If you have any more questions about the new (or old) Mini, fire away in the comments here! We had lots of fun filming this, hope you enjoy watching it 😃
What's the ride like? I know you say it's 'decent', but how would it compare with my 2016 Cooper on 16" wheels? Mine is ok, but if we're doing a long journey my wife/passenger prefers we take the Arona (and that's in FR trim, 'sports' suspension). Had a short test drive in a similar age Cooper with the 17" wheels and that was very unsettled, no way I was buying that. I really like the look of the new Cooper, has more enough toys for me in basic Classic trim, and my Cooper is also auto - my first non-manual, and I love it :) But the ride could be a deal breaker.
Sam - you are an incredible reviewer. You get the point across without gimmickery, are upbeat, and articulate. Such an improvement over... hmmm... some other car-purchasing-related channels. Breath of fresh air!
I have an r53 for 22 years as a daily car and we have covered several road trips in europe. I love him but it's time for something better, comfortable and with better technology and lots of other things that I like in the F66. It was a fun car, a beautiful car and great companion but it's time and I am 100% sure for my new cooper c with jcw trim. Same speed/acceleration with almost half of fuel consumption, better suspension, better dct with paddles, better seats...
Glad to hear that you've had many happy miles in the R53. Let us know when you get the new Cooper C and how you get along with it. We're excited to hear what road trips you have lined up for it. / Jamil
@@cinch thank you!!! I had 3 long and beautiful road trips with my baby. 1st in misano (Italy), 2nd in Zandvoort (Holland) and 3rd in Silverstone (I am sure you know where 😂). Despite the unforgettable km and friends etc etc I managed to have a lap in each track behind a pace car. I am sure that the new member will be a true love too! I drove it ( in the spec I am getting) last week and I loved it. It was tailor made for me and all I want it 🤓😍 With the new mini I don't know where I will go but definitely it will be somewhere beautiful to get to know each other 😍
The new 2024/2025 Mini Cooper is nice. Plenty of space in the centre console. Lovely Round screen - a good tribute to the original. Very comfortable inside. Plenty of legroom and shoulder room. I saw it recently at the unveiling in India and liked it. However, I’m very happy with my little 12 year old R56 and its compact proportions which I actually prefer.
It’s definitely a bold design in my eyes but I think it will age really well! I think it’ll be a little like the new M4 and the looks will grow on me the more I see them around
The front is Mini , but the rear of the car somehow Suzuki or Renault style. Mini come on ! I will wait for the 2027 facelift . Things can only get better.
Yes I agree it doesn’t look great, I’ll wait and stick with my r53 It seems to me that car manufacturers want to take not only the looks from classic cars but also the FUN! 😞
According to the configurator in Luxembourg, paddles are available, but only in JCW trim. Which in itself is nice but also quite expensive and restricitive on interior options. Might go for it though, my Cooper SE leasing coming to an end in 2025.
I’ve been so excited this afternoon looking on the car configurator and was genuinely thinking about ordering one but no paddles is a deal breaker - no manual is bad enough.
@@cinch it’s off my list now for a few reasons. No exhaust so no exhaust note and no paddles. I did read you can hold the gear switch down for 20 seconds and that opens up a manual mode controlled by the +\- switch on the steering wheel meant for service testing. But I think I’m gonna go for a previous gen cooper s or 1 series with paddles.
Do you have any knowledge on how this rides handles, feels etc compared to last years petrol models. I appreciate the underpinnings are similar in the petrol version, rather hoping that some tweaks / improvements might have been made being a new model. Best wishes.
Hey Tim. We’d have to compare them back-to-back on the same stretch of road to be sure, but initial impressions suggest the new car may be a tiny bit softer than the old Cooper. That may be because the Cooper C is now the base model (with the discontinuation of the old Mini One). But it feels well judged with decent handling! / Sam
The best review of the new Mini I've seen, especially when compared directly with the first BMW Mini, is that the R50's design is unbeatable. The new one, just like the F56, is disproportionate in comparison. Also, the interior is too simple and looks cheap. The lack of a manual transmission is too much for me.
