2025 Mini Cooper S Review: Is It Still the Ultimate Premium Hatchback?

[@reedgn]

The 2025 Cooper S is my first Mini, and I love it! I agree there is a crazy amount of tech. If you look at the car model in the fuel efficiency screen the wheels turn when you do, headlights blink and wheels spin up during acceleration. I've never seen so much effort put into user interface software. I only drive in sport mode, and I get 40 mpg highway, 30 mpg around town and 35 mixed. I have no complaints.

[@ashtonmarrero7932]

I love it! As long Mini sticks to its roots, we are good. The tech package is i sane. Last generation lacked room with my longs in terms of width, so the new one has improved. Working on a 3rd Mini coming sometime in 2025, can’t wait to get it!

[@johngraham6506]

Just found you. Excellent video. I like your description of driving characteristics and that is what is important to me.

[@BrianMakse]

Welcome aboard! That’s why we’re here!

[@derekmorrison4191]

Great video🙌. Love the new Mini

[@BrianMakse]

Thanks! 👍

[@thanasisbert564]

Great review Brian and thank you for your point of view. I have an a F66 from August and I am very pleased with my choice (cooper C with jcw trim that includes paddles, dynamic damper etc). I had an R53 and this is levels up in many ways. The daily use is just perfect (ride, comfort, tech, accelaration) and even the cooper C is faster than my previous S.

[@BrianMakse]

Congrats! Looking forward to trying the JCW at my first opportunity.

[@thanasisbert564]

​@@BrianMakse It's not out there yet, but I want it too. Mine is jcw trim not the one with the jcw engine but for me it's the perfect balance and you can keep your license easier 😅

[@KlemensEV]

2025 identical model in US. 37 MPG around town and 40-43 MPG on the highway at 75-80 MPH. Amazing economy. Just completed a 3400 mile road trip. Driving assist features are awesome on the highway. There is a manual mode for the tranny but it uses the cruise button for upshifts and downshifts. 5600 miles in 2 months, I love it.

[@BrianMakse]

Cheers! Thanks for the info!

[@stephencairns5962]

Hi - How did you access the manual mode, please?

[@KlemensEV]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ-wq6SBebuDhKssi=oobZBWZcxl_z_N8Q

[@arstd99]

Subscribed & Thumbed Up!! I'm new to your channel and I like what I see!

[@BrianMakse]

Welcome! Appreciate it!

[@CoolTatts]

I love my 2012 mini Cooper S R56 and will continue to drive it as far as it will go. This new generation doesn't make me want to upgrade at all. Other than Android Auto, I don't feel I'm getting anything better.

[@andrewle9289]

Great review! How would you compare the handling and driving dynamics of this Cooper S to the GTI’s? Which of the two is more fun to drive, assuming both are Auto?

[@BrianMakse]

Thanks! Excellent question. I’d score braking and steering the same. I like the lower seating position and lower stance of the Mini, which is more satisfying for me. The GTI otoh has the magic diff and manual control of the gearbox. A little apples and oranges because they have slightly different use cases. The GTI is more sporting and the Mini more premium.

[@CoolTatts]

2012 Mini Cooper S 6 Speed Automatic and I’m getting 8.6L/100km mostly city driving.

[@jamessignorile7110]

BMW magic.

[@HiiImChris]

Man I wish I could own this car

[@themusers03]

Is it really that quiet? How is highway driving?

[@Pissarrio]

The infotainment center is not always functioning properly and it get stuck and you cannot scroll through other screens and sometimes the voice command does not work either. Also when you change a setting like turning off the feature that turns the engine off when stopped at a light it does not save those setting and every time you start the car you need to go back to those settings and reconfigure them again.

[@RichardBenson-tm6mw]

The start and stop is on “on” as preset on every car, you can deactivated it during the ride, but once you turn off the car finishing the ride and then turn on again for a new route, the car will have again the start and stop on. Like every other car. To deactivate it permanently, you have to decodify the car, by the ODB plug.

[@AliveClint]

This car used to be beautiful. I'm not so sure about this design. The interior is particularly nerfed.

[@MJ-yz5km]

used to be beautiful. couldn't agree more.

[@g.r.2985]

That display is almost as big as the steering wheel 😮

[@michaelzero5144]

The answer is NO as someone who owns a mini and has driven the new one a fair amount. Big fail for BMW. Car edge was reporting that Mini was in the top 10 of slowest selling brands/vehicles currently. Our Mini dealer here has tons of them and they’re not selling.

[@carlwhittaker2353]

The paddles come with the sport pack

[@FurkanCemTurfanda]

No handbrake is a terrible loss. No manual, and no paddle shifters on the auto are further misses.

[@edselsugay4768]

Interesting, seems fun, has a touch of luxury. But it seems like too much of a departure from the traditional Mini. I wish it had a manual, more toggle switches, visible exhaust, more audible exhaust. They also seem to have gotten bigger over the years too.

[@Lenoch_]

Praise be, no more haptic steering wheel buttons, but that center screen is heinous

[@BrianMakse]

I actually don’t mind it in a couple of the “experiences”.

[@SoloVentureExplorer]

Very good review Brian. I do not love the interior of the new minis

[@BrianMakse]

I love most of it.

