The latest iteration of MINI lands locally in the purely petrol-powered Cooper S guise costing RM 280,000.
While the big news with the latest iteration of MINI was for it to have made its initial international debut in an all-electric guise, the local introduction to this new-gen of premium hatchback however was spearheaded by an ICE option instead, in the form of the Cooper S, which was recently showcased at the Malaysia Autoshow 2024.
Now just before getting ahead of ourselves, calling it all new is perhaps a misnomer. Such is as with the petrol version of this ‘new’ MINI at least, this F66 iteration is more of a heavy facelift of the outgoing F56 generation, instead of being based upon the truly all-new (and all-electric) platform that underpins its EV counterpart.
To that end therefore, under the hood of this Cooper S trim of the new-shape MINI is still to be the same B48 2.0-litre turbocharged four pot (as shared with the BMW 520i) and a 7-speed Steptronic dual-clutch transmission as before. MINI currently quotes for this powertrain package to send 204 hp and 300 Nm of torque to its front wheels, with it being capable of the century sprint in 6.6 seconds, before running out of puff at 242 km/h.
This being a heavy facelift too, there are still some hints of the old-generation peeking out from its radically revised exterior design. Different to the all-new all-electric MINI on this petrol-powered Cooper S is for it to still retains its grab-handle style exterior door handles in place of the newer flush-fitting units, with this ICE version also still bearing its black plastic lower body cladding that has since been ditched on the EV.
The untrained eye will nevertheless still see for this heavily updated petrol-powered MINI to look as if it is the all-new all-electric iteration, coming from it featuring much the same minimalist general exterior aesthetic. Among the exterior highlights on this Cooper S includes an octagonal front grille flanked by circular LED headlights up front, 18-inch Slide Spoke 2-tone light alloy wheels down its profile, as well as a set of futuristic-looking triangular LED rear lights linked by a horizontal black tailgate trim piece with the model script emblazoned across it.
Moving on within, the Cooper S lands locally here with Classic trim as standard. This in turn brings with it black-blue interior surfaces made of two-tone knitted material, a black strip in synthetic leather with coloured stitching on its new-look dashboard, a sports steering wheel wrapped in Vescin and sport seats in perforated grey/black Vescin with a blue textile insert.
On the tech front meanwhile, this heavily-revised petrol powered MINI shares the same new central circular OLED infotainment touchscreen and Android-based operating system as featured its all-electric counterpart. Behind it too are two projector units that can project illuminated graphics onto the dashboard, which ‘combined with ambient illumination and newly developed MINI Driving Sounds alter the perception of the entire interior creating an immersive user experience’ when one of the eight MINI Experience modes is selected.
Other tech toys worth highlighting within the Cooper S are for it to feature a Harman Kardon surround sound system, heads-up display, Comfort Package Plus and the Comfort Access System. Driving Assistant Plus and Parking Assistant Plus suite of active driver aids are also to be featured on this new MINI, along with a host of other MINI-branded convenience features, which includes the MINI Connected Package, MINI Intelligent Personal Assistant and the MINI Digital Key Plus that can be controlled through the MINI smartphone app.
The new MINI Cooper S lands locally in its sole three-door guise thus far, with it to be available in four exterior colours: Ocean Wave Green, Legend Grey, Nanuq White and Chili Red. Estimated pricing for this premium hatchback is currently in the region of RM 280,000, with this to be further confirmed when it eventually goes on sale over here some time in the third quarter of this year.