Thank you for your feedback! It means a lot to us that you highly regard our review 🙏 And yes, we agree that a manual option would have made this so much more appealing than it already is #manualsmattrr #savethemanuals / Jamil
Quite like the new 3 door Mini, may just give it a go. 3 door cars are really few and far between, which is why I've kept my Suzuki Swift for nearly eight years because I like 3 doors. The fact that the Mini is automatic may be just what I need, because at 72 the knees are showing signs of wear and tear.
We agree - have a three-door is a real rarity these days! And thankfully the auto is good. We just wish it had shift paddles for when the road opens up
@@cinch my 2016 Cooper auto doesn't have paddles but you can put the gearstick into 'manual' mode, which I use occasionally; can you at least do that on the new one? The fact I like the auto so much after only having driven manuals previously might be related to the fact I'll be 60 later this year :) EDIT ha just watched that bit in the video again where you point out all the space due to not having a gearstick :) So I guess it's a no - no manual override at all. Not really an issue for me though.
You would think in 2024 that they would of designed a forward and rear built into the corners of roof bodywork a car cam system,😊,,at that price of the car ,I would expect this to be fitted ,
You really gotta give it to mini, its one of the smallest new cars you can get in the US, the only 3 door hatchback you can get new in the US. And the cooper s is still available with a proper 2 liter and a 6 speed manual. The fact that they've kept the mini, mostly mini, available with 3 doors, with the option for a gas or electric, plus the option for a manual. And still can sell it in the hell hole that is the new car market in the US without making it impractical for european roads. Its quite amazing to be honest.
I'll the take the R50 thanks. Much more special design which will continue to defy the passing of time by looking better and better. And i want to be able to adjust the heating without looking away from the road. I'll never buy a car with essential controls on the touchscreen.
You not only do not get leather on the dash, that is not Leather on the steering wheel, but does look and feel like leather, no leather seats in them either.
@@johnpublicprofile6261 It’s ok, when you said £50K I wasn’t shocked at all. I had to double check at the start of the video and was actually surprised by the price. Even though it’s an ugly car lol.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY Mini had a great opportunity to go back to it's roots and make the mass market car that the world needs with the most suitable world recognised brand to do it. Instead of larger luxury vehicle with a limited lifespan drive-train, they should have made it smaller, economical fittings and design with a pure designed for EV front drive EV. They would likely be the best selling EV in decades. Mini has the brand image of being fun small cars, the world desperately needs a fashionably acceptable small EV. Mini was better placed to do this than perhaps any other European and USA recognised brand.
They need something smaller. This is similar length to the Suzuki swift and doesn’t look very appealing/ have retro charm. Guess they need to appeal to a global market now 😢
I wonder how safe a smaller car would be? I suspect there's a compromise made in the name of safety but as far as I'm aware BMW used more capable (and more expensive) crash structures in this car to keep the footprint size as small as possible
The Mini has always had global appeal but the increased size may have more to do with safety and tech which is a fair compromise if you ask us. Like the Suzuki Swift? We've got a review on this on its way soon so be subbed for that.
@@jamiljafri4841as much as I think the aim to get a 5 star euro ncap is a big factor (as it should be), does having to make everything bigger, more expensive, heavier the way forward for cheeky small supposed to be go-cart like handling cars? Think stellantis group are now getting into this end of the market understanding sometimes less is more…
"Designed for the 21st century " - Definitely not. It might be designed for the 2020's at the most generous verdict. But any car designed for the 21st century (or even late 2020's) has to be a pure and optimised EV engineering design.
What have they done to the back? It looks bloody awful. No visible exhaust, only comes in auto and doesn’t even have paddle shift for faster changes. Interior is nice though, love the screen, still keeping its original round design. And the toggle switches underneath that I’ve always loved about the mini have all but gone. I just don’t like the current trend of getting rid of physical switches and replacing them with options on the screen.
