news

MINI Coupe And Roadster On Sale In Australia

MINI's new go-kart twins make their local debut this week, with the arrival of the 2012 Cooper Coupe and Cooper Roadster.

The local range stars two performance models for both bodystyles. The Cooper S starts at $42,990 in Coupe form and $45,500

Mike Stevens

22:2101 March 2012

0comments

MINI Coupe And Roadster On Sale In Australia

MINI's new go-kart twins make their local debut this week, with the arrival of the 2012 Cooper Coupe and Cooper Roadster.

The local range stars two performance models for both bodystyles. The Cooper S starts at $42,990 in Coupe form and $45,500 for the Roadster.

The range-topping John Cooper Works variants are priced at $52,600 for the Coupe and $55,100 for the Roadster version.

On price, the new models take on the likes of the Renault Megane Sport 250 Cup, the Golf GTI three-door and the soft-top Mazda MX-5.

Mechanical Package

S Coupe And S Roadster

In Cooper S form, both cars are powered by MINI's turbocharged 1.6 litre petrol engine, producing 135kW at 5500rpm and 240Nm at 1600rpm - with a temporary overboost function offering a further 20Nm.

Both cars are paired to a six-speed manual transmission as standard. A six-speed auto is on the options list for the Cooper S, but it can't be had with the JCW.

The S Coupe's 0-100km/h dash is over in 6.9 seconds (7.1 auto), while the Roadster claims a 7.0 second time (7.2 auto).

Top speed is listed at 230km/h, with fuel consumption of 6.3 l/100km for the Coupe (6.7 l/100km auto) and 6.4 l/100km for the Roadster (6.8 l/100km auto).

John Cooper Works

Moving up to the JCW cars, the 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engine dials power up to 155kW at 6000rpm and 260Nm at 2000rpm. The same overboost function gives the JCW Coupe another 20Nm on top.

The engine in the JCW cars get a modified cylinder head, pistons, crankshaft, turbo and exhaust system.

Fuel consumption is listed at 7.3 l/100km in Roadster form and 7.1 for the Coupe.

The 0-100km/h sprint for the JCW variant is covered in 6.4 seconds (6.5 for the Roadster), with a top speed of 240km/h and fuel consumption of 7.1 l/100km.

The new twins are also the first MINI cars to get an active rear spoiler, popping up from the boot lid when the car reaches 80km/h and retracting again when speed drops below 60km/h.

The suspension package includes MacPherson struts up front, teamed with a multi-link arrangement at the rear. MINI promises "a new interpretation of the time-honoured MINI go-kart feeling". (Watch for our review this week to see if that's true.)

A Sport Button on the centre console, standard in the the JCW variants and optionally available for the S, allows the driver to adjust the car’s steering characteristics and accelerator responses.

Features

Standard features across both model include the active rear spoiler, 17-inch light alloy rims, sport button, park distance control and Xenon headlights.

There is also a sport leather steering wheel, sports seats, automatic air conditioning, and the MINI Radio Boost CD and Bluetooth audio streaming.

Safety features include Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Antilock Braking System (ABS) four airbags, crash sensor, Electronic Braking Force Distribution Control, twin horns, three-point seat belts and a run-flat indicator.