MINI Cooper 2018 Review

On its own

In theory — now the Fiat 500 is priced where it should be, the VW Beetle is gone and Daimler has also axed smart in Australia — the modern MINI competes with premium compact cars like the Abarth 595, Alfa Giulietta and Audi A1, all of which also start at around $30,000.

In reality, the third-generation MINI stands on its own as a uniquely British retro hatch that has virtually no rival.

It’s also now part of a whole MINI family including a five-door hatch, which families have made more popular than the traditional three-door, the bigger Countryman SUV (which is about to overtake both hatches for the same reason) and Clubman wagon, and the small-selling cabrio — now called the MINI Convertible.

Now MINI has upped the British ante even more with a subtle design makeover for both hatches and the cabrio (the facelifted Countryman and Clubman will follow) that includes Union Jack-style LED headlights packaged with new LED headlights, foglights and big circular running lights up front.

It’s unique, distinctive, unmistakable in the dark and we love it, but it’s also risky because — as MINI itself admits — not everyone buys a MINI for its Britishness, do they?

But there’s a twist and it’s not the irony that MINI is owned by a German car-maker, that all MINIs are designed at BMW HQ in Munich or that they’re now built in the Netherlands and — soon — China as well as Oxford, which could itself become a problem for BMW post-Brexit.

It’s the fact the Union Jack LED pack isn’t standard on entry-level Cooper models, buyers of which must pay an extra $2500 for an option package that also includes autonomous emergency braking, which should be standard across the range.

The cool LED exterior lighting ensemble and AEB cost even more for the MINI Cooper Convertible, as part of the $3200 Chili Package that also comprises 17-inch alloys, cloth/leather trim and MINI Driving Modes.

Base Cooper models continue with halogen headlights and tail-lights, and do without MINI’s new signature front and rear lighting array, which is standard on Cooper S and JCW models – even if customers don’t want them.

Yes, MINI has long offered an array of Union Jack-themed extras like roof and head restraint motifs, but they’ve all been optional, so perhaps the circular LED headlight DRLs should be standard across the range and the Union Jack tail-lights optional?

New tech

The next biggest change is standard across the range – a new colour touch-screen infotainment system that dramatically improves multimedia functionality, even if it’s exactly the same as BMW’s iDrive set-up once you get beyond the home screen.

Once again though, the largest 8.8-inch display is reserved only for the top-shelf JCW and optional on other models, which score a small 6.5-inch screen that looks tiny within MINI’s trademark large central round dashboard graphic.

But there is wireless Apple CarPlay compatibility for the first time (no Android Auto yet) and both smartphone types (iPhone 8 and above) can be wirelessly charged via an inductive charger that’s standard from Cooper S level but below that packaged in the same $2500 pack as the exterior LEDs and AEB.

In response to demand, the MINI Connected 4G system is also now standard across the range, which together with the new infotainment system is claimed to add $3600 of extra value in base Cooper models.

Based around an inbuilt 4G SIM card, the system allows owners to remotely check their vehicle’s location, fuel level, range and un/lock status, as well as control ventilation, navigation, windows and lighting via the MINI Connected smartphone app.

Free for the first three years, it also includes real-time traffic information, weather forecasts and news, although not all functions are available while driving, plus Emergency call and Teleservices.

The optional Concierge Service — which costs $1500 for a three-year subscription and is only available with JCWs — allows users to talk to a real person at a BMW call centre to ask for directions, which can be sent to the car’s nav system.

Lots of extras

Completing the design update is a new MINI badge, new wheel designs (within a total of 12, priced between $400 and $1500), three new paint colour options (priced between $800 and $1200; the only standard colours are Pepper White solid and Moonwalk Grey metallic) and a new fuel gauge to replace the vague LCD stripes of the old models.

Apart from a $2000 Climate Package and a $2500 JCW Design Package for Cooper S models, customisation options include four no-cost contrasting roof and mirror colours, three styles of bonnet stripes ($200), chrome or black exterior highlights ($200) and an even longer list of interior upholstery, trim and roof lining options, some of which must be had in combination.

Not on the option list yet, however, is a new range of optional 3D-printed personalisation accessories now available in 35 other markets as part of the MINI Yours customisation program, which mimics BMW Individual.

These include side scuttles, LED door sills, passenger-side interior trims and even puddle lights that can project an image or your name, signature or whatever else you want onto the road beside it.

In what is mainly an equipment upgrade, the 2018 MINI also brings a revised gear shifter, hooked up to a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and, for JCW versions, an eight-speed torque converter auto to replace the six-speed.

The only other mechanical change is an overhaul of both the 1.5-litre three-cylinder (Cooper) and 2.0-litre (Cooper S and JCW) engines, saving a respective 3kg and 8kg but bringing no change to performance outputs, which remain at 100kW/220Nm, 141kW/280Nm and 170kW/320Nm respectively.

That’s no bad thing, since even the Cooper’s most basic turbo triple offers ample performance with a bit of character in what is a compact, lightweight package, while the 2.0-litre turbo four in the Cooper S and more powerful JCW delivers incremental performance gains in both models.

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Value equation

We’ve listed full pricing, spec and equipment details here, but base models continue to come with a decent level of standard kit including a reversing camera, 16-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth with music streaming, digital radio, rear parking sensors, multi-function leather steering wheel and MINI Navigation with real-time traffic info.

Cooper S models add stuff like 17-inch alloys, climate-control, the Union Jack LED lighting package, armrest, wireless phone charging and multi-colour ambient lighting, while JCWs add 18-inch alloys, a bigger 8.8-inch screen, head-up display, Harman Kardon HiFi sound, adaptive suspension, JCW front seats and a JCW body kit.

The new 7DCT auto costs $2500 more than the six-speed manual in Cooper models and $2800 more in Cooper S models (which add shift paddles, launch control and a JCW steering wheel), while the eight-speed auto with the same extras adds $2950 to the price of the two-door-only JCWs.

MINI is claiming extra value of between $1100 and $3600, but only you can decide if the new touch-screen infotainment and MINI Connected systems (and the new LED signature front and rear lighting on Cooper S and JCW) is worth the extra money.

How much is the 2018 MINI Cooper?
Price: $29,900 (3 Door), $31,150 (5 Door), $40,900 (Convertible), plus ORCs
Engine: 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 100kW/220Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Four-star (ANCAP 2014)

How much is the 2018 MINI Cooper S?
Price: $39,900 (3 Door), $41,150 (5 Door), $47,900 (Convertible), plus ORCs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 141kW/280Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Four-star (ANCAP 2014)

How much is the 2018 MINI Cooper JCW?
Price: $49,900 (3 Door), $57,900 (Convertible), plus ORCs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 170kW/320Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, eight-speed auto
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Four-star (ANCAP 2014)