2026 Mini Cooper S review: JCW Sport

Next year will mark the 25th birthday of the modern Mini, rebooted by BMW in 2001 as a higher-priced, retro-styled city car inspired by the original 1959 design.

The classic three-door is now in its fourth generation, rebranded as Cooper – rather than ‘Mini Hatch’, with Cooper in the variant name – and available in petrol or electric forms.

While the electric Cooper is all-new from the tyres up, keeping the petrol version alive has led Mini to a heavy update of the previous model launched in 2014, with new front and rear-end styling, a redesigned interior, new features, and tweaked engines.

Drive has already tested the flagship John Cooper Works version, but what about cheaper, higher-volume variants in the range?

No fewer than 24 variants make up the new Mini Cooper range, across three-door hatch, five-door hatch, and two-door convertible body styles, Cooper C, S, SE and JCW powertrains, and a series of equipment levels.

On test in this review is the most expensive version of the mid-grade Cooper S three-door, the JCW Sport, which adds styling cues and chassis upgrades inspired by the proper JCW (John Cooper Works) performance model, but no more power.

It is priced from $54,990 plus on-road costs, $1090 more than its predecessor, or an indicated $60,939 drive-away in NSW, according to the Mini website.

This test vehicle is finished in Ocean Wave Green paint, with Jet Black bonnet and roof stripes, and the smaller of the two wheel options, the 17-inch JCW Sprint Spokes. None of those personalisation options cost extra, rare for a prestige-priced car.

Opting for the JCW Sport nets buyers exterior styling akin to the flagship JCW hot hatch, a JCW steering wheel, unique interior accents, new seat upholstery in fabric ‘Cord’ and leather-look ‘Vescin’, as well as shift paddles, adaptive suspension, and JCW sports brakes with larger front discs (335mm vs 307mm).

It is all on top of features from lower grades, such as LED headlights, a 9.4-inch circular touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, satellite navigation, a head-up display, power-adjustable and heated JCW front sports seats, Harman Kardon audio, a sunroof, a heated leather steering wheel, 360-degree camera, and wireless phone charging.

There aren’t really any direct rivals for a three-door petrol Mini, but there are some alternatives in similar segments to consider.

Its closest competitor was the Abarth version of the Fiat 500, but that has been discontinued and replaced by the electric Abarth 500e, which is currently on special for $43,990 drive-away amid sluggish sales at its regular circa-$65K price.

Want a small hot hatch, but can settle for five doors? There’s the similarly sized Hyundai i20 N ($37,500 plus on-road costs), Volkswagen Polo GTI ($41,790), and Audi A1 40 TFSI ($51,500), as well as the larger but Cooper S-priced Volkswagen Golf GTI ($58,990).

If three doors are a must, the only competitor left in the hot-hatch segment is the all-wheel-drive Toyota GR Yaris ($57,990 to $62,990 with an automatic).

All prices are expressed before on-road costs.

With its DNA sourced from the old model, the latest petrol three-door Mini is a similar size to its predecessor, though it’s still small.

The latest generation of Mini models have simplified their interiors, removing most physical buttons – as the instrument cluster – and consolidating most controls into a circular OLED touchscreen.

It’s surrounded by a knitted fabric material used to upholster the dashboard, while a row of nicely finished toggles is placed below the screen for starting the car, changing gears, adjusting the drive mode, and more, alongside a hazard-light button.

The knitted trim looks funky – with red highlights on the passenger side – and is nicer to touch than black plastic, but there are still plenty of hard, scratchy materials throughout the cabin – despite the premium price – and the door panels, for example, don’t feel particularly expensive.

JCW Sport additions include the aforementioned red accents on the dashboard, a JCW-branded steering wheel with red highlights and shift paddles, and unique seat upholstery with black leather-look ‘Vescin’, ‘Cord’ fabric, and red contrast stripes and stitching.

Power adjustment and heating are standard on the front seats, which are firmly bolstered and nicely supportive yet still comfortable.

Not everyone will like the thick rim of the steering wheel, but it feels sturdy in the hand, the buttons are clicky switches not touch-sensitive controls, and the fabric strap used to create the bottom spoke is a neat touch.

Drivers sit sufficiently low in the car, with ample – but not exceptional – tilt and reach adjustment in the steering column, and decent leg room for taller people, but those stretching above 186cm (6ft 1in) may start to struggle with head room under the sunroof.

Mini has axed the folding armrest of the previous hatch in favour of a smaller, fixed unit. It’s positioned well for taller drivers, but there’s no storage inside it, and it looks like it’s been pinched from an office chair.

Storage space is also limited, with a small latched box between the front seats – opened (towards the driver) with a contrasting strap – and an acceptably sized glovebox the only enclosed areas. Two cupholders, a wireless phone charger under a strap to secure your phone, and two small door pockets are available for open-air storage.

