Mini Cooper 2001 test drive - 2006 hatchback

Evil baby

Mini Cooper S The thunderstorm of city streets

I will say this: if the style is multiplying at speed, you will get Mini Cooper S. And you do not need to blame me for a special love for the brand and remember, just recently, in No. 21 (69) AI over the past year, it has already been told about Cooper. Firstly, then it was about a car without a letter S, namely, the most powerful version was most changed during recent restyling. Secondly, I do not hide my sympathy for this cocky car. For several days in his company they became a good New Year's gift for me, and it is customary to share good impressions in the editorial office.

Fighting character

Is it a joke of 170 liters. p., And exactly so much is now ready to offer Cooper S to its owner for a car a little more than a ton? No, it's serious! In addition, if the power increased by 7 forces, then the torque has increased by 10 nm. And the processed mechanical 6-speed KP, the transfer numbers of which have become even more short, best emphasizes the fighting nature of this mini.

Inexplicably, just sitting behind the wheel, choosing a convenient landing with mechanical seats adjustments and tilting to the desired angle of the steering wheel, moving only in height, you somehow immediately tune in to the driver’s way. And it is worth starting the engine, squeezing a tight, but short clutch pedal, take on the cold metal of the knob of the KP lever (which will soon become warm, because it will not be possible to let it out of your hand for a long time), and you already feel ready for races. The whole question is how ready. Cooper S breaks down, as if a small demon had become interspersed into it. On the slippery coating, namely, this was under the wheels of almost all four days of a test drive, on a permanent adhesive yellow bulb of the ASC stabilization system you stop paying attention. The front drive wheels are easy to force to go into slipping, not only in the first, but also in the second, third, and even fourth gear. And why? Because the compressor installed on a 1.6 -liter gasoline engine guarantees 90 percent of the torque almost from idle speed. Add to this a magnificent gear shifting mechanism, honed steering, and you will understand why, after the first kilometers, you belong not to yourself, but this in a sporting evil baby. And you certainly want to violate the speed limit and some other rules and decency.

Well, in a sense I was lucky in a sense: Girl-Fried just had a corporate party on one of these glorious days, and it should have met at exactly four in the morning. And what could be more pleasant than solo racing in the night capital on a clockwork, if you have your favorite gloves, and at hand, banks with energy (of course, the Lord God forbid!) A drink? So I turn it off, pressing the desired button, a stabilization system, and under the screech of tires and the roar of the exhaust system I break into the expanse of free Moscow streets.

Here is a familiar turn from the boulevard ring to the embankment. The steering wheel to the right and gas. There is a lot of motor, and the front wheels mercilessly polish moist asphalt, demolition begins. I straighten the trajectory slightly, slightly release the accelerator pedal, bring the steering wheel and again the pedal in the floor. There is no way to go around each of which in our city-hero, it seems that not only dinner, but breakfast will shake such a hard suspension. But in a different way, it cannot be in a sporting sharpened car, and not some parody. Dams, of course, is hardly such an unceremonious treatment of their tender nature. Yes, and a heavy steering wheel, a tight pedal, explosive dynamics, all this seems to have nothing to do. But an active young lover of acute sensations just right.

Well, oh well, the Frunze embankment, a green wave, a turn in front, and on the speedometer as much as 200. I quickly slow down, helping the mighty calipers with the transition to reduced gears. By the way, a slowdown in a sharp press on the pedal makes the safety belt literally crashed into the body, but, to my surprise, such exercises were left no traces on the body. In front of the turn I support the handbrake a little, forcing the body to stand across the road, but so that the nose looks at the exit from the turn. Gas to failure, driving, and Cooper S with graceful skidding of the stern enters the turn, scaring two girls at a pedestrian crossing. No, not so good: I stop and apologize, as a result, getting a pretty fellow traveler.

Female look

The girl’s reaction to the Mini Cooper S is comparable to the spontaneity of the child, to whom Santa Claus came for the first time. It attracts all the huge speedometer in the center of the torpedo, chrome buttons on the central console, a tachometer on the steering column, incendiary music pouring from good speakers and a soft handle on the door and you have to hold on to it. Only the speed returns it from heaven to earth I understand this by short cries. And if I do not have enough feedback on the steering wheel of the moment of slipping, then there is almost plenty of the girl sitting nearby. The female body eventually turns out to be more fragile, and the request to stop immediately has to satisfy in cynical care for the purity of the cabin.

For drinking a non -alcoholic cocktail Red Devil, we examine the mini outside. The changes described in the material about the simple Cooper occurred with Cooper S. The front and rear optics became more elegant, but the charged version instead of a chrome strip in the lower part of the bumper black mesh. On the hood of the air intake sponges, and a spoiler crings the roof, pressing the body to the canvas at high speeds.

Oh, but he is so small! My fellow traveler is amazed, trying to calm the trembling in her hands. True, but remotely, there is nowhere to go. Although no, there is where, if desired, you can install the John Cooper Works improvement package and increase the return of the power unit to 200 liters. with. However, is it so necessary, given that on the usual Cooper S, the driver certainly does not risk getting lost in the stream? There is only one trouble with dimensions: compact cars do not still respect on our roads, whatever they are. This is not normal, but a fact. I still like mini, but not take into account an ordinary unculture. He starts not only me, but also a girl who suddenly decided to leave me a phone number and even offered a cup of coffee. Alas, I'm busy, no matter how it sounds.

Speaking of sounds. After the update, two chrome pipe in the center of the rear bumper emit a very pleasant bass and, I would say, an impudent sound. It was he who and the bright exterior of the Cooper S more than once forced the guard near the nightlines of the capital to politely push the metal barrier and offer to leave the car immediately in front of the entrance, just like Ferrari in front of the casino in Monte Carlo. And you, dear reader, can not even imagine what pride my friend to top it off a small splash from the outfit at the party caught the eyes of colleagues, which she was escorted to Cooper S.

Associal element

With Mini, this legend of the 60s, a symbol of democratism and social changes, a beloved car of students, professors and rock musicians, in forty years metamorphosis occurred. From an affordable car for poor people, the model has turned into a stylish and expensive toy. However, when you look back and remember what has now become with those rebels and their children, you understand that this transformation is quite logical. Not many are ready to pay for a car with a length of less than four meters an amount of 30,900 euros. For most, this, as the British say, not wisely investment (unreasonable investment). Maybe. But everything is good, all the more fast and beautiful, it is not cheap. Yes, for the same money you can purchase, for example, Honda Civic Type R or Toyota Corolla Tsport. But look again at Mini, and remember that Cooper S will win from them in dynamics and handling. And then make a choice.

Brief technical characteristics of Mini Cooper S

Engine volume, cubic meter. See 1598
The number of valves per cylinder 4
Power, l. with. at about./min. 170/6000
Max. Torque, Nm/at about. min. 220/4000
Acceleration to 100 km/h, p. 7.2
Maximum speed, km/h 222
The average fuel consumption l./100 km. 8.6
The volume of the fuel tank, l. fifty
Car mass, kg 1215
Dimensions, mm. 3655x1925x1416

Text: Andrey Osipov
 

A source: Newspaper "Automobile Izvestia" [No. 1-2 (70), 2005]