A sea of Mini silhouettes charged around the bend as we descended down the Million Dollar Highway into the by-gone towns of the Rocky Mountain mining era. The hatchback shape hasn't changed much since its rebirth in 2002, but mine was different. I was behind the wheel of a 2025 Mini Cooper S, one of the first of its kind on this Southwestern-bound section of Mini Takes the States 2024. The pressure was on.
See, the Mini Cooper has a place in the hearts of Americans, based on cuteness and performance. Wearing the name of John Cooper, the star tuner of original Minis, keeping the lively Mini ethos while allowing it to grow up—in character and physically, as the 2025 Mini Cooper is a little less than an inch longer and wider than the outgoing model—is a careful task to satisfy a devout owners group. And to make sure that the Cooper nameplate hasn't lost any of its caffeinated temperament, we put a $37,925 Iconic Trim Cooper S example to the test by charging through the New Mexican high-desert and climbing through Colorado's cloud-level passes.
Making 201 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque from a BMW-borrowed 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine known as the B48, the Cooper S is a bit lazy off the line but, once spooled up to peak torque around 1500 rpm, rides a satisfying wave of boost beyond highway speeds. Funneling its power through a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, the lack of low-end grunt seems like a bug of its transmission tuning, but that's belied by a consistent surge of torque in the higher gears. Sonically, the Cooper S has a shouty, low-frequency humming as it approaches its 6500 rpm, with additional crackles pumped in through its Harmon-Kardon sound system.
Notably, while Mini offers seven different driving modes with the Cooper S, only two make a real difference and, while the naming conventions are fun, they’re not super intuitive. The Cooper S starts in Core mode, with light steering feel and tame throttle response, but shifting into Go Kart brings quicker downshifts, heavier steering, and better throttle response, with a shouting "woo-hoo" noise signaling this highest performance mode. Beyond Core and Go Kart, there isn’t a huge difference between the other modes.
Key to the Mini Cooper is its go-kart handling, characterized by a razor-edge steering rack and eagerness to change direction. In the case of the 2025 Mini Cooper S, there is an appropriately darty behavior exhibited by the MacPherson strut front, multi-link rear suspension setup, and light electric power steering. Pitching into high-speed sweepers barely requires a move of the wheel off-center and yet it has a natural lock-to-lock ratio that allows for mini-circle turnarounds and tight hairpin apexing. The short 98.2-inch wheelbase and stiff suspension are apparent over mid-corner bumps and while transitioning side-to-side, bouncing and rotating the rear end slightly, and the nimble front-end follows groves and undulations in the road with its 215-section width tires. The brake pedal is grabby from the top but compresses linearly
The "all-new" label applies to the 2025 Mini Cooper S's interior, too. Featuring a less busy, more accessible sightline, the redesigned Cooper S interior owes its increased space and Apple-level quality to Mini's long-teased 9.4-inch OLED circular screen. Positioned in the middle of the cabin and with easy access by both driver and passenger alike, the lack of a fixed speedometer is a benefit in the Cooper S. Relying on a head-up display as the sole, head-forward instrumentation frees up space in a car that has always needed additional wiggle room for its occupants. There's simply more room, especially on the shoulders.
The screen, though, has too many menu options and individual pages, but navigating around them is fairly easy and the selectable drive modes bring a series of whimsical and customizable colors and patterns with them. Connecting to Apple CarPlay was clunky and even froze up the screen at one point, but that's something a simple software update or dealer reset could fix.
Beyond the technical hardware, Mini has updated the materials and touchpoints inside its 2025 lineup. Using colorful textiles instead of piano key plastic, the door cards, dashboard, and center console feel modern, durable, and frankly cool without the nuisance of fingerprints or creaks. The non-powered seats in the Cooper S tester were slightly awkward to operate but comfortable across hundreds of miles of highway and canyon driving. With two USB-C chargers stuffed in the center console, a strap-laden wireless charging pad that actually works, and two cupholders in between, the use of space inside the cabin is impressive. Even the chunky, squared-off door pulls open and close with a soft quality click above previous Cooper generations.
Altogether, the 2025 Mini Cooper S is faster and more precise than before. Though some of its performance ergonomics fall flat (no paddle shifters, no manual transmission, and minimal chassis customization), the playful Mini nature is intact. Though now weighing in at 3000 pounds, the additional space inside and upgraded technology don't dull the raucous, darting nature of the Cooper S. Instead, Mini has updated and sharpened the in-hand feel of the Cooper with a less plasticky experience, a more road-grabbing presence, and a thorough fit-and-finish behind the wheel and in the passenger seat. The Cooper S is more grown-up than ever. And that's a good thing.
Emmet White
Associate Editor
A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.