[@carolyn4407]

same, they changed too much. It doesn't feel "mini" inside. I test drove one hoping to love it but didn't, so I'm hunting around the country now to find a replacement for my beloved 2024 Clubman S that just drowned in the storm surge from hurricane Helene.

[@OkayJose]

​@@carolyn4407that's so sad 😢 I hope your Mini had a good life ❤

[@Thankyou_3]

Great review! 👍 NO MANUAL??? What’s the point anymore with the Mini! This Mini is priced out, for 10K less you can get a Subaru WRX, for 5K less you can get VW GTI. For half the price of the Mini, you can get a pre-owned Mazda MX-5 which will be twice as reliable 😂

[@ColonelSternlove]

Manual is disappearing from most cars…

[@outcast3397]

simple comment...🙌💕

[@scottanthony3426]

A tick north of 3000 lbs. So much for "mini".

[@ersg.]

Have you discovered a massage chair?😊 mind blowing

[@Slickpete83]

*as cool as it looks and drives, but the real question is, will it last as long as a Toyota*

[@OkayJose]

🤷 I bought one though

[@Slickpete83]

@@OkayJose *congrats, maybe buy super extended warranty*

[@OkayJose]

@@Slickpete83thank you! 😊

[@toyota420xp]

Ultimate premium hatch is golf r

[@dg7438]

Mini needs to dump the 3 cylinder, make S base, lower price and the JCW the enthusiast car. The EV is the MPG car. Prices are getting out of hand

[@drumflip1253]

No more hood scoop, interior is uninspired EV looking and the front end is vanilla. They took the soul out of mini and I have owned many.

[@WRXinthe410]

No manual? Pass. In my opinion the interior is hideous. Only nice thing is the steering wheel. Mini ruined this car.

[@nickcheema907]

The UI is horrendous. MINI/BMW should be embarrassed. LOL.Good luck focusing on the road and needing to adjust anything on the center dinner plate

[@paulcassidy108]

As a 2023 MINI S owner, I am extremely disappointed with this new 2025 Cooper. No manual transmission, the dual rear exhaust is gone, side Mini S badges are gone, the hood scoop is gone, the beautiful Union Jack rear tale lights are gone, the interior toggle switches are gone, the hidden arm rest phone charger is gone, and the new cloth dash is hideous. Sorry MINI, your design team needs to be fired! My next MINI will be a low mileage 2024 JCW manual in Rebel Green ... woo hoo!!!

[@RR380]

No manual shift? No thanks!

[@paul5683]

Minimalism thanks to tesla, ugly inside and out.

[@OkayJose]

But in their presentation they were inspired by the old mini, no?

[@PedroHeyMan]

I just looks SO BAD compared to the 2024 models, the lack of airflow aspects on the bumbers, and the blendness, looks like an ev and i hate it

[@ItsKriger]

man its so ugly and "modern" WHY FRAKING WHY, 2021 is amazing. 2022 max. the rest of them look awful. stop with the modern and have some personality sheesh.

[@MJ-yz5km]

Is It Still the Ultimate Premium Hatchback? No!!!!!! absolutely No!!!!!! They just put an engine into a ELECTRIC CAR to pretend they upgraded MINI. MINI has no its spirit anymore.

[@genzigzag]

Terrible reliability, overpriced, questionable interior ergonomics, no limited slip diff if you wanted to autocross, low power output for a 2.0l turbo. Perfect for the Influencer crowd.

[@BrianMakse]

Who’s reporting reliability on the 2025s already? And, yes, I recognize autocrossers are a HUGE market that Mini has missed 🤣

[@genzigzag]

BMW/Mini has a history of poor reliability... at my local autocross there are a number of 1st and 2nd gen Minis attending.

[@DanDiMaggio]

The F series Mini's with the bmw B46/48 are one of the most reliable cars on the road right now. You are repeating some really old reliability information that doesn't apply to the new (2014+) cars. Now to prove I'm not totally just disagreeing with your entire comment, as an owner of two modified F56 Coopers, the interior on the brand new ones are awful and outside of the infotainment screen look totally cheap.

[@mattkramer4132]

Terrible reliability? Consumer Reports has reported "We expect the 2024 Cooper will be more reliable than the average new car. This prediction is based on data from 2021, 2022, and 2023 models, plus the Mini brand scores." Mini came in third place behind Toyota and Lexus in CR's 2023 reliability rankings. I was pretty skeptical about the 2025 Mini Cooper S until I test drove one a little over a month ago while my 2021 Mazda ND2 Miata was getting an oil change. The round infotainment screen looks daunting until you actually sit down for about twenty minutes and play around with it. It's actually pretty easy to navigate through. It was really fun to drive, and the seven-speed automatic transmission is probably one of the best autos I've ever driven. The simplistic design of the 2025 interior is refreshing after the prior year's model's sea of plastic circles and acres of toggle switches. It's a quirky little car, but I was really impressed and it seems solidly built. I have no problem ranking it right up there with my Miata in terms of being a fun and engaging ride.

[@alioscopy-glasses-free-3D]

100% wrong on the question of reliability… How many F-series MINIs have you owned & run? Yes, I thought so - it's ZERO… correct?!