Had a walk down to the local Mini dealers at 9:00am today to collect my nice shiny new Cooper Diesel.

First impressions then:

Sitting in it. Ergonomics are pretty much spot on for the key controls. Pedals are well placed, steering adjusts for reach and rake, storks are intuitive, positive and well placed. Control weighting seems just right, the accelerator and brake pressures well matched and the clutch light and progressive. Accelerator is floor hinged. Seating position is adjustable for height, reach, recline and lumbar support on both driver and passenger side. I had no trouble quickly getting comfortable. The seats are firm but comfortable to be in. I don't think they will quite match up to the Fabia VRS for comfort (or to those in the new Fabia Sport for that matter), but they are way better than a lot of the ones I tried in other cars. Lateral support is OK via the side bolsters, but one is not tightly held. Instruments are a bit odd. The rev counter sits on top of the steering column, the large speedo in the middle of the dashboard. You can have the speed displayed digitally in the rev counter window if you like as well as a variety of other information.

Smelly noisy bit. The engine is the 1.6L 16V Diesel PSA / Ford collaboration. Fuel supply is via common rail technology and a variable geometry turbo shoves air in. The engine is fitted with a diesel particulate filter which is regenerated normally in moderately quick driving or via the injection of a special liquid into the engine (from an on board service topped up reservoir) as required. So far it seems to be working as the inside of the tailpipe has no visible soot in it after 120 miles today. The engine is tight as a drum at the moment. Mini recommend running in at engine speeds below 3500rpm, cruising at less than 90mph and avoiding full throttle for the first 1200 miles. Also encouraged is the varying of speed while running in. From 1200 miles onward, engine speed can be gradually increased.

NVH from the engine seems to be quite a bit less than from the Fabia vRS PD engine. This is to be expected in view of the smaller volume pistons. As the engine is being run in, I am only stoking it around gently at the moment. Once on the move, the engine is actually very quiet and unobtrusive. I had a little burst up to around 80mph earlier and the car was surprisingly refined.

The tall gearing helps here, 2000rpm in top equating to around 65mph, so almost identical to the Fabia. The car is fitted with a 6 speed Getrag box. Change is too new to judge yet, but initially feels a little less well oiled than the Fabia one did from new. Needs a week or two to loosen up. The change is accurate and precise. Reverse is not locked out by a specific mechanism, but it takes a hard push across the gate to get into it, so should not be something engaged by mistake.

Ride and handling. The ride handling compromise is in a different class to the Fabia vRS. The springing is probably a little firmer, but bumps and broken surfaces that have always been very noticeable in the Fabia seem to have virtually vanished in the Mini, almost like someone had been round and re surfaced the road. And this on 195/55R16 runflat tyres. For all its comfort though, the ride is firm but compliant. Body control is very good indeed. One particular bend around here always has the Fabia nodding its head. In the Mini, it is smooth and easy to negotiate without slowing. The car does roll a bit (still less than the Fabia) but it transfers its weight around to the desired corner of the car on demand and settles immediately. The way it flows down a country lane is something special. Turn in is very immediate and very accurate and the rear can be bought out a surprisingly long way to help cornering without triggering the DSC. The fitted Goodyear Excellence tyres are too new to really lean on yet, but seem to be getting more positive by the mile. Road noise is a little less than in the Fabia too. Once the engine and tyres are run in, I expect this car to be quite an entertainer on the twisties. On the dual carriageway, noise is generally well suppressed. There is a good degree of isolation from transverse ridges that make the Fabia shudder. Surface noise is well isolated for a car of its class. Also, virtually no wind noise, given the frameless doors, this is good.

Build, fit and finish. The panel shuts are good, the paint good, the exterior trim all straight and secure. Door closure sounds solid, but the hatch takes a firm shove to close. The interior is a half leather colour coded option that all looks very coherent. Storage is via two boxes with nicely damped sprung covers and a couple of nets to hold stuff in. Nothing inside rattles and the switch gear, although looking fiddly and fragile, feels fine in use.

Creature comforts and toys. Heating and ventilation includes manual air con. Four face level vents and a dash top "air curl" keep occupants ventilated, with options to split air to the footwell, or windscreen. EDIT: system does allow comfort split air to footwell, face and screen. Manual is possibly misprinted. There are absolutely loads of menu driven things to play with in the car. Sound system is actually better than I remember on the test drive. The radio / cd player is not immediately intuitive, but once you get your head around the logic of the controls, it is pretty straightforward. The CD player also accepts CDs with MP3 tracks on. The radio display is also able to double up as an on board computer display as well, with trip, average speed, average consumption etc displayed if you want it.

When it gets dark. The headlights are H4 based (and very easy to access for changing). They provide a good spread of light on dipped beam, but a curiously uneven, though effective, distribution on main beam. I can feel a set of Philips Xtremes heading my way soon. The instrument lighting is well considered and you travel in an orange glow. Part of the Chilli Pack option set that I had is the inclusion of "mood lighting". This is odd stuff. LED light sources are placed in the overhead binnacle, door handles and B pillar tops. These very gently illuminate the interior of the car in a variety of shades from blue, through a violety red to orange. Totally frivolous and I was worried it may be distracting, but it does not reflect off the interior surfaces, so does not adversely affect vision at night.

