SUPER COOPER? (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_minicoopers_2019

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 135

Originally launched in 2014, the third generation F56/F55 version of the 3 and 5 Door MINI Cooper S Hatch got a useful mid-term update in 2018 to create the car we're going to look at here. In this form, it became smarter and more sophisticated - and could be more individual too. It remained a properly credible hot hatch and its harder-hitting 2.0-litre engine and talented chassis deliver plenty of fun as you power to 62mph in 6.8 seconds to the tune of a blissfully cheeky exhaust note. In this post-2018-era guise, this hot hatch became a more mature thing too, better built than many of its rivals and with sophisticated safety and media connectivity. In short, in this facelifted form, this F56/F55 design came of age. Let's check it out as a used buy.

Modelsword count: 6

3/5dr Hatch (2.0 petrol [Cooper S])

Historyword count: 262

The MINI Cooper S has long been an exercise in artful compromise, looking to occupy that sweet spot between the warm-ish Cooper and the wild race-inspired John Cooper Works model. As a result, it's often been the best pick for those who aren't likely to subject their car to a race circuit and instead just want a MINI that's entertainingly quick without incurring huge running costs in the process. That formula didn't change too much with the improved post-2018-era version of the third F66/F65 generation three or five-door model, but what lay beneath the skin did. Under the bonnet, you'll find a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that was revised over the original version of this unit fitted to this model and in this form put out a 192bhp output and featured a redesigned turbocharger. More importantly perhaps, this was a bigger, better finished car than before, yet one still well priced against comparably performing hot hatch rivals like Ford's Fiesta ST and the Volkswagen Polo GTI. As part of this update, the optional Steptronic auto gearbox now had seven speeds; there was a whole fresh level of connectivity via upgraded 'MINI Connected' services. And the brand introduced a 'MINI Yours Customised' programme that set a fresh industry standard for the level to which buyers could personalise their cars. Plus this MINI could be lighter, it was better equipped and it could now come with a wider range of options. A further update followed in 2021, lasting the F56/F55 design through to the end of production and the end of sales in early 2024.

What You Getword count: 423

The MK3 Cooper S came in either the F56 3-Door Hatch body shape or an F55-series 5-Door Hatch form. Established MINI styling cues are present and correct - the clamshell bonnet, the upright windscreen and yes, the round headlamps - though as part of the 2018 facelift, quite a lot of work went into enhancing these with this revised Hatch model. The improved lights may look much the same as those of the pre-facelift model, but the full-LED technology behind them is very different, particularly if you get a car whose original owner ordered the optional 'Matrix' adaptive beams that automatically extinguish parts of the lamp that might dazzle other road users. Either way, a redesigned LED daytime running light ring surrounds the beam and illuminates as a turn signal when needed. Other 2018 update changes included a revised range of alloy wheel designs that vary in size depending on the trim level of the car chosen - 15 or 16-inch rims for the base 'Classic' models and 17-inchers if you choose a model fitted with plusher 'Sport' or 'Exclusive'-spec. 'Sport'-spec gets you a John Cooper Works aerodynamic body kit. The dinky, power-packed profile came with either a body-coloured, a white or a black roof, all colour options featuring matching mirror housings. Get behind the wheel and it's all quite BMW-like. If you've driven the pre-facelift F56/F55 model, you'll know that the huge central display doesn't function as a speedo in the way that it did with earlier MINI Hatches. Less characterfully but more practically, the speedo here was re-located to a pod in front of the steering wheel where it's flanked with a crescent-moon rev counter and fuel gauge. All of this freed the central area up for much more infotainical trickery. By 2018, the screen was 6.5-inches in size across the range as standard and could be upgraded from new to 8.8-inches in size as part of the 'Navigation Plus Pack' which included all the latest 'MINI Connected' media features. In the back, legroom remains very cramped indeed if there's an adult of more than average height in front of you. If that's going to be an issue, the five-door version of this car (which gets an extra 72mm of length between the front are rear wheels) will obviously suit you better. What is quite impressive, even in the 3 Door model, is the amount of head and elbow room you get. In the back, there's a 311-litre boot. With everything flat, a surprisingly large 731-litre load capacity area reveals itself.

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