigby).

You do have to compromise with only having 2 seats, but that worked out quite nicely on Sunday afternoon as Max and I went out for a drive, ending up at Graypaul Ferrari in Nottingham for a bit of 'boy bonding time'.
So if you can live with leaving the other half at home, those of you in a long term relationship will have less of an issue with this, then this is definitely a car that you should seriously consider. I know I am.....

Thanks for reading