The Mini : Story Of an Icon

For over fifty years, the Mini has been the world’s favourite small car and it’s still selling well. In fact, it’s the bestselling British car of all time with over five million models sold! But what does the future hold for the car? The original Mini was designed in the 1950s by Sir Alec Issigonis, a Greek-British car designer. At the time, Issigonis was working for the British Motor Corporation (BMC) when he was asked to design three different cars: a large comfortable car; a medium-sized family car; and a small one for cities. At first, Issigonis concentrated on the two bigger models, but when petrol became scarce following the Suez Crisis of 1957, Issigonis began to develop the smallest model. The car was launched in 1959 and had two names: the Morris Minor Mini, and the Austin Seven. However, as the car became popular, the two names were dropped and the car became simply, the Mini. The Mini was different from anything produced before. Issigonis’ boss at BMC (Leonard Lord) had given precise instructions on the type of car he wanted: one that could fit in a box measuring 3 x 1.2 x 1.2 metres. A very small car! Issigonis’ idea was to make the car with a front wheel drive engine, which meant that the maximum amount of space could be used for passengers and luggage. In fact, everything was done to save space. For example, windows slid side to side rather than up and down, which meant that passengers could put things in door pockets. Initially the cars were produced at Longbridge and Cowley car plants in the UK. However, soon factories in Australia,Spain, Belgium, Chile, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Uganda, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia were rolling them out. There have been many different models over the years too, including the Mini Clubman and the Mini Cooper, which won the Monte Carlo Rally three times in the mid-sixties.The Mini is particularly associated with Britain in the 1960s. Owning one was very much a fashion statement, and many celebrities had custom-made models. Beatles stars John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison all had one. Harrison’s psychedelic Mini (which he kept and maintained for many years) appears in the group’s film Magical Mystery Tour. Minis also appeared in the 1969 film The Italian Job starring Michael Caine, in which a gang of gold bullion thieves use Minis to escape through Milan’s narrow streets. More recently Minis have appeared in The Bourne Identity and Lara Craft: Tombraider. Oh, and Mr Bean drives one. However, although the Mini was a great success, it made little money. The Ford Motor Company once took a Mini to pieces and reported that it didn’t believe that BMC could be making a profit. On the contrary, Ford claimed that BMC must be losing £30 on each car sold! BMC certainly had financial problems. In the 1960s, it merged with Jaguar and then Leyland to become British Leyland, which in turn was bought by the Rover Group. Rover had no more success and was bought by BMW. The German company kept the Mini going for a few years but the last Mini was finally produced on 4th October 2000. In total 5,387,862 Minis had been made. It should have been the end of an era... but it wasn’t! In 2001, BMW announced the launch of the BMW MINI (spelt with capitals in order to differentiate it from the older version). The new car is quite a bit bigger than the old Mini: it’s 58 cms longer, 50 cms wider, and 7 cms higher. But like its predecessor, it’s also very popular. A million had been made by 2007 and there’s no sign of demand slowing down. Hopefully, the new MINI is here to stay. THE MINI: THE STORY OF AN ICON!

It’s the new Mini Cooper, which is what Mini now calls the heartland three-door hatchback at the entry point to its range. Except, it’s not really new at all. This isn’t a new Mini. Not really. All the bits you see, touch and taste are fresh, but if you truffle about away from the slick Mini marketing, you discover that this is in fact an 11-year-old car underneath. And you’d do exactly the same thing if you were in charge of the Mini board. Developing a car platform is furiously expensive, except if you’re doing one that needs to support an EV as well as a petrol version. Then it’s eye-watering. So Mini has dodged it. Peel away the doe-eyed panels on the electric version of the ‘new Mini’ and you’ll discover a joint-venture Chinese-German collab between BMW and Great Wall Motor. The electric drivetrain is related to the one powering the Ora 03, formerly known as the Funky Cat. The petrol version meanwhile carries over the engines, suspension and chassis from the previous-gen Mini. Brakes and ride settings are apparently tweaked. Every panel on top is new, and the car looks better for it. The old Mini had become so bulbous in Cooper S and JCW form it looked like it had licked a funky mushroom and had an allergic reaction. Completing the exterior makeover are new lights and wheels. Even the door handles and mirrors are swapped. The interior is unrecognisably revamped too. WHAT ARE THE ENGINE OPTIONS? No diesels, and no hybrids. The Cooper C