# MINI Cooper D



## TJS (May 6, 2002)

Just ordered a new Cooper diesel which now has the BMW turbo engine as a replacement for the current family hack, a MINI One (05).

Anyone else use one ?

The test drive was impressive. It's certainly much more refined and "grown up" compared the first generation MINI. Reasonable performance, excellent economy (obc showed 82 mpg for 30 mins of gentle mixed use driving) and free road tax and London congestion charge.

Tad expensive for if you get carried away with the options ! Wife chose the colour .. metallic cat shit brown.

TJS


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## Guest (Nov 26, 2010)

Ouch, that brown looks rank [smiley=thumbsdown.gif]


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

TJS said:


> Tad expensive for if you get carried away with the options !


Yup, in late 2007 I went through the same process. Went in for a Cooper D, but by the time I had specced it up to the level I wanted, the equivalent Cooper S was only £900 more. No brainer really when spending north of £20k, I got the MCS.

Enjoy the Dooper, you'll be surprised how capable the R56 is as an 'everyday' car.


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## mansoni69 (Oct 8, 2010)

Drive a cooper as my daily commuter - but have had several D's as courtesy vehicles, perfectly capable and at 60-70mpg - it makes me even sicker when looking at the trip comp in the TT!


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Liked the idea of a Dooper. But fifth gear ran a test and reckoned you'd have to to run the D for something like four years at average mileage to see the mpg benefit win out over the price benefit of a Cooper.

Mind you, that was the R53.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Fictorious (Sep 15, 2009)

R53 is a better homage to mini, better handling, better character, R56 is mega fat but probably the better car for it, although mini have ruined the S by recently removing the fuel on overrun causing the pops & bangs :lol:






Can't beat an R53 though.


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## TJS (May 6, 2002)

Over a five year period the economics of the D make sense for us on the basis of no Road Fund Licence, £750 pa saved on London congestion charge (it's free) plus a 20 mpg improvement in fuel economy over 8k miles pa. Maybe better residuals.

What I particularly like is the "real world" performance from the turbo diesel. Torque for the Cooper D is 270 nm, the Cooper S 240 nm. To put it in perspective a standard Mk1 TT 225 is 280 nm.

A similarly specced Cooper S is £1,500 more expensive. Basically the car, plus metallic paint, chilli pack, 17 inch alloys (no runflat tyres !), heated front screen, wood interior / colour line trim and full bluetooth. The colour is OK in the flesh. More up market manufacturers would probably call it "metallic bronze"

This will be our third BMW MINI in addition to one of the very last Rover Mini Cooper Sportpack which sits in the garage having covered 1,500 miles from new. Does the latest MINI have the DNA of the original ... thankfully not ! The older forum members amongst us (including me) may have fond memories of early Minis but having driven the "little Mini" 3 weeks ago I was shocked at how much cars have developed since the early 60's. An extremely uncomfortable driving position, very heavy steering, poor fuel economy and any meaningful accident in one would certainly be your last !










TJS


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## TT Co-pilot (Nov 23, 2010)

Oh wow!!! What a beaut that Sportspack is!

Makes me miss my old Paul Smith  We've got two R56's at the moment. A Cooper and a Cooper S and we love both of them. You'll be really happy with that new BMW diesel engine.


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## Charlie (Dec 15, 2006)

TJS said:


> TJS


Beautiful  :-* :-*

Charlie


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## TJS (May 6, 2002)

I guess the MINI factory isn't as busy as the dealers anticipated. The car was collected yesterday 2 weeks ahead of schedule. 
First impressions of driving home in a blizzard ? The traction control is very invasive and cuts the power to prevent excessive wheel spin, had to turn it off to make any real progress. The car is much better screwed together than the R53 and seems more solid. The BMW engine is more refined than the previous PSA based unit. I am not a huge fan of "condition based servicing", especially for turbo diesels, the oil seems turn black pretty quickly. Given the first service is likely to be 15k miles away I will change the oil and filter at 2k miles and every 7.5k miles thereafter, same as the Merc 320.


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Any news on how you're getting on with the Cooper D. (I actually like the brown). I test drove one yesterday to replace one of our boring cars. The emphasis was on real world fun, not top speed or outright acceleration, just enjoyment at the wheel. I found it was everything I was looking for, except perhaps cheap. Fit and finish seem a step up from the previous model and the engine was refined and torquey in the way a good diesel should be. The test car had NON run-on-flat tyres on 17" rims and provided a good balance between looks, handling, ride and tramlining. I'm just working a spec out now but it is going to be between £20k and £21k list. Ouch, but better than paying less for something you don't want.