Absolutely hate the new model no matter what gadgets they've installed it is now looking like maxi not mini they have totally lost the original concept I know cars have to grow but this is ridiculous And the interior is awful far prefer the previous model and nothing can take away the very first New mini in 2000 one of them in very good condition suits me fine
What have they done to the MINI? The front is ok but the back is awful. It doesn’t look like a MINI any more. It looks like a Suzuki Swift and they’ve done away with all the lovely chrome, supposedly for environmental reasons, probably because it’s cheaper to replace it with plastic. MINIS used to be timeless and never looked dated. Not any more. 😢
The Mini has become so bloated surely there is room for some sort of Mini zero that’s actually a small car as it should be.It was all downhill from the r53.
If you have any more questions about the new (or old) Mini, fire away in the comments here! We had lots of fun filming this, hope you enjoy watching it 😃
What's the ride like? I know you say it's 'decent', but how would it compare with my 2016 Cooper on 16" wheels? Mine is ok, but if we're doing a long journey my wife/passenger prefers we take the Arona (and that's in FR trim, 'sports' suspension). Had a short test drive in a similar age Cooper with the 17" wheels and that was very unsettled, no way I was buying that.
I really like the look of the new Cooper, has more enough toys for me in basic Classic trim, and my Cooper is also auto - my first non-manual, and I love it :) But the ride could be a deal breaker.
0k
@@matth1j Ride is more often than not dependent on tyres. The ride on the Ocean Wave Green one I recently got for my mother seems very nice!
Sam - you are an incredible reviewer. You get the point across without gimmickery, are upbeat, and articulate. Such an improvement over... hmmm... some other car-purchasing-related channels. Breath of fresh air!
Hi Adam, thanks for the very kind words. It helps when the car you're driving is such good fun! 😀
/ Sam
I have an r53 for 22 years as a daily car and we have covered several road trips in europe. I love him but it's time for something better, comfortable and with better technology and lots of other things that I like in the F66.
It was a fun car, a beautiful car and great companion but it's time and I am 100% sure for my new cooper c with jcw trim. Same speed/acceleration with almost half of fuel consumption, better suspension, better dct with paddles, better seats...
Glad to hear that you've had many happy miles in the R53. Let us know when you get the new Cooper C and how you get along with it. We're excited to hear what road trips you have lined up for it.
/ Jamil
@@cinch thank you!!! I had 3 long and beautiful road trips with my baby.
1st in misano (Italy), 2nd in Zandvoort (Holland) and 3rd in Silverstone (I am sure you know where 😂). Despite the unforgettable km and friends etc etc I managed to have a lap in each track behind a pace car.
I am sure that the new member will be a true love too! I drove it ( in the spec I am getting) last week and I loved it. It was tailor made for me and all I want it 🤓😍
With the new mini I don't know where I will go but definitely it will be somewhere beautiful to get to know each other 😍
@@thanasisbert564that’s very exciting. You’ll be glad to hear the sound system is brill too so even the motorway journeys will be fun 😊
Small fun cars >>>
I've never wanted an R50 more!
A dying breed.
The new 2024/2025 Mini Cooper is nice. Plenty of space in the centre console. Lovely Round screen - a good tribute to the original. Very comfortable inside. Plenty of legroom and shoulder room. I saw it recently at the unveiling in India and liked it.
However, I’m very happy with my little 12 year old R56 and its compact proportions which I actually prefer.
It’s definitely a bold design in my eyes but I think it will age really well! I think it’ll be a little like the new M4 and the looks will grow on me the more I see them around
We see what you mean! In the metal, and especially when the lights are on, we think the new taillights look very good 👌
The front is Mini , but the rear of the car somehow Suzuki or Renault style. Mini come on ! I will wait for the 2027 facelift . Things can only get better.
Dare we say it looks better in the metal? And with the lights on! Would you take a Clio’s back side over this?