is a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo developing a healthy 156bhp. The Cooper S adds another 500cc cylinder to the mix: its 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo engine dishes out 201bhp. Both power the front wheels alone via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Manual Minis are now extinct. The John Cooper Works 2.0 adds another lump of power into the mix for 231bhp and 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds. IS THERE STILL A FIVE-DOOR AND A CONVERTIBLE? Yes to both, though we’re yet to test the former. But we do have all the details, with the five-door measuring 17cm longer and getting a 7cm longer wheelbase. Stay tuned to see if legroom is still as cramped as the previous version. The convertible meanwhile gets a soft top roof that can be fully opened in 18 seconds and closed in 15, or part opened a la a conventional sunroof. Here it’s three doors and 2.0 engines only, but with the entry C car churning out 161bhp. Click here for the full lowdown. Perhaps not surprisingly, there are no plans for a soft-top version of the Cooper Electric. The last-gen one was a £52k special edition, after all. WHAT ABOUT TRIM LEVELS? This is where things get just a tad muddled. The base trim is called Classic, and looks clean and demure in a meek way, with black trim on the grille. The middle of the range is Exclusive trim, where the highlights get turned gold and therefore clash with some of the paint colours. Odd. Then there’s Sport, which adds a JCW body kit, wavy rear wing, and more ‘grrr’ factor. Plus go-faster stripes, of course. But you can mix and match the trims and engines. So you could, say, pop the Cooper S engine in a Classic trim car, so it’s a bit of a Q-car – subtle and very un-hot hatch like. Fine. Or you can spec Sport trim on a Cooper C, so you have all of the show but little of the go. nd there are annoyances: for example if you want paddleshifters for your Cooper S, you have to buy Sport trim to get the ‘sport’ transmission. Seems a bit convoluted to us. HOW MUCH IS A MINI THESE DAYS? A Cooper C starts at just over £23k; add £4k to that for a Cooper S or £4k for a convertible in the same spec. But once you get merry with the trim levels and option packs, it’s easy to skyrocket the price into the mid-thirties. Careful now… Rivals range from the Audi A1 to the Fiat 500, Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 and VW Polo. But with Joe Public’s preference for SUVs they’re a dying breed, so enjoy them while you still can. WHAT'S THE VERDICT? “If you want a fun-to-drive, reasonable-to-run, characterful small car… the Mini remains a charming choice” We were sceptical that Mini could convincingly update a decade-old design to remain competitive with this new-gen car, but partly because of the Mini’s inherent quality and partly due to the lack of convincing new rivals in this sorely underpopulated class, it’s still an easy car to recommend. Of course the usual Mini pitfalls remain: this is not a practical car, nor an especially well-equipped one for the money. And you’ll have to be touchscreen-dextrous to get the best out of its minimalist cabin. But if you want a fun-to-drive, reasonable-to-run, characterful small car that feels a cut above the Koreans in terms of material quality, the Mini remains a charming choice.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO DRIVE? Twist the retro, key-like fob to start. While the Cooper C is rather subdued, in the Cooper S you’re met with a thrummy little burble which sounds like it’s being augmented through the speakers – it’s not the most authentic sounding hot hatch, in other words, but few cars in this class actually make an interesting noise. The Fiesta ST was a rare exception, now sadly consigned to history too soon. You select Drive or Reverse via a stubby toggle switch on the centre console; a neat space-saving solution that pays homage to the original 1959 Mini toggle switches. We doubt many owners will bemoan the fact this means the ability to manually override gearshifts using the gearstick has disappeared. IS IT FAST? The Cooper C develops 156bhp and gets from 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds (the convertible takes 8.2s with its 161bhp), and the S develops 201bhp for the same sprint in 6.6s (or 6.9s in the drop-top). Respectable for a small hatch but easily at the mercy of most EV crossovers, such is the weird world we live in. You might feel affronted that you need Sport trim and its bolshy body kit to get paddles used to interact with the gearbox, but the fact is the manual override is pretty slurred at best, and the gearbox’s coding makes good use of the 170/221lb ft of torque, resisting the urge to bung in an ill-advised lunge for second gear when joining a motorway. And in fact, we preferred the lesser powered Cooper C, which you’re forced to work that bit harder. It’s by no means underpowered, it just feels that bit more engaging. Leans into the traditional Mini vibe, that. DON’T TELL ME… IT’S GOT GO-KART HANDLING? Ugh, no. We’d never stoop to that level: this is a 1,300kg front-wheel drive hot hatch, not