Amenities on offer include a heated steering wheel and front seats, keyless entry and start, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, a dual-pane sunroof, two USB-C ports, and a 12-volt socket.

As you may expect, it is not a particularly roomy car in the rear. There is some toe room for my 186cm-tall frame behind my driving position, but my knees are squished into the seatback, and I can’t sit up straight, as my head hits the rear sunroof pane.

Access to the (two, not three) rear seats is also a squeeze – via a power-operated sliding mechanism on the front seats – so it’s a space best left for shorter adults on quick trips or kids.

There’s only one cupholder in the rear, with no USB ports or storage areas, though there is the provision for child seats through ISOFIX and top-tether anchors on both rear seating positions.

Boot space is also small. At 210 litres, it will fit a carry-on suitcase placed sideways on its back, with a few backpacks or shopping bags around it, but items any larger will require the 50:50 split-folding second-row seatbacks to be lowered, albeit not flat with the rest of the boot.

There are storage pockets on the side of the cargo area, but no spare wheel.

Standard in every new Mini Cooper is a 240mm (9.4-inch) circular OLED touchscreen, offering wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DAB+ digital radio, and embedded satellite navigation with augmented-reality route guidance.

It’s the only screen in the car, as the instrument cluster has been deleted, though you can see your speed on a head-up display projected onto a flip-up panel ahead of the driver, as well as on the central display.

The touchscreen’s software looks slick and modern, and it’s well featured, but it is not the most intuitively laid out. There are multiple pages of app menus seemingly not in any logical order, and it takes time to learn where all the settings are.

The biggest weakness of this screen, however, is a lack of processing power, as there is noticeable lag between menus, and it’s not as quick to respond as it ought to be.

This is particularly frustrating as the climate controls run through the display. There are sliders along the outer edge for temperature, but functions such as fan speed require multiple taps, and the icons to access them are often on the small side.

Drivers are given access to eight modes, known as ‘Experiences’, controlled through a toggle under the touchscreen. Mini’s name for sport mode is Go-Kart, which plays a ‘woo-hoo!’ sound effect on activation that isn’t left wanting for novelty factor, but is something buyers are likely to quickly turn off.

More traditional modes include one intended to mimic the central speedometer of the original 1959 Mini, compared to the power and G-force gauges in Go-Kart, and the blue theme of the regular Core profile.

Voice assistance via the ‘Hey Mini’ prompt is also available to help reduce reliance on touching the screen.

The head-up display is easy to read and shows sufficient information, but its flip-up design looks cheap, and it’s a shame Mini hasn’t invested in a version that projects onto the windscreen, as in many other cars.

We’re fans of the 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system in a car of this size.

Support for the Mini Connected phone app is standard, offering features such as vehicle tracking, remote control of the locks and lights, and more. It is free for the first three years, before it switches to a subscription.

After the first three months of ownership, however, a ‘Connected’ package reverts from free to a circa-$10/month subscription, which includes 3D building views for the satellite navigation, support for third-party apps such as Spotify, and changes the icon for the voice assistant from a depiction of a Mini to a dog named Spike.

When $10 per month will get you access to the better part of 4000 movies on Netflix, we’re not sure Mini’s subscription is good buying. A remote engine start feature is also an extra-cost item, again via subscription.

The new petrol Mini Cooper earned five stars in Euro NCAP safety testing earlier this year, but it is yet to be mirrored by its Australian and Kiwi equivalent, ANCAP, despite the pair being aligned on test protocols.

Category scores in the European test span 83 per cent for adult occupant protection, 82 per cent for child occupant protection, 81 per cent for vulnerable road user protection (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists), and 77 per cent for safety assist technology.

Those scores were awarded under the newest and most stringent 2025 test protocols. The old Mini hatch carried a four-star ANCAP and Euro NCAP safety rating based on older and more forgiving 2014 criteria.

The latest petrol Mini Cooper picks up plenty of safety features not fitted to its predecessor: blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert (with braking support), lane-keep assist, lane-centring assist, a 360-degree camera, driver attention monitor, and a door exit warning.

In the real world, as with other BMW Group vehicles, they do their job without annoying or chiming excessively at the driver.

Lane-keep assist is not too intrusive, while adaptive cruise control and lane-centring assist work well.

There are no irritating overspeed warnings or driver attention camera you feel the need to turn off on every drive, though should you want to turn any of the safety features off, there is a shortcut menu a few taps away.

Mini vehicles are covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, though roadside assistance is linked to an annual subscription.

There are no set maintenance intervals for the car. Instead, servicing is condition-based, so the car uses its sensors to tell you when it needs a check-up.

