Used Mini Hatchback 2014-2024 review

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Mk3 Mini mellows in middle age, but does it still have enough old school charm to make it a canny used buy?

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With the option of five doors, a pure-electric version and a cleverly packaged platform that maximises interior space, the Mk3 Mini is a charismatic crowd-pleaser. 

It is a few centimetres bigger than its predecessor yet still retains all the old-school qualities of agility and compactness that we love in its forebears. And now the new ‘F66’ generation is becoming a common sight after its launch last year, prices for the previous-generation model have tumbled to as low as £2000.

Of course, it’s not as compact as its 1960s namesake, but the F56-gen Mini is ergonomically stronger than its predecessors and has a roomier cabin and boot. Bolstering its appeal is an interior dripping with retro character, greater perceived quality and intuitive technology.

Rear accommodation is still tight, but the five-door version is better and two extra openings make the world of difference. It’s just as refined as the Audi A1 and of a higher quality than the Ford Fiesta.

High levels of grip give you the confidence to chuck it into bends like you’re escaping Turin with the Carabinieri on your tail, and the compliant ride means all the gold you’ve stashed in the boot won’t bang around – especially in cars fitted with the optional adaptive dampers (pretty rare these days).

The nippy Mini One, with its 101bhp 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol, is ideal for urban commuters, but we would aim for the 1.5-litre Cooper, with its more sprightly 134bhp turbo petrol three-pot. It’s the better all-rounder and more entertaining to drive.

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The hot Cooper S dials the driving experience up another notch thanks to its 189bhp 2.0-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine. “The most complete affordable fast hatch you can buy” is how we described the Cooper S when we pitted it against its closest rivals.

While it’s firmer than its Cooper range-mate, its punchier motor and balanced chassis make it a fine companion for a brisk B-road jaunt.

Performance enthusiasts might be tempted by the John Cooper Works (JCW) for its 228bhp and trick suspension tune, which adds upgraded springs and dampers, anti-roll bars and a lightened multi-link rear set-up.

It’s excellent fun to drive but a bit stiff-legged and you’re unlikely to need the extra grunt – plus an immaculate 55,000-mile JCW will cost you £5000 more than an equivalent Cooper S.

If you frequently cover big miles, you might be inclined to buy a diesel Mini, such as the 95bhp One D and 115bhp Cooper D. They cost only £20 to tax and will easily achieve a real-world 50mpg. That said, the Cooper SD, with its 168bhp, 266lb ft 2.0-litre BMW turbo diesel, is a bit more refined and no less economical.

As for the Mini Electric, we would think twice before buying one. It’s fun, and ideal for short hops around town, but it has a real-world range of only 100-110 miles and that drops to about 80 miles in winter.

When it comes to trims, the entry-level One is pretty basic inside so aim for at least a Cooper – and find a car with the larger, more intuitive 8.8in infotainment screen.

The F56 was facelifted in 2018, which added new trims, headlights, quirky Union Jack tail-lights and smartphone mirroring as standard. More changes came in 2021, with a new front grille, interior technology and revised trims.

But we would keep things simple and aim for a mid-2010s Cooper S. With a healthy budget of £8000, you can pick up a pristine 50,000- to 60,000-mile example and enjoy it all year round.

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RELIABILITY

Is the Mini Hatch reliable?

Overall the Mini is a reliable, well built small car that shouldn't cause you any major problems. Indeed, it is not totally free from mechanical gremlins, but by now any recalls will have been addressed and dealers, as well as independent specialists, are familar with the issues that might afflict them. 

For more peace of mind, the Mini Hatch ranked fifth out of 19 cars in the small car class in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, with an impressive overall rating of 97.9%. 

Engine: Be wary of Cooper S Minis built between 2014 and 2015: a recall was issued to repair a defective crankshaft bearing and engines were either rebuilt or replaced. Check that the whole engine has been replaced because other parts may have been damaged by the faulty crankshaft.

High oil consumption is common on hotter models so check oil levels and make sure the car is serviced every year.

Exhaust: Ensure the Pro exhaust on the JCW cars is fitted properly. You’ll know it isn’t if the heat shield is rattling underneath the car.

Suspension: Listen out for a knocking noise from the front suspension as the control arm bushings like to make a racket when they’re worn. A new bushing is around £30.

Body: Door seal rubber can rub away the paint on the inside so check for any damage. You can buy door-shut paint protection film to stop the issue from recurring.

