In
John LeBlanc's Crank on Wheels.ca LeBlanc tackles the 2012 MINI Cooper S Coupe and has this buying conundrum,
In a straight line, BMW quotes virtually no performance gains with the Coupe. That’s either a marketing or engineering miracle. With additional chassis reinforcements and rear- spoiler hardware, the Coupe weighs more than the hatch.
BMW says my press loaner S Coupe’s shocks and springs are stiffer than in the S hatch. But out on the road, the Coupe drives much like the donour car. Torque steer is there when you hammer the gas in a turn or off-the-line. And as usual, the car punches above its price class when it comes to attacking twisty roads. Massive grip, tight steering, and negligible understeer (which can be negated with a simple throttle lift), blesses the wee Coupe with A-to-B road manners that would shame many German roadsters (some even starting with the intials B-M-W) at twice the price.
So, decision time: Why buy a Mini Coupe?
While the base Mini Coupe goes up against the likes of the Honda CR-Z hybrid, the better-performing S is a different (more aggressive) beast.
Like I said, just like the hatch.
So, in the end—with no meaningful performance gains—the decision to go Coupe or not comes down to a couple of lifestyle questions: Can you do without the hatch’s vestigial back seats? Do you want the season’s latest fashions?