Incidentally, the Mrs and kids want Spice Orange for the outside. I like this, but is it going to kill residuals?

Fuel consumption and running costs aren't an issue because I'm not justifying the purchase on financial grounds, but interested to hear any comments on problems and must-have accessories and anywhere offering deals...


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## TJS (May 6, 2002)

I like it a lot, its an excellent drive.

The new BMW sourced diesel engine is quiet, smooth and compliments the 6 speed gearbox. The variable PAS is now electric and nicely weighted at all speeds, its also much quieter than the hydraulic system on the previous model which had an annoying whine. I am now used to the auto stop start function, at first you think the car has stalled but it restarts as soon as you depress the clutch

Just used the first full tank of diesel (40 litres) at 500 miles which is pretty much as per the average fuel economy on the OBC of 63 MPG. A fairly gentle round trip to Norfolk of 350 miles saw the average in the high 60s. Keeping it below 3.5k revs for the first 1k miles, however it's a nimble overtaker due to the torque in 3rd and 4th gear. Sixth gear is basically a long legged overdrive. It turns in and handles very neatly on the twisty B roads, like most modern cars it errs on the side of understeer if pushed too hard. You definitely do not need the sports suspension option.

The car has the 17 inch alloys with non runflat tyres and a £50 space saver spare wheel option. The previous 2 MINIs both had run flats and the ride was appalling. Avoid them like at all cost !

The build quality is a huge improvement over the earlier model, no squeaks or rattles with comfortable sports seats as part of the chilli pack. The standard audio pack is fine.

Options; down to personal choice of course. The car was a factory order with the chilli pack, 17 inch infinite stream alloys, and metallic paint. We also added the heated front screen option which also includes automatic sensors for the wipers and headlights plus the full bluetooth option which includes the front armrest (the phone clips inside) and the multi function steering wheel. Bear in mind the ipod adapter cable and the bespoke phone cradle are £110 accessories and do not come with the car. Cosmetically the car was specced with the toffee/coffee interior trim and oak wood dash inlays with the interior chrome line pack. Personally I would not bother with the leather trim, heated seats and the expensive sat nav /audio systems. The standard headlights are OK, but not brilliant. If you drive regularly at night in rural unlit areas the bi-xenon lights are probably a worthwhile option. Unlike the TT the front fog lights do noticeably illuminate the road.

Colours; not a huge choice, previous MINIs were metallic black and silver. The Hot Chocolate metallic looks good in the flesh, I have seen a Spice Orange car in the showroom at MINI Park Lane, its certainly different, but I have yet to see one on the road which probably answers your question on residuals.

Deals? The TLC service pack was thrown into the deal and they upped the PX on the MINI One by £750 if the car was registered before 31/12/10. They did offer *competitive" finance but we paid cash plus the PX. You could probably get a better deal against a stock car sitting in the showroom or compound (most of which seem to be white). The days of six month delivery times are long gone.

We also tried an Alfa Mito and looked at the Polo, the MINI was by far the better car.

Not cheap ... but highly recommended !!

TJS


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Thanks, TJS.

I went and ordered one on Monday. Just waiting for a delivery date now.


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## Super Josh (May 29, 2009)

Good read 

That's interesting about the space saver as an option. Whereabouts is it stored?

Josh


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Super Josh said:


> Good read
> 
> That's interesting about the space saver as an option. Whereabouts is it stored?
> 
> Josh


Do you know what? It never crossed my mind where it would be. I hope it goes on the bootlid, like a P6 Rover with denovos or on the roof like a rally mini. Unless it is the size of a folding bike wheel it ain't going in the boot! I like to have a spare though, if only to support the car when rotating the tyres.


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## Super Josh (May 29, 2009)

ag said:


> I hope it goes on the bootlid, like a P6 Rover with denovos


Crikey blast from the past with the old Dunlop Denovos!!! Remember my Dad having those on a Rover in the mid '70s 

Josh


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Dealer just told me that it goes under the car! Probably just dragged along.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

That reminds me. I'm sure ours has a spare, but I've never looked under the car to check.

Also, I'm sure our next door neighbour's Dooper Clubman was £20 a year to tax.


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

Clubman has higher CO2, hence liable to RFL, like the convertible. Only hatchbacks are 99g of CO2.


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