Full 2014 MINI Cooper Coupe Review
What's New for 2014
Other than slight revisions to its optional feature availability, the 2014 Mini Cooper Coupe is unchanged.
Introduction
The 2014 Mini Cooper Coupe is a compact two-seater based on the outgoing version of the British brand's popular four-passenger Cooper hatchback. The dossier is pretty much this: Take a Cooper hatchback, jettison its rear seats, give it a more steeply raked coupelike roof line and lower the ride height for a more aggressive stance. While all this sounds fine in theory, the end product, entertaining as it is, has a number of functional shortcomings.
For example, although the Cooper Coupe is as fun to drive as anything in the Mini family, it offers no real performance advantage over its siblings to balance out the loss of passenger capacity, reduced rear visibility and somewhat busier ride quality. Mini has also redesigned the regular hatchback this year, and that car's refinements highlight the Coupe's harder-to-use audio and infotainment controls and less tolerable ride.
Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2014 Mini Cooper Coupe is a two-door, two-passenger coupe with a hatchback-style trunk lid. There are three available trim levels: Base, S and John Cooper Works (JCW).
The base Coupe comes standard with 15-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, air-conditioning, leatherette (premium vinyl) upholstery, height-adjustable seats, a tilt-and-telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel, full power accessories, cruise control, Bluetooth connectivity and a six-speaker sound system with a CD player, HD radio, a USB/iPod interface and an auxiliary audio input jack. The optional Sport package includes 16-inch alloy wheels, a dynamic mode for the traction control, foglights, hood stripes and sport seats.
The S model adds a turbocharged engine, 16-inch alloy wheels, foglights, a hood scoop and sport seats. The S model's available Sport package bundles 17-inch alloy wheels, xenon headlights, upgraded traction control and hood stripes. Stepping up to the John Cooper Works trim level gets you a more powerful turbocharged engine, a sport-tuned suspension, Brembo brakes, an aerodynamic body kit and distinctive cloth upholstery.
Major options, many of which are grouped into packages, include adaptive xenon headlights, a sport-tuned suspension (base and S), keyless entry and ignition, rear parking sensors, automatic climate control, heated seats, a 10-speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system, satellite radio, leather upholstery and a wide variety of exterior and interior customizing trim pieces.
The Mini Connected infotainment system includes a 6.5-inch display screen built into the car's oversize center-mounted speedometer and provides enhanced Bluetooth and iPod functionality, plus voice commands and smartphone integration (iPhones only). It also serves as the display for the optional navigation system.
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