Vehicle: 2003 Mini Cooper S with sports package (sports seats + sports suspension + DSC-3), leather and sunroof

Performance: With 163 hp and 155 lb/ft of torque wrapped in a somewhat lightweight body, the performance is nothing short of amazing. Throttle response is quick and linear. The supercharger ensures proper delivery of horsepower and torque thoroughout the rev range. The beauty of blower is it doesn’t have the lag of some turbo engines. There is instant response as you mesh the thorttle. The clutch is appropriately weight and progressive. 6-speed stick shift has nice ratio, however, its rather long throw between gears and rubbery feel are the biggest let down.

Handling: Cooper S has to be one of the best handling FF I have ever driven. It got all the fundamentals necessary in a hot hatch: stiff chassis, firm suspension with great tuning. The turn-in is balance. Steering turn-in is sharp and responsive. There are plenty of steering feel both on and off-center. Body rolls are almost non-existent and understeer is hard to detect until you nail it down to the limit. There comes the drawback as you push into limit because of the DSC-3 stability system. Similar to the system used in latest 3-Series, it tends to step in a bit too early for my liking. I can certainly understand for FR, most people are not familiar with how to encounter oversteer. But for a FF like Cooper S, understeer is easy to encounter for most drivers. Mini should design a system to let the front end plows a bit more before DSC steps in. Another issue with DSC-3 is it steps in at the last moment even if you turned it off. Other than that, the dynamic qualities are excellent. Ride quality is better than average considered its short-wheelbase design.

Brakes: Cooper S’s pedal feel is impressive. The pedal feels firm when the effort balanced.

Interior: The Cooper’s center speedometer is probably the easiest to read among center instrumentation. Its large and placed at a location where you still can focus on the road while driving. The tachometer placed in front of the driver is an added benefit. Sports seats are comfortable. Most switches are logically layout with all the necessary in the center console. Air-con works relatively well in hot weather. There is pet peeve despite of all the praises. The power mirror and window switches placed somewhere below the seats are not user-friendly. Back space is more than adequate. With 50/50 split rear seats, practicality also counts in this neat little package.

Conclusion: Without a doubt, Cooper S is a wonderful hot hatch. It got an excellent engine, great chassis and exceptional handling. If you can live with the lengthy waiting list, this is a car that worths every pennies.

VERDICT FOR 2003 MINI COOPER S
=========================
Performance: 4.75/5
Handling/fun-to-drive: 4.75/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 3.75/5
Fit-and-finish/built-quality: 3.5/5
Value-for-money: 3.5/5

Overall rating: 4.25/5