By J.A. Ackley
What does Mini like to pride itself on? Speed? No. Luxury? No. Utility? Not necessarily. The answer is fun. What’s the headliner among the marque’s amusement park of rides? The Mini Cooper JCW 2 Door–and it’s all-new for 2025. So, how does it fare in …
I loved the way this brand allowed a person to configure its vehicles in the past. The the interior looked special as could the exterior.
These days that interior just makes me sad. The circular infotainment screen that used to look special, now looks like something found in a bargain-bin at Pep Boys and is held in place with double-sided tape.
I want to like it, but they've taken away so much of the Mininess that made the car special. Just my opinion; I hope the market disagrees and they sell like hotcakes.
It's nice that they still sell small fun cars. I'm kind of surprised mini as a brand is still in the US. Sales last year were 26k and half that were countrymans.
That dinner plate glued to the dashboard is absolute clown shoes. Totally kills it for me.
It feels like the Cooper S should be in the Civic Si price or cheaper? It's pushing $35,000?
And no penalty for ordering the BRG color. That should be the base paint color.
I am a big fan of Mini and tested out the new Cooper S when it came out. I like the big round screen and the button panel beneath because it roughly matches my mk1 mini project dashboard. It still felt like a modern mini in the corners but you could feel another 10% BMW influence in the ride and handling.
I think the reason the manual got dropped is BMW doesn't have a transverse manual transmission that can hold more than 220 lb/ft of torque. The competition all has 300hp+ these days (in heavier cars) and the 200hp we have been getting from Mini for the last 20 years is no longer enough.
I was ok with the screen but the amount of time it took to adjust the HVAC was awful. The big deal killer for me was the mandatory sunroof. I only fit in minis without sunroofs. My head sits right at the crossbar for the sunroof motor. I lost about 1.5" of headroom compared to previous cars.
I ended up with a used F56 instead of picking up the new car.
I had a base F66 loaner while my F56SE was having some warranty work done. I was glad to get my own car back. I'm a big boy and the F66 manages to be more cramped while also bigger on the outside.
Puddy46 said:That dinner plate glued to the dashboard is absolute clown shoes. Totally kills it for me.
They went with a circular infotainment center to pay tribute to the look of these interiors in the past. Infotainment centers are in just about every new car these days, although some blend in more seamlessly than others.
One interesting side note. I'm an Apple CarPlay user, and the app works in a rectangular environment. So, when it's in use, there's space on top and below it on the screen, which limits the size of the Apple CarPlay window, but does give you quick access to other apps and controls.
J.A. Ackley said:One interesting side note. I'm an Apple CarPlay user, and the app works in a rectangular environment. So, when it's in use, there's space on top and below it on the screen, which limits the size of the Apple CarPlay window, but does give you quick access to other apps and controls.
I feel like that would be annoying at first, but I imagine you'd eventually get used to it.
Yesterday, I swung by my grandfather's place on my way back from Tampa. As I pulled into his driveway, what did I see? A 2025 Mini.
He has the four door but the inside is identical to the two doors. We took it for a test drive and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I would hate the center circle screen but it is super convenient while driving and makes the car feel very open. Plus it has all these different modes that make the driving experience a bit more fun.
J.A. Ackley said:Puddy46 said:That dinner plate glued to the dashboard is absolute clown shoes. Totally kills it for me.
They went with a circular infotainment center to pay tribute to the look of these interiors in the past. Infotainment centers are in just about every new car these days, although some blend in more seamlessly than others.
Oh, I completely understand why they did it, but the execution is what gets me. It just looks like a complete afterthought with zero attempt to blend it into the rest of the interior. It takes away from an otherwise quite tidy interior.
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