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Driving this car first on the technically challenging racetrack at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, and then on the streets and highways around Barcelona, we found it sporting to drive and comfortable at the same time. Though changes in the suspension, the increased torque of the engine, and the incorporation of the electromechanical assisted steering make the car easier and safer to drive fast than the previous model, the satisfying responsiveness of the previous model, called "go-kart-like" by nearly everyone who drove it, is no longer an obvious trait.
The new engine is the major and most obvious change in the 2007 Mini Cooper. To meet increasingly stringent European environmental regulations, which now focus on both mileage and CO2 emissions, BMW realized several years ago that the Tritec engine that had been jointly developed by Chrysler and Rover for the first-generation new MINI would have to be replaced. Development of the new engine was jointly funded by Peugeot and BMW, with BMW doing the engineering design and Peugeot seeing to manufacturing considerations. As used in the Mini, the engine is manufactured in the BMW Hams Hall engine plant in England.
In its basic form as used in the Cooper, the new engine has the same capacity and produces approximately the same 118 horsepower and 114 pound-feet of torque as the previous engine. However, with BMW Valvetronic variable-valve technology using European standards (U.S. EPA tests are not yet available), the engine is now rated at 31 mpg in urban use and 51 mpg on the highway, better than many hybrids, and CO2 emissions are significantly reduced.
In the turbocharged form with direct fuel injection as used in the Cooper S that we drove, the engine gives the car very sporting performance. The 172 horsepower is more than adequate in the lightweight Mini to produce speeds twice most legal limits, but the 177 pound-feet of torque, which can be overboosted to 190 pound-feet for short intervals, and is available from 1700 rpm to 5000 rpm, is nothing short of marvelous. A sport button control gives quicker response from accelerator and steering.
The turbo engine takes the Mini from 0 to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds, reflecting a slight turbo hesitation at the start, but produces satisfying acceleration at all speeds once in motion. Even on the track at Zandvoort, with its frequent elevation changes and notoriously tight hairpin corners, the car turned its fastest laps with the transmission left in third gear. Even with that performance, the turbo is still rated at 28 mpg urban and 41 mpg extra-urban in the European mileage tests.
The Mini Cooper S comes standard with a sport-tuned suspension, but its behavior is still much more refined than other cars capable of similar track speeds. Using the MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension adapted from the BMW Z4, the car is flat and stable in corners, and absorbs most bumps without discomforting passengers.
Though this model still has the same short wheelbase as its predecessor, and the same tight turning radius, BMW has retuned the suspension to reduce its oversteer potential so that even with radical changes in throttle or brakes in the middle of corners, the car never feels at risk of spinning out.
This feeling of composure has been heightened through the programming of the electromechanically assisted steering, which uses an electric motor, instead of hydraulics, to alter and enhance driver steering input. Because the steering is still mechanically connected to the front wheels, this system can't be called "drive-by-wire," and the driver still has a feel for the road and the car's changing cornering force can be felt through the wheel.
However, the system can alter the steering ratio and force required to make directional changes. This is most apparent in tight, slow parking lot maneuvers where very little effort or wheel motion is needed to make large changes in direction. In comparison, at highway speeds larger changes in the wheel result in smaller and less sensitive directional changes.
One advantage of electronically assisted steering is that input/output ratios can be changed during the course of a turn, not just varying with vehicle speed. In the Mini, this means that the initial turn-in is cushioned slightly, so the car doesn't feel as go-kart twitchy as the previous model, but once a constant turning radius is established, it takes almost no effort to maintain the turn, regardless of speed.
Both the Mini Cooper and Cooper S rely on the same front and rear disc brake system, though we expect that upgraded, enlarged performance brakes will be available as a John Cooper Works option soon after the Cooper S is available for sale.
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