Yes I agree it doesn’t look great, I’ll wait and stick with my r53
It seems to me that car manufacturers want to take not only the looks from classic cars but also the FUN! 😞
2027 facelift? whattt
The big question, how much does the car cost? I bet it's £35k which is way beyond my price range, but it has some style, not as much as the R50
It’s way cheaper! It starts at £23,150 new 👍
According to the configurator in Luxembourg, paddles are available, but only in JCW trim. Which in itself is nice but also quite expensive and restricitive on interior options. Might go for it though, my Cooper SE leasing coming to an end in 2025.
Yeah, if only you didn't have to fork out for the JCW model just to have a little more fun
/Jamil
I’ve been so excited this afternoon looking on the car configurator and was genuinely thinking about ordering one but no paddles is a deal breaker - no manual is bad enough.
It is a real disappointment for those of us who really love driving. Especially since the interior is so brilliant 👌
@@cinch the interior is so good but no exhaust either? I’ll just go for the last of the previous gen
Please let us know if you get one and what you think of it.
/Jamil
@@cinch it’s off my list now for a few reasons. No exhaust so no exhaust note and no paddles. I did read you can hold the gear switch down for 20 seconds and that opens up a manual mode controlled by the +\- switch on the steering wheel meant for service testing. But I think I’m gonna go for a previous gen cooper s or 1 series with paddles.
Do you have any knowledge on how this rides handles, feels etc compared to last years petrol models. I appreciate the underpinnings are similar in the petrol version, rather hoping that some tweaks / improvements might have been made being a new model. Best wishes.
Hey Tim. We’d have to compare them back-to-back on the same stretch of road to be sure, but initial impressions suggest the new car may be a tiny bit softer than the old Cooper. That may be because the Cooper C is now the base model (with the discontinuation of the old Mini One). But it feels well judged with decent handling!
/ Sam
The best review of the new Mini I've seen, especially when compared directly with the first BMW Mini, is that the R50's design is unbeatable. The new one, just like the F56, is disproportionate in comparison. Also, the interior is too simple and looks cheap. The lack of a manual transmission is too much for me.
Thank you for your feedback! It means a lot to us that you highly regard our review 🙏
And yes, we agree that a manual option would have made this so much more appealing than it already is #manualsmattrr #savethemanuals
/ Jamil
Love the edit and the cars such a nice clean car always timeless!
Thank you Robert! Means a lot 🙏
/ Jamil
Quite like the new 3 door Mini, may just give it a go. 3 door cars are really few and far between, which is why I've kept my Suzuki Swift for nearly eight years because I like 3 doors. The fact that the Mini is automatic may be just what I need, because at 72 the knees are showing signs of wear and tear.
We agree - have a three-door is a real rarity these days! And thankfully the auto is good. We just wish it had shift paddles for when the road opens up
@@cinch my 2016 Cooper auto doesn't have paddles but you can put the gearstick into 'manual' mode, which I use occasionally; can you at least do that on the new one?
The fact I like the auto so much after only having driven manuals previously might be related to the fact I'll be 60 later this year :)
EDIT ha just watched that bit in the video again where you point out all the space due to not having a gearstick :) So I guess it's a no - no manual override at all. Not really an issue for me though.
You would think in 2024 that they would of designed a forward and rear built into the corners of roof bodywork a car cam system,😊,,at that price of the car ,I would expect this to be fitted ,
They drive that well that the engine gives up in them 😅 had 2 so speaking from experience!
You really gotta give it to mini, its one of the smallest new cars you can get in the US, the only 3 door hatchback you can get new in the US. And the cooper s is still available with a proper 2 liter and a 6 speed manual.
The fact that they've kept the mini, mostly mini, available with 3 doors, with the option for a gas or electric, plus the option for a manual. And still can sell it in the hell hole that is the new car market in the US without making it impractical for european roads. Its quite amazing to be honest.
That is quite a feat. Didn't think of it like that.
/ Jamil
Mini loses the manual in the F66 (2025 model in the US) just like in the UK.
I'll the take the R50 thanks. Much more special design which will continue to defy the passing of time by looking better and better. And i want to be able to adjust the heating without looking away from the road. I'll never buy a car with essential controls on the touchscreen.
It is a classic design, isn’t it? Both outside and in!
