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By Jonathan Crouch

The MINI Hatch remains as engaging as ever in its latest form. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the 3-door 'F66'-era Cooper petrol models.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 65

The MINI Hatch is a true original, especially in this 3-Door combustion Cooper form. In this guise, the fourth generation 'F66'-series version has become smarter and more sophisticated. Plus some re-fettling work has been done on the punchy range of eager three and four cylinder engines. In short, this car claims to have come of age. But its fun-to-drive MINI formula is alive and well.

Backgroundword count: 177

As a brand, MINI has come to mean all kinds of things but it's in this simplest 3-Door Hatch form that the company's products are most iconically recognisable. This fourth generation BMW design was first launched in 'J01'-era full-electric form in Autumn 2023, with the 'F66' combustion version we look at here arriving six months later. Though the two models look the same, they run on quite different platforms; this petrol variant uses a mildly updated version of the old 'F56' car's chassis and its engines are largely borrowed from that older design too. Unlike the second generation MINI Electric, which to start with was Chinese-built, this combustion version hails from BMW Plant Oxford and remains the purest expression of 'MINI-ness'. It'll still charm you with its dinky looks and go-kart handling. And it's still a go-to choice if you want a style-conscious urban runabout with much of the technology of a larger car. All these attributes remain, but have been developed over more than half a century of MINI history into... well what? Let's find out.

Driving Experienceword count: 304

The reason this combustion MINI rides on a different chassis to the Electric version is that it has to carry forward basically the same engines that were used before. That's no surprise; no car maker has been developing completely new combustion powerplants for years now. At least there are power increases for the two units bought across. The 1.5-litre three cylinder turbo powertrain of the Cooper now puts out 230Nm and 154hp (20hp more than before), enough to bring the 0-62mph sprint time below 8s (it's now 7.7s) en route to 139mph. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo in the Cooper S meanwhile, now gets 300Nm and 201hp (25hp more), which gets it to 62mph in 6.6s, about the same as the Electric Cooper SE (though the Cooper S's 150mph top speed is way higher). A slightly faster John Cooper Works version tops the range with the same 2.0-litre engine tuned to put out 231hp, making 62mph in 6.1s. To disguise the commonality beneath the bonnet, the brand has introduced seven so-called 'MINI Experience' modes - 'Core', 'Green', 'Go-kart', 'Personal', 'Vibrant', 'Timeless' and 'Balance'. As the names suggest, these do a lot more than just affect steering feel and throttle response, altering cabin colours and graphics. What you can't have in this generation MINI, rather sadly, is a manual gearbox. The previously optional Steptronic 7-speed auto is now non-negotiable and can be had in sharper-responding 'Sport' form complete with paddles on the steering wheel, if you specify 'Sport' trim. It works via a gear selector relocated from the centre console to a panel below the centre screen. One thing this combustion MINI can offer that the Electric version can't quite replicate is really agile handling - because it weighs an awful lot less. Both petrol Coopers tip the scales at the much more than 1.2 tonnes.

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