MINI Cooper reviews

2011 MINI Cooper Interior Features

Mini interiors have been updated for 2011 with new features and materials and improved noise counter-measures.

Any Mini Cooper cabin is charming, and its finish is generally excellent. The plastics have a quality look and feel. This goes for the base Leatherette upholstery, also known as vinyl. Multiple leather options are available, including a cloth and leather combination, a full leather option, and the high-end Lounge Leather. The Lounge Leather is glove soft with contrasting piping, in the fashion of classic British sedans. Ambient lighting is standard on most models, and it softly illuminates the door panels and footwells with subtle LEDs. The driver can easily change the color of the lighting across a spectrum from soft orange to crisp blue.

If anything separates Mini from the typical small car, it's the numerous interior trim options that can give each one an individual character. The choices range from bold colors and stark metal accents with a trendy, fast-and-furious feel to soft tones, wood trim and contrasting piping that create the very British atmosphere of a luxury car.

The Minis have some of the smallest exterior dimensions of any four-passenger vehicle available in the United States, but they're surprisingly spacious inside. Even a 6-foot, 5-inch driver can be comfortable in the front seat. The basic manual levers, controlling height, seatback rake, and front-rear travel, allow just about everyone to easily find a comfortable spot.

The Mini driving position is excellent. We found the seats comfortable for long-distance trips, and they're nicely bolstered to keep you in place when you inevitably hustle through the turns. The available sport seats are even better.

A round, plastic transmitter replaces a conventional ignition key. It slides into a slot next to the steering column, and the driver fires the engine by pressing the adjacent a start/stop button. The button is cute and inoffensive, but no more effective than a standard key. The optional proximity key allows the driver to leave the transmitter in purse or pocket and just press the start button. We prefer traditional keys.

All models follow Mini's tradition of a big, round speedometer in the center of the dash. The tachometer is mounted on the tilt/telescoping steering column, moving with the wheel as it's adjusted it up and down. The convertible also has a unique Openometer next to the tach. It tracks the number of hours you drive with the top down and displays the owner's enthusiasm for open-cockpit motoring, a cute feature.

Audio controls are located at the top of the center stack, in the bottom portion of the speedometer dial. Heating and air conditioning controls sit below the speedo, and they're straightforward in base models. The available automatic climate control system, which maintains a constant temperature dialed in by the occupants, is cleverly configured in the shape of the winged Mini logo. The switch layout is generally effective, but sometimes things are too clever.

The audio controls sacrifice ease of use for design symmetry. The tuning knob is centered with most other audio buttons at the bottom of the speedometer, while the volume control sits further down the center stack, closer to the HVAC controls. You may change the station when what you really want to do is turn the volume up. The integrated design of the audio controls makes it nearly impossible to fit any aftermarket sound system, and the buttons are made obviously of plastic with a matte-gray in finish, in the fashion of a Buzz Lightyear remote control system. They detract from the otherwise high-quality interior appointments.

Chrome toggle switches that look like something out of an airplane or racecar cockpit are positioned at the base of the center stack to control the windows, auxiliary lights, and stability-control system. The toggles are duplicated above the rearview mirror to control interior lights, the optional sunroof and the convertible top. The steering-column stalk switches for the wipers and turn signals are pleasing to look and satisfying to use.

The optional Mini Connected or navigation systems add a rectangular 6.5-inch video screen in the central speedometer, with a digitally generated speed needle around its perimeter. Maps are stored on a built-in flash drive. Both Mini Connected and the full nav system add Bluetooth connectivity and a USB port, and they make it easy to integrate mobile devices. Audio can be streamed via Bluetooth, and album cover artwork and mobile-phone caller lists can be displayed on the monitor.

Interior storage space is not abundant, but it's adequate. There are bins in the door panels, map pockets on the front seatbacks, a small center-console bin and an average-size glovebox. The glovebox can be cooled with the air conditioning, and it's enough to keep a bottled drink reasonably cool for a couple of hours, or to keep chocolate bars from turning to mush. The optional Center Rail storage and fastening system replaces the conventional center console with two aluminium rails running lengthwise through the middle of the interior. Various accessories, including cupholders, storage boxes, trays or armrests can be locked anywhere along the rails to the occupants' preference.

In the Mini Cooper hardtop, the rear seat is suitable for adults only for short rides. Access to it is anything but convenient. The convertible has even less rear leg room, 28.1 inches compared to 29.9 inches, so adults or even children won't fit back there unless the front seats are moved far forward. It's best to think of the hardtop and convertible as two-seaters with emergency provisions for extra passengers.

The Clubman offers more interior space. Its additional wheelbase length translates into additional legroom for rear-seat passengers, and those in back have more shoulder room, as well. The rear seat of the Clubman is much easier to access from the passenger side, thanks to the Clubdoor. This little, rear-hinged door swings out once the front door is open, like a door on an extended-bed pickup. New for 2011 is a slot on the door that keeps the front seatbelt out of the way when rear passengers duck in. Rear occupants in the Clubman will only have a problem if the front seat occupants are really tall.

The convertible has the least cargo space of the Mini models. Room in the trunk doesn't change when the top is lowered, which is good, but there is only 6.0 cubic feet of space to begin with, which is bad. We couldn't even fit our roll-aboard suitcase back there because the opening was too short. The rear seats fold down, and Mini claims that opens up 23.3 cubic feet of space. But that space is hard to get to, and big items won't slide in behind the front seatbacks or through the short trunk opening. A Mini convertible is not a good choice for picking someone up at the airport.

The hardtop, with its large rear hatch and separate folding rear seatbacks, does better as a cargo hauler. With the rear seats in place, there's a miniscule 5.7 cubic feet or storage, enough for an airline roll-aboard and a brief case. But with the rear seats folded down, cargo volume expands to 24 cubic feet. That's more than enough for two passengers on a very long trip.

The Clubman provides a more usable 9.2 cubic feet behind the rear seats, and for 2011 it comes standard with a shade-type, pullout cargo blind. With the rear seatbacks folded, it presents a flat load floor and nearly 33 cubic feet of space. There's enough room for a single object about 2 by 3 by 4 feet in dimensions. The Split Rear Barn Doors, as Mini calls them, are hinged on the rear pillars and open out, providing wide and open access to the luggage area. So the Clubman is quite practical for hauling cargo.

Forward vision is excellent in all Minis, at least when the way ahead is clear. Given the Mini's diminutive size, larger sedans can block the view ahead the way big SUVs can from the driver's seat of the typical sedan.

Vision rearward is quite good in the hardtop. The convertible has a couple of issues, however. The lower portion of the driver's line of sight to the rear is blocked by the convertible top when it's down. With the top up, its corners block vision over the shoulders. Backing out of a parking spot can be a challenge, and the rear Park Distance Control obstacle warning is a particularly important bit of kit in the convertible. In the Clubman, the line where the rear barn doors join is a bit of a distraction in the rearview mirror.