The modern Mini Cooper has always appealed to a certain type of person. Small yet premium, sporty not shouty, and with a strong whiff of manufactured kitsch, BMW’s Oxford-built hatchback aims for yuppies but lands more with older folks as a third or fourth car. While the newest iteration tries hard to break free from this trope, it may accidentally double down.
Mini has had a rough few years in the US. Sales tumbled 21.5 percent in 2024 to just 26,299 units—less than half what the brand sold a decade ago. For 2025, the automaker launched a new product offensive between the new Countryman in gas and electric flavors and the heavily updated, combustion-powered Cooper line. While Mini sells an electric Cooper internationally, it’s not expected in the US anytime soon, if ever.
| Quick Specs | 2025 Mini Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door |
| Engine | Turbocharged 2.0-Liter Inline-Four |
| Transmission | Seven-Speed Dual-Clutch Automatic |
| Output | 201 Horsepower / 221 Pound-Feet |
| 0-60 MPH | 6.3 Seconds (Est.) |
| Base Price / As-Tested | $35,595 / $39,495 |
The 2025 Cooper S gets a new chassis code designation—F66—but its proximity to the previous F56 alphanumeric should tell you something. The new model retains the same basic chassis and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as the previous car, gaining 12 horsepower and 15 pound-feet of torque for total output figures of 201 horsepower and 221 pound-feet, respectively. That power makes its way to the front wheels exclusively through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. That’s right, the manual transmission has left the building, despite high take rates in its final year.
Inside and out, the Cooper and Cooper S see more substantial changes. The F66 is over an inch and a half wider and three-quarters of an inch taller than the F56. The wheelbase is identical, but the new car is a quarter-inch shorter than the old one, and it gains a small amount of usable trunk space. The Cooper S also eliminates the F56’s hood scoop, a vestigial organ that once fed the supercharged first-generation’s top-mounted intercooler.
Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1
Pros: Lively Handling, Torquey Engine, Modern Interior
The interior is where things get dramatic. Minis have never had a traditional instrument cluster to speak of, offering steering column-mounted gauges alongside a circular speedometer and infotainment center in the middle of the dashboard. The F66 takes this a step further, doing away with the driver’s gauges entirely in favor of a head-up display and a large circular tablet in the dash. The dash, door cards, and parts of the bucket seats are trimmed in a mesh cloth material, while the rest of the seating surfaces are made of Vescin, Mini/BMW’s synthetic leather. The overall vibe is two parts Tesla, one part steampunk.
You start the Cooper S with a twist toggle below the center screen and put in gear by pushing down a rocker switch near your right knee. My tester was specced with a John Cooper Works Style package, which includes sport seats, a JCW steering wheel with paddle shifters, dynamic damper control, and a host of aesthetic touches—none of which are currently available to customers.
Mini’s PR department told me the brand is gauging interest in the JCW Style package for future model years but wouldn’t commit one way or the other. As it is, the base Cooper and Cooper S offer no paddle shifter option for 2025—a glaring omission for a supposedly sporty hatchback. Choosing your own ratios via steering-wheel-mounted paddles requires a $6,000 step up to the full-fat John Cooper Works model.
Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1
Cons: No Manual Or Paddle Shifters, Competitors Offer More Practicality & Performance
On the road, the Cooper S boasts excellent visibility, although, unlike previous Minis, it does feel like you sit far from the front of the car. There’s torque aplenty to get the 3,014-pound hatchback moving, but the 2.0-liter runs out of puff above 4,000 rpm or so. Driven back-to-back with Senior Editor Chris Perkins’ Volkswagen GTI, it’s apparent just how much more potent the VW’s midrange is.
Mini’s questionable synthetic engine noise played through the speakers, but with it switched off, the mill is eerily silent. At low speeds, the seven-speed dual-clutch exhibits some balky behavior, occasionally hesitating or surging on throttle tip-in. This, paired with the car’s stop-start system, can lead to stoplight frustration. Thankfully the stop-start is easy to switch off and a careful foot can coax the best from the transmission.
The Cooper S is a delight to drive: tossable, playful, and energetic with great chassis balance and strong brakes. The steering is quick and light, if devoid of feel, and the chassis is composed over bumps at highway speeds. It dives into corners and remains neutral at street speeds. The sport seats are comfortable with adequate bolstering, too. I’d love to try this thing on an autocross course.
Unfortunately, the transmission once again dampens the experience of spirited driving. Shifts aren’t as quick as VW’s DSG or even ZF’s eight-speed auto, and full-throttle upshifts interrupt acceleration and deliver a kick to the back more befitting of a Lamborghini than a tiny hatchback.
Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1
Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1
Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1
The infotainment screen, which uses Mini’s OS9 interface, is fairly intuitive, with visible HVAC controls. However, things like turning off the heated seats and steering wheel (which automatically came on below 37 degrees Fahrenheit) require multiple taps.
The multiple-camera system and native navigation make use of the full circular screen, but Apple CarPlay is hemmed into a smaller square subsection. I’m told this is an Apple limitation, but it feels like an afterthought. My final petty gripe is that changing the car’s drive mode via toggle triggers a sound effect that mutes your audio for around five seconds. Every. Single. Time. The “wahoo!” yell triggered by putting the car into “Go-Kart” mode (what was wrong with “Sport?”) was funny the first time, but it grew irksome by the third. We’ll have a full review of the infotainment system separately.
As-tested, the Cooper S costs just under $40,000. That’s prime GTI or Elantra N money for a car that lacks the performance or practicality of either. As the lone two-door hatch (Mini does offer a four-door version) in a class of larger and more powerful cars, the Mini is unique. It’s charming but hard to justify.
Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1
Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1
Herein lies the rub: The 2025 Mini Cooper S is too compromised to be a practical primary car for most people, and without a manual transmission (or available paddle shifters), not engaging enough to be a weekend toy. It’s the perfect Palm Beach runabout for Aunt Jeannine and Uncle Bert, the only demographic likely to afford a $40,000 third car. But they might be turned off by the minimalist interior and touchscreen-heavy infotainment system.
To borrow a piece of Gen Z slang, the 2025 Mini Cooper S is cheugy. It feels a bit like a caricature of itself, or at least a caricature of the 20-year-old first-gen BMW Mini. Losing the manual transmission and going all in on screens hurt its enthusiast cred, but it’s hard not to admire it for continuing to exist as a premium, fun small car in a sea of generic crossovers.
I’m glad the 2025 Mini Cooper S exists, even if I’m not sure who it’s for anymore.
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Maddox Kay / Motot1
Competitors
