MINI has been made an awesome-to-drive compact cars since 1959 and it's hipster heritage is still preserved in the modern-era. The iconic MINI Hatch is still being seen on the streets of Bangsar, or even everyone's favourite touge roads like Ulu Yam thanks to its retro design and sheer performance.
As for this week, MINI Malaysia has finally brought the facelift and improvised MINI Hatch with substantial looks and technology. The refreshed MINI Hatch only comes in three trims, the Cooper S 3 Door, the Cooper S 5 Door, and the John Cooper Works (not available in the photo). The Cooper trim is finally phased out due to lack of demand.
At first glance, you can tell the facelifted Mini Cooper by the exterior itself. The front headlamps has a full circular LED daytime-running lights, new flat-style MINI logo on the trunk and the hood, new set of wheels, and what makes them to stand on the red carpet of the automotive scene, is the new tail lamps which uses the design of Union Jack. I don't know why MINI want to utilize this, but I guess they want their facelifted Hatch to be seen and understood by everyone that "It is a facelift MINI!", but it looks really cool to look at.
Want extra doors? Then check out the 5 Door Cooper S. The 5 door hatch sets way apart than the 3 door sibling thanks to the John Cooper Works aerodynamic kit that surrounds it, making it more angrier and meaner to anyone who wants to play against it on the streets. Compared to the 3-door Mini Cooper S, the 5-door version comes with 17" JCW Track Spoke alloy wheels over the 17" Cosmos Spoke alloy wheels in all 4 corners. Oh boy, this time MINI just made the 5-door to look what we want!
Meanwhile, the JCW Cooper still retains the kit like the 5-door, but it gets a bigger spoiler, a standard 18" Cup Spoke alloys, retuned suspension, and a better brake kit.
The fun doesn't stop here just yet. The Cooper S is now comes with an improvised 2 liter 4-banger TwinPower BMW B48 turbocharged engine. It churns out 192 hp and 280 Nm of torque, and the engine cover is now made of carbon-fiber composite which sheds a little weight of the car, and fuel economy has been improved up to 5.5 and 5.6 liter per 100 km respectively for the 3 Door and 5 Door. The JCW version maxed out 231 hp and 320 Nm of torque, with 6.0 liter per 100 km fuel economy. Ultimately for the Cooper S, the engine is now paired to a Getrag 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission for quicker and smoother shifting. The JCW only gets the 8-speed conventional auto instead. North to 100 km/h is 6.7s for the 3 Door, 6.8s for the 5 Door, and 6.1s for the JCW.
Inside, the Cooper S comes with a new MINI Yours Illuminated Cockpit, including the Union Jack trim panels on the passenger side which lit up 12 different colors based on your preference. Oddly enough, this feature is not available in the 5-door counterpart. You can even find the new shift-by-wire shifter for the DCT. The seats are upholstered in Cross Punch Carbon Black leather, and a new MINI Visual Boost infotainment system is added with touchscreen (6.5" for the Cooper S, 8.8" for the JCW). The JCW on the other hand comes with more exclusive items like a 12-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, head-up display, panoramic sunroof, and a Qi wireless charging pod.
Aside from the refreshed outlook and new transmission, you can even order a custom graphics on your MINI under the MINI Yours Customised Accessories. Things like door projections, side scruttles, dash panel, and illuminated door sills can be crafted based on your needs, like putting your girlfriend's name or your pet dog in the car. You can check it out at http://www.yours-customised.mini/ to find out more.
So that's all for the brief glimpse of the facelifted MINI Hatch, and now it's time to take a spin in the streets of Glenmarie with the blue Cooper S that you see below.
The Drive
I had driven several Minis in KL since 2014 and this new Cooper S is considered to be one of the best MINI hatch as of now. The turbocharged engine is already decent in the pre-facelift models and the performance and handling were great although it was a bit light. However with the new DCT gearbox, this MINI is no longer your typical daily car I must say. I keep playing it around in Manual mode with the Sport mode kicks in. Surprisingly, it is more fun than the Volkswagen's DSG and less jerky especially in coasting mode. You can even hear the exhaust pop like Big Shaq's screaming the infamous chorus of his song which brings a fun to your ears after changing gears with the paddle shifters. With the new DCT in the MINI, it surely brings more fun to enthusiasts like me and I don't think you want to leave it in Auto most of the time. Speaking of acceleration, hitting to a century sprint is really quick with a 6.7 second time in the 3-door Cooper S. Handling is pretty much the same despite the steering is a bit soft in Sport mode, but I can't complain it either thanks to its accuracy on the turns in sharp corners.
Final Verdict
To sum this up, the facelifted MINI Hatch is currently the best car you should consider as the ultimate daily car thanks to the refreshed appearance and satisfied performance. Pricing for the Cooper S 3 Door is RM 226,888, RM 236,888 for the 5 Door, and RM 283,888 for the JCW without insurance. All MINI Hatch comes with a 4-year unlimited mileage warranty and a 4-year/60,000 km free service package.
*Special thanks to MINI Glenmarie for letting me review and test drive the facelifted MINI Hatch!
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