a lawnmower engine in a tubular frame with no suspension. But we digress. Mini’s ‘go kart’ marketing bent does get a tad tiring at times, and selecting ‘go kart’ mode on the ‘Experiences’ toggle and getting a “whoo-hoo!” from the speakers does nothing to change that impression. Nevertheless, this is a fun car to drive; almost artificially agile in its responses to the steering just off centre and pleasingly happy to rotate on the (firm) brakes. It doesn’t have the ‘authentic’ performance car feel of a Fiesta ST or Hyundai i20N – it’s more caricatured than that, more exaggerated and cartoonish in its behaviour. But it does a good job of making mundane journeys a tad friskier, and this latest car is better resolved at being a grown up premium pod when you just want to go from A to B without pretending you’re on a stag do grand prix. COMFY? REFINED? Not a Cooper strong suit, traditionally, and the same rings true here, whether you go for the C or the S. In compressions and over crests the car’s taut, controlled damping are key to its agile, impish appeal, but if you’re spending the lion’s share of your driving in an urban commute then either Cooper will become wearisome. The car’s nemesis is speed bumps, which it shudders over as if ice cubes have been tipped down its seat backs. It’s also un-fond of expansion joints on motorway bridges. See also, jarring, crashing protestations on level crossings. A quick word on running costs: we averaged 40.5mpg in the C, compared to Mini’s official claims of 47.9mpg. That plays 44.8mpg in the S, so real world there’ll likely be minimal difference between the two. AND WHAT OF THE CONVERTIBLE? Everything we’ve said of the hard-top applies to the convertible: ostensibly great fun to drive, but not at all refined and with added buffeting for company. Stowing the roof requires a press ‘n’ hold of a button near the rearview mirror, then a second press to go from sunroof mode to the Full Monty. Sigh. If a cramped soft-top for less than £30k is what you’re after, why aren’t you reading our MX-5 review?

WHAT IS IT LIKE ON THE INSIDE? Somewhere in Mini, there’s a very satisfied historian who’s always wanted the brand to return to its 1959 roots and make a car with only a handful of physical controls and one display. Mission accomplished: the Mini Cooper is extremely minimalist inside, with all functionality and info coming at you via a 24cm circular OLED display. Yes, that includes the speedo: you can have this ahead of the driver via a head-up display, but stupidly Mini has made this an optional extra, which we despise. It ought to be standard, because it’s essential for keeping your gaze in the right place. Having to glance into the centre of the dashboard and to a very busy screen to see how fast you’re travelling is an extremely dumb piece of design. Just like in a Tesla, which Mini should have more common sense than to copy. Otherwise, the screen is largely a triumph, with swift reactions, a cheery interface and easy-enough shortcuts for temperature controls. Finding the sub-menu for a heated seat is a pain, but you can set those to come on automatically when the temperature gets chilly. Or you could ask the built-in voice assistance, which takes the form of a cartoon dog called Spike. Cute, but the bank manager voice doesn’t match the face and he meets far too many requests with “sorry, I don’t know how to do that yet.” It’s like having a chat with Siri in a countryside signal blackspot. The biggest negative is probably when using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, as just about everyone does. That’s because pairing your phone brings up an awkward small square in the middle of the circular screen, and while it works well enough it’s a real downside to an otherwise aesthetically smart looking system. Square peg in a round hole springs to mind. DOES IT FEEL LIKE A HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCT? It’s less kitsch and more grown-up in look, and perhaps a little more austere as a result. There’s a lot of hard plastic on the doors, the door bins are hilariously narrow, the central ‘clutch bag’ cubby has a cheap-feeling lid mechanism, and the ‘netting’ surface to the dash top looks novel but is neither soft-touch nor especially practical, as it’s a dust-trap for any detritus in the car. Overall the car feels solidly built, which is just as well with that ride shaking its mountings. STILL ESSENTIALLY A TWO-SEATER? Someone wise once noted that the Mini was a two-door, two-seater sports car pretending to be a hatchback. And that largely rings true today: the rear seat space is pathetic, access is cramped and despite the adjustable boot floor it’ll only take a family pet to the vet if your chosen companion is a stick insect or a hamster that’s been off its food. Indeed, most of the time you may well be tempted to leave the 50/50 folding rear bench lying flat and treat the Cooper like a hard-top pick-up truck. You’re looking at 210 litres of space with the seats up, or 725 litres with them folded flat. In the convertible, you’ll get just 160 litres to play with. Yeah, not big, but you knew that already.