So far, so good then. Todays 120 miles was a bit of running about getting shopping, a few loosening up miles and some stop / start traffic. Saw an indicated 56.4mpg for the day, which given how tight the engine feels is good. This week brings 4 days of instruction and a 450 mile round trip for a consulting job, so should be run in by close of play Sunday. Will report more as I find.

Chris

Edited 3 September, 200817 yr by Chris GB
Ammendment to heater control description.

Another stonking review Chris, you really should consider changing careers

Glad all appears well - any photos yet?

I was quite taken with that mood lighting feature, following a recent trip in a Gen2 MCS. Daft, but quite cool

Steve

Thanks Chris - a thorough, well written and entertaining review.

Looking forward to the pics.

Just out of interest what other cars did you consider before choosing the Mini?

http://briskoda.net/general-car-chat/new-driving-tuition-car-ideas/112529/

Can one ask what made you sell the honda?

Can one ask what made you sell the honda?

Eh? I never had a Honda. Tried the Civic 2.2 Diesel out. OK, but not really instructor car material.

Chris

Too many Chris's's's's's

Its ChrisRs that has the Honda - http://briskoda.net/briskoda-members-cars/chrisrss-honda-civic-type-s-gt/82362/

Glad you are liking it Chris

Will it be coming to Maidstone Friday?

Reverse is a push, let it back and then push again mate (eg it will go in on second attempt)

Glad you seem to be liking it so far. I certainly enjoying a mini one when I'm allowed

Nice thorough review Chris!

I'm confident you made the right choice with the Mini. Looking forward to some pics and a rundown of your spec!

One observation Chris; IME the main contributor to "road noise" is the tyres. Did you have the same type and size Goodyears on the Furbie?

Eh? I never had a Honda. Tried the Civic 2.2 Diesel out. OK, but not really instructor car material.

Chris

Sorry, Wrong Chris!

In that case - The mini is perfect for the job. Enjoy! - Also yet another great write-up.

Many thanks,

, storks are intuitive, positive and well placed.

Thats just cruel:)

Otherwise,sounds rather good

Glad you are liking it Chris

Will it be coming to Maidstone Friday?

It will if all goes to plan. I am doing a lot of miles that day and have to fit a lesson in at Chelmsford until 6:30 as well. Will be there but at what time I am not sure yet. Wont be clean though as I expect to have covered 1000 miles by Friday.

Reverse is a push, let it back and then push again mate (eg it will go in on second attempt)

It seems like quite a push to get past the lockout, but once over the resistance it goes in just fine. I am happy with it the way it is as it prevents "unexpected" use of reverse.

I'm confident you made the right choice with the Mini. Looking forward to some pics and a rundown of your spec!

Pics could be a while yet. I have a manic couple of weeks with two intesnive courses and a couple of days consulting on top of the usual workload and some new starters generated by getting the car.

Spec is:

Engine 1.6 16V CR Diesel with 110bhp and up to 192lb/ft (over boost)

Options were a Chilli Pack which adds various stuff including 16" alloys on runflat tyres, the ambience lighting, three spoke leather steering wheel, half leather seats with lumbar adjustment, passenger seat height adjustment, multi function computer, air con, storage compartments and nets, front foglights and a few other bits.

On top of this I had a space saver rear (runflats are repairable if they have not been run while flat), some darkened rear glass (keeps the heat out but not so dark as to compromise visibility) and heated washer jets / mirrors and some colour coded trim to match the exterior colour. Lastly a set of rubber winter mats for the coming months.

One observation Chris; IME the main contributor to "road noise" is the tyres. Did you have the same type and size Goodyears on the Furbie?

It is my experience also. I have run a variety of tyres on the Fabia. By far the quietest have been the Toyos it is on now. The three coopers I have driven have had different tyres on. The quietest was the BMW courtesy car on 17" Bridgestones. The petrol cooper I drove on 16" wheels had Dunlops on and the one I have has the Goodyears. Of the three cars, the one I have has probably the most prominent tyre noise, but this may abate a bit once they soften up with use. It may get louder mind. It is still a whole lot quieter than the Fabia though and I would imagine it will improve with T1R or similar.

Thats just cruel:)

Otherwise,sounds rather good

Eh? The storks are OK. They are IMO not as obviously laid out as the Fabia. However, the turn signal cancelling is good as learners can switch signals off without clicking the lane change 3 flashes by accident. Wiper stork is a bit of a mystery though. Obvious but overly complicated.

This car is really starting to get under my skin. It drives really well and the handling is excellent and lively. My initial impression was that the cabin in particular whiffed of trying too hard, but it is weaving its charms around me and drawing me in;)

First days teaching has yielded 52mpg, which was a day of almost completely urban roads and manoeuvres for pupils to get used to the differences. The Fabia would possibly have made 36mpg on a day like today.

Drove the Fabia again, felt like the steering column had come away from the rack.

