Mini has unveiled the fourth generation Cooper and Cooper S globally, marking the final iteration of the sporty 3-door hatchbacks powered by internal combustion engines (ICE). Future models wearing the Cooper badge will only be offered in the fully-electric forms.
The primary breadwinner for Mini, the Cooper was first launched in 1959 before being relaunched in 2000. Besides the three-door configuration, the fourth-gen Cooper range will comprise a 5-door, a soft-top convertible and a John Cooper Works version as well. Mini is expected to bring the fourth-gen Cooper to India in the latter end of this year.
Fourth-gen Mini Cooper S: Exterior design
As with the case of previous iterations, Mini hasn’t made any drastic changes to the exterior design, keeping the visual appeal of Cooper intact. This includes the sporty, cab forward stance, the oval-shaped headlamps encircled by LED DRLs, the hexagonal front grille, door-mounted ORVMs, and a flat roofline.
However, there are some subtle visual updates like the new blacked-out inserts for the grille and air intake, new triangular LED taillamps with the Union Jack impression inside, new dual-tone, diamond-cut alloy wheels, and reprofiled front and rear bumpers. The sportier S trim gets an ‘S’ imprinted on the nose to distinguish itself from the regular Cooper.
Fourth-gen Mini Cooper S: Interiors & features
The fourth-gen Cooper carries forward the minimalist interior theme from the previous versions of Cooper. The includes a minimalist two-tone dashboard with large circular 9.4-inch OLED touchscreen taking centre stage. The drive selector is now housed within the toggle bar under the central screen along with other climate control, start/stop button, parking brake, etc. Interestingly, there’s no instrument panel on offer.
Other features on offer include LED Matrix headlights, heads-up display, wireless phone charging, ambient lighting, six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, and brake assist.
Fourth-gen Mini Cooper S: Powertrain options
Globally, Mini is offering two powertrain options for the fourth-gen Cooper. The first option is a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol in the entry-level Cooper C which kicks out 154 bhp and 230 Nm of peak torque. This version of Cooper can do a 0-100 kmph sprint in 7.7 seconds. The other option is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol unit for the Cooper S which dishes out 201 bhp and 300 Nm of torque.
The Cooper S can accelerate 0-100 kmph in just 6.6 seconds. Both engines are paired with automatic transmissions. It also comes equipped with a suspension and damping system designed for agile handling.
