LIVING WITH A…
MINI COOPERS
Is the petrol hot hatch a spent force? Not based on this 6000-mile test
WHY WE RAN IT To celebrate the last of the small petrol hot hatchbacks
Where our long-term test cars have been and what they’ve done
FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 6602
“We must celebrate Mini’s commitment to the hot supermini”
It’s easy to become desensitised to the exorbitant prices of new cars as they creep, slowly but surely, ever upwards. Just four years ago, the cheapest new car in the UK was £8000. Today, it’s approaching double that.
So I’ll confess I didn’t immediately gulp, gasp or go berserk when I saw £34,500 at the bottom of the spec sheet for our Cooper S. Given the general state of things, I thought it sufficiently equipped, suitably potent and aspirational enough to warrant price parity with, say, a speccy Audi A3 or a base-level Volkswagen Tiguan.
But after several thousand miles at the wheel, I’m running the numbers and wondering if I’ve been a bit short-changed – particularly when I had such a lovely time with the entry-level Cooper C, which is available for £10,000 less (albeit in our case with two fewer doors).