Chris

Think Loz was pointing out the difference between a stork:

and a stalk

Glad you're enjoying the Mini - I've been out in a One quite a few times recently and also a Cooper and I just can't get over how fantastic the ride is, even on the bumpiest, twistiest B roads where it should be really unsettled.

Reverse took me a little while to get used to as it's quite a long throw across before you push up to engages, but my other half tells me it's the same as all BMWs and you soon get used to it.

Lovely car - just wish they were a bit cheaper!!!

Chris

nice review, do stay around so you can keep us updated on the reliability

Think Loz was pointing out the difference between a stork:

and a stalk

Glad you're enjoying the Mini - I've been out in a One quite a few times recently and also a Cooper and I just can't get over how fantastic the ride is, even on the bumpiest, twistiest B roads where it should be really unsettled.

Reverse took me a little while to get used to as it's quite a long throw across before you push up to engages, but my other half tells me it's the same as all BMWs and you soon get used to it.

Lovely car - just wish they were a bit cheaper!!!

Chris

Stalks then. They are OK. Note to self: Think before typing.

Ride quality is truly outstanding on all sorts of roads, but the handling is taught and body control total. The more I drive it, the more I like it.

nice review, do stay around so you can keep us updated on the reliability

I will still be around here. Reliability will be interesting. Just flicking through the service book, there are no cambelt intervals mentioned, but every 9th oil change is the interval for a new DPF. Hopefully the oil interval is the same as for the C2 GTS diesel which IIRC is 20,000 miles.

So far, it has drawn an additional 8 customers to start in the next three weeks and another when his licence comes through, so I hope I can keep up that marketing advantage.

Chris

Cool

All seems positive

Excellent stuff.

What colour is it?? :P

Lovely cars and I'd get one if I could fit into it day in day out, however it's just that tiny bit too small. Still I have access to a one to drive and I can't get over how fun it is and how well sorted the handling is even with the small engine.

I think your MPG will improve too as my brother has a focus with the same engine and he regularly gets in the high 50's around town. With the mini being smaller and lighter you should get some extra over this.

IIRC the service interval and oil for the mini D is 12.5k miles.

HTH

Excellent stuff.

What colour is it?? :P

Chilli Red / White roof / mirrors / bonnet stripes, with colour coded red / black interior. It does look good. White wheels seem to have been an error of judgement though. They seem to stay clean for around 100mm then get covered in brake dust. Hopefully will improve when the pads bed in.

Lovely cars and I'd get one if I could fit into it day in day out, however it's just that tiny bit too small. Still I have access to a one to drive and I can't get over how fun it is and how well sorted the handling is even with the small engine.

I think your MPG will improve too as my brother has a focus with the same engine and he regularly gets in the high 50's around town. With the mini being smaller and lighter you should get some extra over this.

IIRC the service interval and oil for the mini D is 12.5k miles.

HTH

I have had a chance to get the chassis working a bit today as I had a couple of appointments with my more rural customers. It is really deeply impressive in the way it seems to be just nicely settled at speed and loose but still stable when up on its toes. The chassis is a class act.

MPG today has been 55.1mpg with a still mainly urban teaching load. Still got one lesson to do tonight, then a nice 220 mile motorway slog to finish the evening off. Will be interesting to see how it does on a long cruise. Service is condition based on the Cooper D, so could be anything between 12,000 and 25,000 so I am told. Given my use of the car, it may be closer to 12,000.

DPF is odd. Still no sign of soot in the tailpipe and the car has covered over 300 miles now.

Chris

they have one on the "long term" fleet (thats a joke given the tiny miles they do!) autoexpress fleet, its made it to 7,000 miles and the handbrakes failed, and the rear brakes have overheated..... hhmmm

not dissin it, its a loveley car, and will no doubt be very very good on economy..... keep us posted on how it goes...

is the servicing variable then? pergeot engines are usually 20k......

they have one on the "long term" fleet (thats a joke given the tiny miles they do!) autoexpress fleet, its made it to 7,000 miles and the handbrakes failed, and the rear brakes have overheated..... hhmmm

not dissin it, its a loveley car, and will no doubt be very very good on economy..... keep us posted on how it goes...

is the servicing variable then? pergeot engines are usually 20k......

Condition based servicing, so variable depending on use and results from various sensors. I know the same engine in the PSA group cars is either 20,000 or 22,500 miles fixed, but if the oil is heavily contaminated, that would be a bad thing anyway.

Keeping my fingers crossed on reliability, but really, given its place in various respectable reliability surveys, it is less likely to see a warranty claim than anything French or Italian. In the surveys the Gen 2 Mini rates higher than the Mk 1 Fabia too. It is a really good drive though. Just off out up the M1 now. Good night all!

Chris

Certainly the one I know of is driven by somebody that considers it a tool and it will get a wash when it's dirty. Only warranty items so far are a vent that wouldn't quite close and a software update for the ipod adapter.

Had a little jaunt up to Darton and back last night and this afternoon. Seats are comfy enough on longish journey (not as comfy as the Fabia mind). Travelled up and back at just under 10%+2 most of the time and averaged 62.7mpg according to the OBC.

Also found it runs much smoother and quieter on BP Ultimate.

Chris