Check for clouding in the wing mirrors. New glass is around £20.

Interior: Don’t be surprised if the dashboard rattles, especially on higher-mileage cars. A creaky sunroof isn’t uncommon either and some lubricant around the seal can assuage the issue.

Check that the heated seats work and that the light doesn’t go out on the dashboard when they’re switched on. If they’re faulty, then it could be either the heat element or control module that’s to blame.

An owner’s view

Rachel Lowe: “I was looking for a step up from my 2013 ‘R56’ Cooper and the F56 model was what I was hoping for in terms of reliability and performance. In the end, I bought a 2016 JCW from Scotland and the seven-hour drive home proved that this was the right car for me. It’s very responsive, handles superbly and is surprisingly economical on longer journeys. I’ve added a few modifications, including a wrap, JCW Pro exhaust, front splitter/side skirts and the JCW Pro suspension kit. It’s been very reliable and easily the most fun car I’ve ever owned.”

Also worth knowing

If you want the fastest version of the F56-gen Mini, your best bet is the John Cooper Works GP, launched in 2020. This track-focused hot hatch is an absolute riot to drive thanks to its lowered suspension, larger brakes and 302bhp turbocharged motor.

There are plenty of special editions to choose from, such as the 1499GT, a play on the 1275GT of the original car. There’s also the 1to6 Edition, a limited-run version of the JCW that was the last Mini to feature a manual gearbox.

DESIGN & STYLING

Mini cooper s RT rear

For anyone expecting BMW to have taken a revolutionary approach to designing the Mk3 Mini, we’d remind them that Issigonis’s version barely changed in 40 years.

Further evolution of Frank Stephenson’s 13-year-old design was inevitable, if not entirely successful. Crucially, this was a bigger car. Sly shunting of familiar proportions conceal it well, but the third-gen Mini was 98mm longer,44mm wider and 7mm taller than before, and the Cooper S, with its appendages, was longer still.

And this new Mini was not any prettier. The elongated nose was fussy and the rear lights had swollen, yet, with the hexagonal grille, clamshell bonnet, floating roof and upright windscreen in place, it was likely that a layman would miss such minor differences.

Dig beneath the skin, however, and the changes were more clear. The UKL platform added 28mm to the Mini’s wheelbase and, flush with high-strength steel, explained this car’s greater rigidity.

Connected to it were MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, both of which had been revised to reduce weight and increase component stiffness while preserving kart-like handling in what was a larger car.

There was the option of adaptive dampers. Dynamic Damper Control, which electronically adjusted rebound and compression damping, afforded the Cooper S both Comfort and Sport settings.

There was no mechanical locking diff, even for the 189bhp Cooper S, although it does get Performance Control, a further refinement of the Electronic Differential Lock Control system that applies the brake to a spinning inside wheel while redirecting torque to the opposite corner.

INTERIOR

Mini cooper s RT interior dash

Welcome changes were abound inside the mk3 Mini – all of which made it more effective, mature and agreeable and none of which made it any less characterful. Good ergonomic sense prevailed over forced quirkiness, and few would miss the latter.

Most obviously, the central speedo was gone. It had a more conventional speedo mounted on the steering column, with a revcounter and fuel gauge either side. Given that both were easier to read because they were closer to your eyeline, they were significant improvements. We’d rather the fuel gauge was analogue, but it was a fairly insignificant gripe.

Electric window switches and door lock toggles were now on the door console, rather than low on the centre stack. The climate controls were easier to fathom, too. As a whole, the car was just easier to interact with.

It was roomier, too. There was greater shoulder room, better underthigh support from the seats and more kneeroom in a wider driver’s footwell. There was a bit of pedal offset – annoyingly – but overall you felt much more comfortable here than in any previous Mini. Which was all the good news most Mini owners would have wanted to hear.

Further back in the car, the improvements got steadily less remarkable. The back seats, though bigger, were still small by supermini standards, and the boot, while larger, still couldn't swallow bulky items.

But the boot was at least more cleverly packaged, and you wouldn’t want it, or the back seats, any bigger if it meant adding size to the car. Minis should be small, after all, although whether this one was small enough was a matter for personal judgement.

It did at least balance interior space against exterior footprint quite well.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Mini cooper S RT engine

It’s not easy to take a Mini seriously as a fully fledged hot hatch, not least because performance appeal is a relatively small part of what attracts most modern Mini buyers.

But here’s a note to the cynics: on road or track, the Cooper S earned its go-faster stripes in fairly spectacular fasion.

