Overview & Reviews

Few cars are as instantly recognizable as the Mini. Loved for its diminutive dimensions and cheerful good looks, the British-born car has inspired passionate devotion both in the U.S. and abroad. The brand was briefly discontinued, but was revived in 2002 with help from BMW. Successfully paying homage to the original Mini Cooper of the 1960s, the reincarnated Cooper combines an athletic, BMW-engineered chassis with a space-efficient interior and a generous standard features list.

The history of the Mini make began in 1959. The original Mini car was produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in England and its mission was to be a lightweight, agile four-passenger car that took up minimal space. In a sense, the brand was born out of necessity. The United Kingdom was subject to fuel rationing in the wake of the Suez crisis, and British consumers clamored for vehicles that offered optimum fuel efficiency.

The car was originally sold under BMC's Austin and Morris brands; the Mini name didn't make an appearance until 1961. Although it had just 34 horsepower, the Mini was the ideal urban car and proved popular in crowded European cities. In 1961, John Cooper, a man who built Formula One racecars, put his magic hands on the Mini and the result was the ferocious Mini Cooper. His Cooper S model had (at 76 hp) more than double the output of the standard Mini. That infusion of power, along with suspension tweaks and some really good driving, had Mini winning the Monte Carlo Rally four years in a row (1964-'67). The marque landed on American shores in 1962.

The '60s truly was the decade of the Mini. New variations on the car's theme came with the introduction of vehicles like the Mini Pickup and the Mini Moke, a vehicle that resembled a quirky cross between a Mini and a Jeep. The car's abbreviated proportions are even rumored to have played a part in sparking a fashion trend; the miniskirt raised hemlines and became emblematic of an era. Mini motorcars tore up the asphalt on the silver screen, with the brand's appearance in the 1969 film The Italian Job. By the end of the decade, more than 2 million Mini motorcars had been produced. Sadly, the vehicle was pulled from the United States in 1968, in the wake of strict new emissions regulations.

Though no longer available in the U.S., Mini remained in production in Europe through the '70s and '80s. By the mid-'80s, more than 5 million Minis had been produced worldwide. In 1994, the brand was acquired by the BMW Group. The marque went on hiatus in 2000, but was resurrected (and brought back to American shores) in 2002 with the launch of the entry-level, front-drive Mini Cooper hatchback. Thoroughly modern in every way, right down to its BMW-engineered suspension, steering and brakes, the Mini Cooper is sold alongside its cousins at BMW dealerships.

Today, Mini's offerings include various derivatives of the Cooper, including a coupe, a roadster and a convertible; the slightly longer Clubman; high-performance John Cooper Works variants; and even the crossover SUV-inspired four-door Countryman. With such a diverse, fun-loving lineup, it's no wonder that Mini has become one of America's most desirable small car automakers.

User Reviews:

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  BUY YELLOW - IT MAY BE A LEMON...:-( - 2002 Mini Cooper
  By trbo - September 21 - 10:00 am

  The styling is new and fun. A great go- cart for people that are single, no kids etc etc... Cornering is like that of Porches & Bmws. BUT - once you hit the AC button. Bye bye power... hello lawnmower engine. Give lots of gas off the line to go with AC on. Its like a motorcycle... only have it if it is a 2nd vehicle. here comes the bad part. My first was a lemon - battery blew, shift liinkage broke, and they replaced all drive shafts and bearings...within 4000 miles.

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  Get the S - 2018 Mini Clubman
  By Chris B. - June 27 - 3:58 pm

  Owned new clubman for 6 months after deciding between Mini Cooper S 4 door, Honda Civic, Audi A3, & Honda Accord. We went with the Clubman for the handling, storage capacity in the back, ergonomic rear doors, and the allure of being part of owning a Mini. Within the first 30 days started feeling buyers remorse due to incredible sluggish acceleration and even in "sport" mode the car lacks power (lack of horsepower almost felt dangerous in traffic and especially entering highways), which made us wishing we wouldve paid more for the S model. We went back to the dealership to trade it in and they wanted 35% less than what we paid (we knew there would be depreciation), but the dealership elaborated that Mini halted production of the Clubman for several months because they were unsure if they should keep producing the car because customers were veering more towards Mini Coopers or Countryman models. They also said that the value depreciated because of poor demand & potentially high cost of parts. We walked hoping that we would grow closer to the car. The car has an excellent cabin-feel, handles incredibly well, and the sunroof(s) are an amazing feature that make the cabin feel much bigger. During a snowstorm the car slid off the road and the suspension got ripped apart... I firmly believe most cars wouldve survived the wreck, but the tiny parts got mangled from the impact. We purchased a Mini Cooper S for the handling and speed. The regular Clubman is just too boring and doesnt seem like a car that Mini wants to continue making.

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  Dont buy this car - 2013 Mini Cooper
  By jbash1 - June 8 - 12:30 pm

  There is something very wrong with the throttle and/or transmission in the 2013 model that mini is not interesting in fixing. Mine started missing and experiencing erratic acceleration after just about a month. I hate driving this car. I never know if it will go when I press the gas pedal and have almost been rear-ended and hit from the side when the car delays before accelerating or stops accelerating abruptly. Had one before that I loved, but I really hate this car.

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  A thoroughly major disappointment - 2002 Mini Cooper
  By blairp - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I should have not been fooled by the marketing hype. I am 6 foot and about 190 lbs. There is no easy way to be in the MINI. I guess if you are a short European or scrawny American is the only way it will make sense. A real man could never fit into this thing. The dealer kept telling me I would grow to love it. I should have passed. Now I have a Mini that sits in my garage waiting for my 10 year old son to become old enough to drive. Sadly, he will probably be to tall to drive in it as well. Like I said, if you are over 5 foot seven, make sure you will feel like a tuna trapped in a cheap tin can.

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  What a major disappointment! - 2002 Mini Cooper
  By timemoves - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I feel that with all the positive reviews here, the MINI would be a great choice. A test drive revealed a few flawas, but I just thought I was being a little too picky. Well, three weeks with the car and it remains my biggest car purchase mistake ever. There is really nothing fun about this car. If you want excitement with this little amount of sheet metal, you might as well buy a motorcycle instead. That is basically what the car is like. It is something of a hybrid between a riding lawn mower and a motorcycle. Nice concept, but a very poor execution. Shame on BMW for putting this thing on the US market.

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  I lost a LOT of money buying a brand new MINI - 2004 Mini Cooper
  By EX MINI owner and RELIEVED! - September 3 - 7:45 am

  I bought my car brand new in 04. It was a daily driver. I drive responsibly, care for my vehicles, and prefer to hang on to a vehicle rather than trade up as soon as possible. I still have a 65 Bug, a 76 Chevy Nova and a 91 Cadillac on the road. The MINI was the WORST INVESTMENT I HAVE EVER MADE, IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. In somewhat chronological order, its failures included: constantly rattling speakers, replaced on two or more occasions; broken motor mounts (the dealer thought it was the clutch and replaced twice. Later, there was a recall on said motor mounts); Panel lights that would turn themselves off; Speedo and tach would randomly impersonate windshield wipers; Exterior trunk latch stopped working; fuel pump failure; Steering cooling fan failure; Steering rack needed replacement; Whining transmission. The car was well over 24K off the lot. 6 years later, with 80K on the odometer, I sold it for 3200.00 as to carry out the repairs would have cost a small fortune.

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  Mini USAs little ATM machine! - 2004 Mini Cooper
  By Honda owner now - July 8 - 10:00 am

  With 60k miles on it CVT transmission failed on the freeway at rush hour, they tried to charge me $10k to replace it, talked em down to $3k but still then the fuel gauge, again, leaving me stranded on the freeway $1200, then the power steering $1000, then the mysterious $1200 thermostat repair that took them over a week to diagnose, apparently I hit a pot hole on the way home from the dealership (I have no memory of hitting anything) but the next day all the radiator fluid was on the ground so back she went to where they set me back another $2200 for a new radiator. Im not even listing the numerous repairs that cost under $500 that I had to do, all for a car with less than 85k miles.

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  Not Good in the Rain - 2013 Mini Cooper
  By specialk8 - December 8 - 8:50 pm

  Caution! Dont drive your MINI in the rain! I purchased a Mini Cooper S Countryman in July, 2013 from New Country MINI and have been very pleased until this past week. I was unable to open the door electronically and upon entering via the manual system found that a number of electronics were not working, no ww wipers, no power locks, no speedometer and every conceivable warning light flashing.. Upon bringing it to New Country they diagnosed the problem as "water inside an electronic module" and repairs will cost $900. No problem I thought MINI tells us what a great warranty and maintenance plan they have. But guess what it doesnt cover water!!! They say I opened up the passenger side

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  New model=worse model - 2017 Mini Clubman
  By Mark - September 30 - 3:36 am

  The Clubman was redesigned for 2016. If you look around the miniusa website youll have a hard time finding anything relating to fuel efficiency while it was very proudly displayed among the info for the previous model. Its a nice car, but one of the few perks it actually had was fuel efficiency. Now its got a new engine(3 cylinder!) and the MPG is humorously bad. It gets 23 mpg in the city which is on par with some large sport utility vehicles but its still a tiny car by comparison. Weve had three MINIs so Im not a MINI basher. We previously had a Clubman that got 32 mpg on the same to work routes the new Clubman gets 23 mpg. What automaker does that?? In sum, you can get far more for far less money with lots of other vehicles. The only benefits is that it looks different and you can find your car in a parking lot. We have a ALL4 base model which is not listed among the choices here.

• 

  New model=worse model - 2017 Mini Clubman
  By Mark - September 30 - 3:36 am

  The Clubman was redesigned for 2016. If you look around the miniusa website youll have a hard time finding anything relating to fuel efficiency while it was very proudly displayed among the info for the previous model. Its a nice car, but one of the few perks it actually had was fuel efficiency. Now its got a new engine(3 cylinder!) and the MPG is humorously bad. It gets 23 mpg in the city which is on par with some large sport utility vehicles but its still a tiny car by comparison. Weve had three MINIs so Im not a MINI basher. We previously had a Clubman that got 32 mpg on the same to work routes the new Clubman gets 23 mpg. What automaker does that?? In sum, you can get far more for far less money with lots of other vehicles. The only benefits is that it looks different and you can find your car in a parking lot. We have a ALL4 base model which is not listed among the choices here.