Photos & Words: Evan ‘Evo’ Yates
Exterior: Call me crazy, but I actually like the looks of the four-door better than the coupe. Maybe it was the Moonwalk Gray Metallic hue which has a nice hint of blue and green, the black bonnet stripes or even the 17-inch Roulette spoke wheels but I honestly couldn’t get enough of this MINI’s shell. And the fact that those two extra doors and 6.3 inches make this vehicle practical for a person like myself to own (I always have more than one passenger) is just icing on the cake. The ‘halo’ style headlights and ram-air style hood were also appreciated. Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing on the exterior of this fine little ride.
Interior: The sports seats wrapped in Satellite Gray leather are comfortable and supportive while still being worthy of a daily driver. The panoramic sunroof was a pleasure and made the vehicle seem even bigger inside. The dash and door panels are signature MINI boasting fun and creativity. The rear seating area is actually quite accommodating as I actually had the opportunity to have an adult in the rear and (at least sitting behind the passenger seat) he was quite cozy.
A/V: Although I’m not entirely sold on the massive circular display, I do enjoy the LED lighting that surrounds it, reconfiguring for various changes in the temperature, driving style or other fun adjustments. The harman/kardon premium audio system itself wasn’t exactly meant for all music types but it does have a sweet spot where its acoustic output is stellar.
Performance: The MINI Cooper S is flat-out a fun car to drive. The 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder powerplant is quite impressive especially mated to the 6-speed Getrag manual transmission. There’s plenty of low-end torque to snap you through the gears while remaining pleasant when it needs to be. MINI refers to the handling and braking as “Go-Kart” and it certainly deserves the title as this attractive little four-door shines around the curves and brakes effortlessly on command.
Floss Factor: If smaller vehicles are your thing, then this bad little beast may be the hottest thing smokin’. You can’t beat the curb appeal and attitude it possesses while delivering the practicality of four doors.
Damage: $34,350.00
Power: 189 hp, 207 lb-ft
0-60: 6.8 sec
Gas Cash: 27 MPG (combined)