Hitting 60mph from rest in 6.9sec and a standing quarter mile in 15.3sec, the Mini did enough to outsprint the class-leading Ford Fiesta ST. Its advantage to 60mph was just a tenth of a second, achieved because the Mini can hit 60mph in second gear, whereas the Fiesta needed third.

Both a Renault Clio RS 200 Turbo and an Abarth 595 Competizione were, according to our figures, more than half a second slower to 60mph.

The move from a 1.6 to a 2.0-litre engine had done this car a power of good. Accelerator response was cleaner at low revs and mid-range torque was much stronger, as evidenced by a fourth-gear 30-70mph showing of just 8.0sec – faster than a Vauxhall Astra VXR and, incredibly, the 6.2-litre Chevrolet Camaro.

Such response and pulling power gave the Mini instant appeal on the road. The car felt eager to scamper off and its effusive spirit was disarming enough to make you minded to indulge it. As did a much sweeter shift quality, it must be noted.

But just as pleasing to report was the Mini’s civility. Hot Minis had for a while been capable of putting a grin on your face, but this one was twice as unobtrusive, better mannered and much more frugal; you could conjure better than 50mpg from this car when you selected Eco mode and drove accordingly.

Road and wind noise were decently controlled and suspension noise wasn't so wearing, either.

RIDE & HANDLING

Mini cooper s RT rear cornering

The Mini’s new-found maturity and breadth of ability left their mark here, too. As far as the driving experience went, a Mini remained an eccentric and fairly committed prospect, and a Cooper S was more eccentric than most Minis.

But unlike with previous generations, the Cooper S didn't feel like a car you could only keep for a year or two before your patience ran out.

That’s because – assuming you choose the Variable Damper Control – you could give it a much less wearing dynamic character than you ever could before.

Being not just short in the wheelbase but also short on suspension travel, the Mini was still sucked into bumps you wouldn’t notice in larger cars, and if they were medium-size or large ones, it would inevitably pitch fore and aft harder than some.

But select Comfort mode and there was compliance and absorbency in the chassis and a certain sense of pragmatic measure in the ride quality that made the car much calmer over long distances.

The bump absorption the adaptive dampers provided in Comfort was vastly preferable to the trolley-jack stiffness of Sport.

Press on and there was some excess weight, positivity and directness in the steering, along with some bump and torque steer to contend with – all of which made the car seem darting and energetic when changing direction, but most of it was slightly unhelpful if all you wanted to do was guide the car precisely.

But none of this stopped you from having fun. Grip and balance were both strong, traction was much better than in older Minis and there was never any shortage of charm or interactivity about anything the car did.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Mini cooper s RT front dynamic LEAD

 

In terms of running costs, little separated the Mini from its rivals. Mini quoted 49.6mpg combined for the Cooper S, but we managed 53.7mpg on a cruise and 34.9mpg overall. 

 

VERDICT

Mini cooper S RT static

Another car more or less like the last could have spelled the beginning of the end for BMW’s Mini success story.

Exuberant charm and retro cool had taken this car to great heights but, 13 years after its relaunch, Mini needed to offer something extra. And ‘something extra’ was what it got: extra space, pace, refinement and maturity but, crucially, no less ‘Mini-ness’.

While it was grown from proportions many thought already too large, the Mini Mk3 remained a small modern supermini and appealed for its compactness. It could be unruly to drive at times, but it was enough fun at other times to bring out the excited teenager in anyone.

To us, the Cooper S fell just short of the class lead only by the distance that separated its handling from true excellence. The perspective supplied by a full road test had led us to confirm that the Ford Fiesta ST was the better warmed-up supermini.

But for those who put driver appeal anywhere other than at the top of their list of priorities, and who could live with the Mini’s practicality, the Cooper S should be at the top of the pile.

Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips
Title: Staff Writer

Sam joined the Autocar team in summer 2024 and has been a contributor since 2021. He is tasked with writing used reviews and first drives as well as updating top 10s and evergreen content on the Autocar website. 

He previously led sister-title Move Electric, which covers the entire spectrum of electric vehicles, from cars to boats – and even trucks. He is an expert in new car news, used cars, electric cars, microbility, classic cars and motorsport. 

Sam graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2021 with a BA in Journalism. In his final year he produced an in-depth feature on the automotive industry’s transition to electric cars and interviewed a number of leading experts to assess our readiness for the impending ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars.