Buyer’s guide BMW Mini

The second generation of a British institution got mixed reviews, but is now gathering its own dedicated following

Born at a torrid time in Rover’s history, the new Mini was designed for BMW by Frank Stephenson and might have had a K-series engine as a Rover product. Instead, it went into production as a new independent marque under BMW, with an all-new engine from a new factory in Brazil, a joint venture with Chrysler USA. With iron block and single cam, the Tritec engine was a more basic design than the K-series, but consequently less fragile and easily capable of big power outputs in supercharged form.

BMW wanted the new Mini to be a sporting hatch, with great handling, cheeky retro style and lots of personalisation, to the extent that it’s hard to find two alike, especially now subsequent owners have made further changes. Go for the best spec you can find, and decode the VIN to check what the car’s original order was.

Three models were launched: the R50 Mini One was the base model, but could be specced up if desired; the R50 Cooper was more sporting but mechanically identical, with ECU changes providing the extra power; and, a year later, the headline-grabbing R53 Cooper S, with bonnet scoop, twin exhausts, supercharger and six-speed gearbox. In 2003, a Toyota-engined turbodiesel came on stream, then in 2004 the R52 Convertible joined the range. Of course, all of them were much bigger than the original Mini – that was inevitable with Euro NCAP and US crash tests to pass, plus the requirement for a modern driving position and the space needed for big wheels – and the packaging was still tight.

A ZF CVT was the auto option at first: it added 2 secs to the One’s 0-60mph time and carved 9mph off the top speed. Much-misunderstood, it’s probably best avoided today because most have suffered from past misuse, though it’s a technically impressive unit with six sequential manual speeds, plus sport and touring modes. The manual option on pre-facelift Ones and Coopers was Rover’s R65 ‘Midlands’, which can be weak. The six-speed Cooper S and facelifted five-speed cars got stronger Getrag ’boxes.

John Cooper Works (JCW) upgrades were developed by John’s son Mike and officially sanctioned by BMW: they took the Cooper to 130bhp and the S to 197bhp, or 215bhp in ultimate GP Works form, in a race-look shell with no back seat. All are collectable now, especially GP Works cars of which just 2000 were built.

Hatchback provided more practicality, but the reborn Mini lacked the packaging brilliance of the original. The link to BMC’S baby was made with stylistic nods

The BMW and Rover teams battled over the new Mini, and it had its faults, but it succeeded on character, value for money and, above all, a great fun driving experience even from the base models, with serious performance at the top of the range. As a result, they are now drawing an increasingly strong following

Relatively simple, and bombproof provided the cooling system is kept well maintained, the Tritec engine should be the least of your worries. In higheststressed Cooper S form, it’ll be due a £3500-4000 rebuild by around 130,000 miles – though dropping in a secondhand unit should be much cheaper

BMW’S Z-axle rear end gives great handling. Check rear brake discs for corrosion, especially inside – calipers get lazy on infrequently used cars

Seats wear on the bolsters, and adjustment cables often fail. Interior plastics are fragile, especially the glovebox catches and chromed items

Check warning lights work and go out: the airbag light can simply be connections under the seat; ABS light may mean a new underbonnet unit

CVTS can give trouble; Rover gearbox is worse – bearings can get noisy at as little as 20k miles, so change the oil! A rebuilt ’box is £495, but £1000 to fit

BMW ensured that the new Mini was fun to drive even in its lowest-powered One form, but in supercharged Cooper S spec it offers sparkling performance