June 15, 2007 - When launched in 2002, the modern Mini begged the question: Is less really more? On one hand, it brought premium features and the cachet of BMW parentage to the subcompact class. On the other, its dynamic on-road capabilities could embarrass sports cars costing twice as much, garnering perennial placement on our Straight-Goods Sports Compact listing.

OK, yes, the first few model year’s build quality was suspect. The mandatory run flat tires gave it the ride of a donkey cart and its engine was considered gruff at best. Those up front were treated royally, but a severe lack of rear leg and cargo space meant the Mini stopped being a real car aft of the B-pillars. And with a few options checked off, it was all-too-easy to find yourself staring at a $40,000 bill for a front-drive, 2+2 subcompact hatchback.



Of course, many Mini customers filed their car’s faults under the heading “character.” Enough that, even after five years on the market, BMW’s British plant still can’t sufficiently suffice demand for the endearing little cars.

This year, the relatively all-new base Mini Cooper Classic starts at $22,950 with a new 118 hp 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine.

Still, as with the first generation, the Mini to get to exploit the car’s nimble chassis is the Cooper S; $30,600 with a standard six-speed manual, as per the Laser Blue test car. (A six-speed manumatic is a $1,390 option.)

With options like the huge glass sunroof, heated front seats, trip computer, a bunch of chrome trim and those go-faster hood stripes, the test Cooper S’s price was $33,035.

Inside the '07 Cooper S, as part of this year’s overall refinement plan, all the controls feel much more robust. For instance, the steering wheel wands don’t feel like they would break off in your hands like last year's. Visually, the new console literally takes centre stage. Its quirky toggle-switches remain, but the HVA/C controls now mimic the flying-wing Mini logo. Why the top knob tunes stations, yet the knob below the CD slot tunes the volume is a mystery… Ironically, the centrally-mounted, pie plate-sized speedometer gets easily ignored.



Thankfully the tachometer that resides above the steering column allows the driver to eyeball the digital speed readout below the centre of the tach. This way, one can register the car’s speed without taking one’s eyes from the tach. All the better to take advantage of the Cooper S’s new turbo four's power curve.

Um, did I say “turbo four?”

If you recall, last year’s Cooper S relied on supercharging to boost horsepower in the 1.6 unit from 115 to 168. This year, the Cooper S adopts a twin-scroll turbocharger. It means the hood scoop is now just a dummy.

Viscerally, the supercharged unit was all strum und drang. But the new turbo mill goes about its business with a velvety, linear smoothness. Supercharged, the Cooper S would tease until you were high in revs. Turbocharged, maximum torque is delivered much earlier.

Utilizing variable intake cam timing, sodium-filled exhaust valves and direct-injection fuel delivery, the turbo Cooper S is now rated at 172. More importantly, torque increases by 15—to 177 lb.-ft—all of which is available as early as 1,600 rpm. An overboost feature delivers an additional 22 lb-ft of torque for a maximum of ten seconds, but only in gears two to six to avoid rampant torque steer.



BMW quotes the Cooper S scoots from 0-100 km/h in just 7.1 seconds. That's two seconds quicker than the cooking Cooper and about half-second quicker than the ’06 S. Also, compared to the ’06 model, there’s less road and wind noise. And because of next-generation run flats with softer sidewalls and more forgiving suspension tuning, the ’07 Cooper S's ride is less harsh, too.

So refinement seems to be the order-of-the-day with the ’07 Cooper S.

But like your party animal college roommate who moved out and got a desk job in the civil service, has the (slightly) larger, (slightly) softer riding ‘07 Mini Cooper S become, well, too mature for its own good? Has it evolved to be less of a driver’s car, more of a ride for the poseur’s who like the Mini’s cheeky looks?



First up, hardcore drivers should like the new Cooper S’s mysterious “Sport” button that resides in front of the gear shift. Optional on the non-S Cooper, it speeds up the responses from the steering and the throttle. Like the “Loud” button on your stereo, why would you turn it off?

Just like the Cooper S protypes sampled last fall, In pushing the '07 Cooper S on some of the backroads west of Westport, Ontario, during an Ottawa-Toronto-Ottawa day of driving, it’s easy to discover the car’s not as sensitive at the limit as the '06 model. Now less prone to lift-throttle oversteer, just add a little breaking through corners and the Cooper S pivots with ease.



The previous Cooper S’s electrical-hydraulic steering was one of the best; front-wheel-drive car, or not. The '07 Cooper S’s  electrical-mechanical setup, combined with new, softer sidewall 17-inch runflats, isn’t as communicative. But there are now less abrupt transitions from traction to no-traction.Yes, some of the Cooper S’s rougher edges have been honed. And with that, there’s now a little less intimacy between the driver and the road.
 
Another product of Germany, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, once said a man’s maturity is to rediscover the seriousness he possessed as a child at play. In regards to concerns of BMW’s supermini becoming all stodgy and grown-up, don’t sweat it.

The’07 Mini Cooper S still has the ability to engage the driver in every turn of the road unlike any car in its price range.
 
- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com



Just the facts...
Build quality
Features
Performance
Fun-to-drive
Overall value

Price: base/as tested $30,600/$33,035
Federal rebate/penalty: No
Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline
Power/torque: 172 hp/177-192 lb.-ft.
Fuel consumption: (L/100 km) city 8.0, hwy 6.0, as tested 7.8
Competition: Audi A3 2.0 T, Mazdaspeed3, Volkswagen GTI, Volvo C30 T5

This article originally appeared in The Toronto Star's Wheels.