Customers can, however, purchase a capped-price servicing pack from Mini – in ‘basic’ or ‘plus’ forms – valid for first five years or 80,000km, whichever comes first.

The basic package costs $2250, covering annual vehicle checks – essentially a service interval – plus replacements for the spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter and brake fluid as required, as well as oil changes, including filters.

A price is not listed for the ‘plus’ plan on the Mini website, but it is confirmed to build upon the contents of the basic pack with replacements and maintenance – as required – on brake pads and discs, wiper blade rubbers, and clutch discs and plates.

Mini claims fuel consumption of 6.3 litres per 100 kilometres for the Cooper S JCW Sport, which is a respectably frugal figure given the car’s small stature and peppy engine.

Over about 450km of driving, the trip computer displayed 7.2L/100km across a mix of city, suburban, and highway driving, plus some more performance-oriented running.

I observed a fuel consumption of less than 6.0L/100km on the freeway and around-town fuel use of 8.0 to 10L/100km, depending on the conditions.

The 44-litre fuel tank requires a minimum 95-octane premium unleaded petrol, compared to the JCW’s mandate for the most expensive fuel, 98 octane.

The latest Mini Cooper S sticks close to the fun-to-drive character of its predecessors, while leaving head room above it for faster, more aggressive and more involving variants in the line-up.

The 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine has crept up to 150kW and 300Nm (from 141kW/280Nm), but so has the weight, now 60kg heavier than before at 1285kg kerb.

There is some lag at low revs, but once on boost it delivers enough thrust to put a smile on your face, accompanied by a generic but pleasing four-cylinder noise from the (hidden-tip) exhaust, with some turbo flutter on lift-off.

Go-Kart (sport) mode dials up the noise, but sadly it sounds as fake as it is, all coming through the speakers. Gladly, the Cooper S is not saddled with the synthesised exhaust ‘pops’ of the JCW, which play through the speakers and sound terrible.

Mini claims a 6.6-second 0–100km/h acceleration time, and my testing suggests that’s achievable – even beatable – in the real world. It doesn’t feel quite as sprightly as a Polo GTI or i20 N, but it’s not far off.

The engine is matched with a familiar seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It is at its roughest around town, where there is some lag off the mark – made worse by a slow auto engine stop-start system – and it can be caught off-guard, such as when pulling out of a slow lane in traffic into a fast lane, and a sudden burst of power is needed.

At higher speeds, however, it’s a pleasing partner, shifting quickly under load and free of jerkiness or hesitation. Switch the gearbox into S mode, and a genuine manual mode is unlocked that lets you hit the rev limiter without the car automatically upshifting.

However, the gearbox is prone to denying a downshift under braking, likely a result of how the gears are spaced rather than a sluggish gearbox.

Around town, the suspension is firm – as you might expect of a sporty Mini – but acceptable. It can react harshly to sharp bumps, but for my tastes it is compliant and supple enough to live with. Drivers can vary the firmness of the suspension, but there’s not much of a difference between modes.

Quick steering is great for car parks, the brake pedal isn’t grabby in traffic, and it’s easy enough to see out of, though you sit lower in the car than a five-door rival.

The Cooper S is, unsurprisingly, at home on a winding road. That steering does not have much feel, but it has some heft to it around the centre point, which lightens up in a natural manner as you turn further into the corner.

Go-Kart mode sharpens the car’s reactions, and it’s a playful car to drive, feeling light on its tyres, keen to rotate into bends, and willing to tighten its line with a tap of the brakes mid-corner. There’s plenty of depth to its handling character for spirited drivers to enjoy.

Less impressive are the brakes. The pedal has some firmness too it, without being excessive, but on an enthusiastic they heat up quickly, and lack the confidence underfoot I’d expect from a sporty car.

Traction out of bends is surprisingly good, despite average Maxxis tyres and no trick limited-slip differential to manage power, but the former translates to a long as-tested stopping distance for a small, light hatchback: 39.3 metres from 100km/h.

For context, a Kia Tasman ute – with nearly a tonne more mass to carry around, in a much larger vehicle – stops in a similar distance, on the same road in dry conditions.

Tyre noise is present but not excessive, while isolation from wind noise is also above average.

No, a Mini Cooper cannot tow, and we imagine too many potential buyers will be bothered by that.

It is rated with a payload of 450kg – the maximum mass of passengers, cargo and accessories the car is legally allowed to carry – which is more than sufficient for four adults and some luggage.

The new Mini Cooper is exactly what a Mini should be: a small, peppy, and fun city hatch that puts a smile on your face.

If you are a rational person, there are other city hatchbacks out there with more space, features, and performance for a much lower price.

But if you value style, character, and a bit of verve in the driving experience – and are willing to accept the higher price, tight cabin, and firmer suspension – you’re likely to love this car.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

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