2015 Mini Cooper S Hardtop
Type of vehicle: Front-wheel-drive, four-door, five-passenger compact sedan
Price as tested: $34,350
Fuel economy: 24 miles per gallon city, 34 highway
Weight: 2,991 pounds
Engine: Turbocharged, direct-injected 2-liter four with 189 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Performance: 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds
Sources: Mini division of BMW of North America; Car and Driver
As you may recall, BMW bought Rover about 15 years ago, becoming Mini’s new overlord.
A year or so later, an all-new Mini arrived — larger, more chic and kind of a boutique compact, though still packing lots of romp and zip.
But 15 years is middle age in the auto industry, and the Mini seems to be constantly searching for ways to reinvent itself.
So now we have a four-door “hardtop” Mini — vaguely related in name, I guess, to those hugely stylish American four-door hardtops from the ’50s and ’60s.
Only the 2015 Mini Cooper S Hardtop isn’t a hardtop at all. It’s a regular four-door sedan with conventional roof pillars.
But that’s OK, Mini. Your sort of new look and nickname make you seem, uh, different — definitely younger, dude.
The metallic gray model I had recently sported a nifty black top and black stripes on the hood, complemented by black 17-inch wheels and 205/45 tires.
Though it’s hard to tell visually, the new Minis are slightly larger than previous models and a tad more muscular — but they apparently didn’t gain any extra weight.
They still look mostly Mini. Big oval headlamps, for example, dominate the short front fenders, peering above a rounded, horizontal grille.
Front and back wheels remain on the edges of the body, maintaining the Mini’s traditionally long wheelbase.
In back, the Mini “hardtop” also keeps its functional hatchback and curved rump.
Odd mix
Try as I might, though, I could never get entirely comfortable with the Mini’s four doors and table-flat top. They just never really blended, in my view.
It was probably just me.
Fortunately, “S” models of the 3,000-pound sedan, er, four-door hardtop get Mini’s well-developed turbocharged 2-liter four for power.
Even better, the car I had relied on a slick-shifting six-speed manual to put its 189 horsepower to the ground through the front wheels.
If you go this route, I should warn you that the clutch can be challenging. It was light but engaged abruptly up high.
Nonetheless, the engine felt smooth and fairly zingy, able to launch hard and rev quickly with decent surge.
And even with the go-fast turbocharger, the Mini is rated at 24 miles per gallon in town and 34 on the highway.
Beyond 5,000 rpm, the engine’s power flattened out as it seemed to run out of breath, but the little door slammer was still good for zings to 60 mph in a quick 6.2 seconds, according to Car and Driver.
The car relishes a good curve, too, turning crisply into corners with a grin you can almost feel.
Although the body leaned slightly in the more radical stuff, the Mini kept its composure well for a fairly chunky front-driver.
It likes to fool around. But you will have to learn to live with very quick steering that is also fuzzy — particularly at slower speeds — and a fidgety suspension.
While modern Minis seem to still love hard, fast curves, their steering makes it difficult to know exactly what the front tires are doing.
In fact, between the stiff ride and thick steering, I frequently had to make slight corrections to keep the Mini in a straight line on the highway.
Nice inside
My car arrived with a light gray interior that looked much more upscale than Minis from a few years back.
As well it should, considering the car’s $34,350 window sticker.
Like many Minis before it, mine had a flat old-school black plastic dashboard that rose above a large round center stack trimmed in piano black.
In late-model Minis, the new center stack replaces the giant traditional speedometer that used to dominate the middle of the dash.
The speedometer now resides in a ‘60s-looking canister mounted on the steering column, with the tachometer squeezed in beside it.
Let’s give Mini points for simplicity. Three round knobs under the main center stack pod controlled the climate settings, while buttons and toggles beneath the knobs kept other stuff running or shut down.
One red toggle switch in that group started the car.
The seats looked and felt affluent, which is a whole lot more than I can claim. Stitched in light-gray leather, they had sleek pleats and supportive bolsters.
Look, I think Mini builds too many models and ought to focus more on refining what is a really good, likable concept.
But here’s how much I know: Through May, sales of 2015 Minis were up 28.2 percent.
Bigger and more always win — whatever you call them.