WHAT SHOULD I BE PAYING? With prices starting at £23,150 for a Cooper C and adding £4k for a Cooper S with another 50bhp, the Mini seems reasonable in our inflation-addled world, until you consider the option packs. More on those in a bit. In terms of rivals, you’re looking at a few grand cheaper for a Fiat 500, Renault Clio and VW Polo, and a couple of hundred quid more for a Peugeot 208 and Audi A1. So which you choose depends on how premium you’re feeling, and how far you can stretch your budget. And whether you’ve got kids, realistically. LET’S CIRCLE BACK TO THOSE OPTION PACKS, PLEASE… Going from a Classic to an Exclusive adds £2,200 to the bottom line: Sport is another £1,300. So, a Cooper S Sport looks the part, but costs the wrong side of £30k. Then you no longer have the ability to pick and choose what optional extras you want: everything’s grouped into packs called Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Level 1 adds adaptive LED headlights, keyless entry, folding mirrors, heated seats, the vital HUD, the buggy wireless charging pad and an auto-dimming mirror, and comes as standard on all three trim levels in a Cooper S. Fine. But adding 2 and 3 adds £2k and £4.5k respectively, to unlock goodies like a sunroof, upgraded hi-fi and electric seats. So it’s worryingly easy to turn a £24k Mini into a £34k one just by aiming for a few choice extras. Meanwhile the convertible starts from £27,050, so count on about £4k more like-for-like when compared to the hard-top. There’s no five-door version of the soft-top. WHAT’S PEAK COOPER? We reckon you want the Cooper C for the 1.5 3cyl engine over the Cooper S’s 2.0 4cyl, then stick with Classic trim and be sparing with the options list to avoid going over £30k. The spoked alloys, Level 1 options pack and a funky colour (standard no cost option is silver) looks a good place to start.

For movie lovers from multiple generations, the Mini Cooper name conjures images of powerful, pint-sized vehicles engaged in high speed chases across England and various other cities on the European continent. These English automobiles have been prominently featured in some of the most iconic car chase scenes of all time, in high-octane films like 1969's "The Italian Job"  and its 2003 remake, as well as "The Bourne Identity." Coopers were also front and center in beloved comedies like "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and of course "Mr. Bean."  Given the decidedly English culture of most of those offerings — save for "Bourne" and "The Italian Job" remake — it's fitting that a vehicle of English origin should play such a vital role in the action, particularly one so well-suited to traversing smaller European streets. However despite those origins, the Mini brand is not quite as English now as it was when the vehicles first took to the streets in 1959. That first generation of Cooper came via the British Motor Corporation, with that manufacturer and various successors keeping the build in production via facilities in England over the ensuing decades. However, the Mini brand endured a notable ownership change in the year 1994, when BMW purchased Mini's parent company, Rover Group. It wasn't until 2000 that we saw the first BMW-produced Mini vehicle, but ever since then, the German manufacturer has continued to crank out Minis. Where does production of Mini vehicles actually happen, though?  Are Mini Coopers made in Germany? Mini Cars have been manufactured in England since the British Motor Company first put them into production. Those late 1950s models, and most Minis manufactured in the early days rolled out of a production facility located in Cowley, England, which is just outside of Oxford. Given the location of that manufacturing plant, it's not surprising that Oxford became the official home of Mini when it became a wholly independent company in 1969.  Mini continues to manufacture many of its vehicles in that Oxford facility to this very day, including its three-door and five-door models, as well as the brand's convertible and Clubman builds. In fact, the facility is apparently cranking out as many as 1,000 vehicles every day, utilizing steel panels made in nearby Swindon, England. BMW also used the VDL Nedcar plant in Born, Netherlands for production of its Minis in 2016. However, that plant officially shuttered earlier this year, with the Mini Cabrio being the last vehicle ever made there.  It would seem that the VDL Nedcar closure did not end the production of Mini Cooper's outside of England. Not willing to force the Oxford facility to shoulder Cooper production on its own, BMW instead opted to begin manufacturing some the vehicles at home in Germany as well in 2023, and that includes the not-so-mini 2025 Cooper Countryman which SlashGear reviewed. Mini production in Germany will likely only continue to grow in the years to come.