It’s only when you park new next to old that the differences are suddenly obvious. The new car looks substantially bigger than the old one; in fact, there’s 55mm more in the nose, and the base of the windscreen is 18mm higher. It doesn’t look quite as cheeky and compact as before, and the bluff front doesn’t have the complex curvature around the lights that gave the old Mini that bit more character (and made it very costly to manufacture).
The floor and front bulkhead are the same, but that’s where the parts-sharing ceases. The frontal structure now features two upper and two lower crash boxes, with a cross-beam between the front strut towers for reinforcement. Although the stiffness of the structure is quoted as unchanged, considerable work has been done to improve side-impact protection.
Mechanically there are substantial differences too, not least in the engine room. New Mini has given BMW the chance to dump the Chrysler engines and replace them with something more sophisticated. The new 1598cc units have been co-developed with the PSA group, and are built at BMW’s Hams Hall plant in the West Midlands.
At launch there are two models on sale: the Cooper and the Cooper S, with a 1.4-litre One and a diesel following next year.
In the Cooper, the all-aluminium engine cranks out 118bhp with the help of variable valve timing. The Cooper S model tested here adds a twin-scroll turbocharger (rather than the old supercharger) and direct injection to produce 173bhp and 177lb ft of torque from just 1600rpm. The latter figure swells to 192lb ft on temporary overboost.
The old car’s whining hydraulic power steering has been replaced by a new electrically assisted set-up (which can be sharpened up, along with throttle response, via a Sport button), while the chassis benefits from a new multi-link rear end with weight-saving aluminium longitudinal arms. Crucially, the new engine helps to slash weight, too.