You not only do not get leather on the dash, that is not Leather on the steering wheel, but does look and feel like leather, no leather seats in them either.
Correct. We actually don’t miss real leather. What do you think?
No manual transmission in a Mini Cooper?!? They're kidding!
I know right? 🙁
/Jamil
COSTS £49,999? - Ignore this, he did say the price
The only price hint we were given was sub £50k.
It said that the car in the video was £27,399
@@AlmostLastJedi Thanks for the correction
@@johnpublicprofile6261 It’s ok, when you said £50K I wasn’t shocked at all. I had to double check at the start of the video and was actually surprised by the price. Even though it’s an ugly car lol.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Mini had a great opportunity to go back to it's roots and make the mass market car that the world needs with the most suitable world recognised brand to do it.
Instead of larger luxury vehicle with a limited lifespan drive-train, they should have made it smaller, economical fittings and design with a pure designed for EV front drive EV. They would likely be the best selling EV in decades.
Mini has the brand image of being fun small cars, the world desperately needs a fashionably acceptable small EV. Mini was better placed to do this than perhaps any other European and USA recognised brand.
They need something smaller. This is similar length to the Suzuki swift and doesn’t look very appealing/ have retro charm. Guess they need to appeal to a global market now 😢
I wonder how safe a smaller car would be? I suspect there's a compromise made in the name of safety but as far as I'm aware BMW used more capable (and more expensive) crash structures in this car to keep the footprint size as small as possible
The Mini has always had global appeal but the increased size may have more to do with safety and tech which is a fair compromise if you ask us.
Like the Suzuki Swift? We've got a review on this on its way soon so be subbed for that.
@@jamiljafri4841as much as I think the aim to get a 5 star euro ncap is a big factor (as it should be), does having to make everything bigger, more expensive, heavier the way forward for cheeky small supposed to be go-cart like handling cars?
Think stellantis group are now getting into this end of the market understanding sometimes less is more…
Ya cars gopping mate !
Touch screen, not so much, can I have reg gauges?
Nothing wrong with 'nerds like Ben'...
Everyone loves a nerd like Ben
/ Jamil
"Designed for the 21st century " - Definitely not.
It might be designed for the 2020's at the most generous verdict. But any car designed for the 21st century (or even late 2020's) has to be a pure and optimised EV engineering design.
Give a real mini anytime, and I mean the Issigonis design.
Suzuki swift is now designed more like an r56 mini and 2024 mini is designed like a 2016 swift
Your move next, Suzuki 😜
The radar thing in the front was …. 😰😥😰😥
Close your eyes and he sounds like Rishi 😂
What have they done to the back? It looks bloody awful. No visible exhaust, only comes in auto and doesn’t even have paddle shift for faster changes. Interior is nice though, love the screen, still keeping its original round design. And the toggle switches underneath that I’ve always loved about the mini have all but gone. I just don’t like the current trend of getting rid of physical switches and replacing them with options on the screen.
Cost a fortune to get everything reupolstered with leather
The dash looks horrible. Is it just a computer screen glued to a dashboard?
No gear shift, mmm no.
Absolutely hate the new model no matter what gadgets they've installed it is now looking like maxi not mini they have totally lost the original concept I know cars have to grow but this is ridiculous
And the interior is awful far prefer the previous model and nothing can take away the very first New mini in 2000 one of them in very good condition suits me fine
Far to dear to buy
They come back to garage for engine trouble s why no radio in them from tel.
What have they done to the MINI? The front is ok but the back is awful. It doesn’t look like a MINI any more. It looks like a Suzuki Swift and they’ve done away with all the lovely chrome, supposedly for environmental reasons, probably because it’s cheaper to replace it with plastic. MINIS used to be timeless and never looked dated. Not any more. 😢
The C stands for crap 😮😮😮 fact
Facts😮😮😮
The I stands for Idiot
Is that a fact😂
The Mini has become so bloated surely there is room for some sort of Mini zero that’s actually a small car as it should be.It was all downhill from the r53.
So NOT a mini