Vehicle: 2005 Mini Cooper S with sport pkg, premium pkg, cockpit chrono pkg, all-weather visibility pkg, Panther Black Gravity leather, DSC-3, multi-function steering, interior body color trim, chrome line interior, heated seats, anthractive roofliner, PDC, foglights, auto climate control, on-board computer, Harman Kardon sereo, and chrome-line exterior
Price as tested: CDN$41980

Performance: With 168hp and 162 lb/ft of torque, Cooper S has more than enough performance to match its well-rounded dynamic package. This 1.6L superchaged engine provides excellent refinement and flexability, along with responsive throttle response. The biggest improvement to the facelifted Mini has to be its shifter. While the old unit feels somewhat rubbery, the new unit feels a lot more precise and gearchange is sharper. Gone is the notchy gearchange in previous car. As usual, clutch is light and progressive.

Handling: While the Cooper S remains composed and extremely tossable in corners, the 205 45R/17 run-flat tires remain the same issue. That’s the tall sidewall creates bouncy ride on small bumps. These tires absorb large bumps acceptably but when it deals with small bumps, it tends to ride like a truck. Other than that, S still handles like a dream. Precise and responsive steering, minimal body rolls and remains natural through corners. Mini also retuned its dynamic stability control to make it less instrusive than the previous car. The revised system provides a more aggressive driving experience as it tends to let the driver control the vehicle instead of kicking in too aggressively before actual oversteer occurs.

Interior: The biggest highlight of this revision has to be the inside of a Mini Cooper. Gone are most of the cheap plastic and painted aluminum trims that look more plastic than aluminum. The painted aluminum, finally, looks like “real” aluminum trims instead of cheap plastic aftermarket trims. If you opt for the cockpit chrono pkg like the one in our tester, the speedomter finally back to the right place instead of in the center console. The driving position is easily found while the front seats are as comfortable as usual.

Conclusion: The revised version of the Mini Cooper S really makes the best hot hatch even better. It got better shifter, better interior materials and ergonomics. Its a pity a fully loaded S still very expensive for such a small package.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2005 MINI COOPER S
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Performance: 4.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.75/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 1/5
Value-for-money: 2/5

Overall rating: 4/5