Cooper S Coupe 2dr Coupe

Avoid at all costs

We were looking for a fun weekend car that as well as being different could also double up as a reasonable weekday car. It also needed to be reliable and economical to run. Having looked at the usual suspects, Mazda MX5, Audi TT etc we entered our local Mini dealership intending to look at a Cooper S Hatchback but then we saw the Coupe. Totally different. Some may hate the looks. We loved it. It ticked all the boxes on our wish list and many more besides.

Driving the vehicle at speed is a fantastic experience with Mini's reputation for 'Go Kart' type handling being absolutely spot on. Everything about the car is simply MINI hatchback but only more so. We owned a Hatchback just after they were first released and were aware that being so radical as it was then it drew a lot of attention. With the Coupe this interest is only trebled. Few people know they exist and you soon become accustomed to answering questions about the car wherever you park as people are just drawn to it.

For a two seater the boot space is excellent easily being able to swallow two large suitcases or a weekly load of shopping something a MINI Hatch cannot do without laying the seats down.

Initially we considered the view from the driving position was very restricted. There is little to the rear especially when the spoiler deploys. To the sides it is non existent beyond the B pillar making pulling out of junctions and reversing haphazard. Also with the Coupe being so low and the rack of the screen being so acute the view to front when stopped at traffic lights is also very restricted and will cause you to exercise neck muscles you didn't know you had. However after a few weeks use our driving style adapted and these issues were overcome.

The engine cannot be faulted especially with 'Sport' mode engaged. Why the car does not to default to this mode with an option to deselect is a mystery?. Economy for a car that drives like this and can get from 0-62 in 6.9 seconds is extremely good. We averaged 42 mpg around town and close to 50 mpg on a run.

Overall then everything is MINI'esque so you wonder why you should avoid this car? Basically the build quality is nothing short of appalling. Within two days of ownership a defect battery rendered the car immobile. Yes, within three hours Mini Emergency had replaced the errant battery but this was only the beginning. Within two weeks the boot hatch was failing to close properly. Eight hundred miles on the clock and the wipers failed. Paintwork defects then emerged around the hatch. But the absolute worse were the ever present rattles, thuds, squeaks and bangs that emanate from the back end.

We are not talking the occasional noise when on a particularly bad road surface. Oh no, we are talking noise that even the radio fails to hide when travelling over road markings or surface joints. Noise that drives you to distraction and spoils the whole experience with this car. The cause of the rattles was believed to have been identified as a welding failure (shock, horror!) in the floor pan behind the seats allowing the whole interior back end to flex and groan. The repair meant a FIVE week stay at the dealers with the complete interior being stripped out to enable the repair (more shock , horror!). However even after this ridiculous length of time with the dealer the car car still rattled, bumped and groaned akin to driving with the hatch bouncing open and several tin cans with stones in in the boot being ever present.

Judging by the number of similar complaints voiced on other web sites our Coupe was not alone in suffering poor build quality. Most complaints refer to the rear end so clearly MINI have a design issue with the back end.

All these issues were covered by the cars warranty but six weeks at the dealerships out of ten months of ownership is really beyond the pale.

The equally appalling service from the MINI dealership, Sytner of Coventry, and lack of support from MINI UK only added to the total disappointment of ownership.

We have owned many, many cars over more years than we care to remember but the MINI Coupe is possibly the worst. We never had a day of enjoyment from it, an hour or two maybe, but a day, never. The build quality issues overshadowed every other aspect of the car.

We purchased what we thought would be a premium brand vehicle which would give many years of trouble free motoring. How wrong we were. After eleven months we have sold the car, at a huge loss, such were the issues with it. You have been warned.

We wish we had gone for the tried and tested Cooper S hatchback but due to the appalling customer service from Sytner and MINI UK's lack of concern it's another manufacturer for us.

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