The Best Year for the Mini Cooper
Photo by Ahmet Sali on Unsplash
Mini Coopers are perfect for the city dweller looking for a compact car that is highly maneuverable in an urban setting while still offering a revved-up driving experience. The Cooper is also ideal if you’re looking to turn heads; its fun, boxy, yet out-of-the-box thinking body style is unquestionably a head-turner.
This article will establish our pick for the best year for the Mini Cooper. We looked at Mini Coopers from the years 2017–2021 to make our determination. While it was a difficult decision to make, we studied the data, debated the pros and cons, and reached our conclusion.
2021 Mini Cooper
Our choice for the best year for the Mini Cooper is 2021. The latest doesn’t always mean the greatest, but with the 2021 Cooper, it certainly does. Excellent gas mileage, a brand history of longevity, safety, two new editions, manual transmission options, expanded trim levels, pricing, features, interior, and more aided our decision.
Let’s examine what makes the 2021 Mini Cooper so unique.
Price
The 2021 Mini Cooper starts at around $22,000. One of the latest variants, the John Cooper Works GP (JCW GP), starts at $45,000. Clearly, a new car costs more than a used one, but when we study the mileage compared to the average asking price for Mini Coopers from 2017–2021, we see that the price drops around $1,500 for every 12,000 miles or so.
These price drops per mileage are so consistent that determining the best year for the price is impossible. However, the upside is that with pricing consistent with performance, you know what you’re getting and what to expect.
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New Editions
A significant factor in our crowning the 2021 model as the best year for the Mini Cooper was the introduction of several new editions.
The 2021 Mini Cooper continues to offer hardtop and convertible editions, though there are some surprises. The convertible has a new Mini Sidewalk variant, and the hardtop’s latest variant is the JCW GP.
Another exciting surprise is a version only previously available to veterans and college students, the Mini Hardtop Oxford Edition, is now more widely available to the public.
The Mini Sidewalk was first offered in 2007 though only for a short time. Now the Sidewalk is enjoying its relaunch, and fans of Cooper convertibles love it. Based on the Cooper S, the 2021 Sidewalk steps up a notch with creative paint jobs and an artistic interior.
Features such as a touchscreen infotainment system and Harman Kardon sound system come standard with the Sidewalk. Another exciting surprise for the Mini convertible is the return of manual transmission after the 2020 model only offered standard. This is fantastic news for those who love a good downshift on a windy mountain road.
The 2021 JCW GP is inspired by the Mini winning the Monte Carlo rally over 50 years ago against all odds. The JCW GP asserts a new souped-up engine, features from here to Sunday, and an unapologetic design boasting a hood scoop, air deflectors, and centered twin tailpipes.
Picture an aerodynamic race car. Now picture a Mini Cooper. Put the two together, and you’ve got the 2021 JCW GP.
Safety Features
Among the standard safety features of the 2021 Cooper is a backup camera to assist in entering and exiting tight parking spaces and backing out of driveways and other areas heavily affected by blind spots.
Also standard is a warning system that alerts you of possible oncoming collisions, rear parking sensors, and automatic emergency braking. Higher trim levels offer parking assistance, turning parallel parking into a piece of cake, adaptive cruise control, and front parking sensors.
Interior
The Cooper exterior gets all the attention when a reasonable amount should be directed at the strikingly modern interior. The front row feels like a cockpit with rounded screens and actual switches to flip.
With a standard model, you get synthetic leather upholstery that looks and feels natural. Speaking of the real thing, you’re looking at fine authentic leather and sports seats for a modest upgrade.
While the front seats offer all the space and support you’ll need, the backseat is a different story. It’s true—those in the backseat will feel a bit cramped—but “mini” is the first word of the name, so what did you expect?
ARE MINI COOPERS RELIABLE?
For many of us, we love the Mini Cooper for its fun-to-drive dynamics and dashing style. If you’re looking to purchase a Mini Cooper, you’re probably asking: are Mini Coopers reliable?
Drivability
Let’s start with the mileage. The 2021 Cooper enjoys up to 28 mpg in the city and 37 on the highway. Give or take a highway mile, all Coopers for the last five years claim this same impressive mileage.
Now, back to the manual transmission. Maybe you’re a purist or someone who loves the connected-to-the-road feeling of driving a stick. Whatever the case, you’ll be excited to learn the 2021 Mini line offers manual transmissions on seven vehicles.
In a market where the stick seems to be dying an accelerated death, Mini’s latest offering is a blessing to true believers.
The Cooper is famous for its sharp handling and maneuverability, vital to whipping around a busy city or twisty mountain road. The numerous 2021 Mini Cooper variants only build on this ability, as does the return of the aforementioned manual transmission.
Features
Standard to all variants of the 2021 Cooper is an infotainment system with a large display and six-speaker sound system. Higher trim levels offer satellite radio, Apple CarPlay to connect your iPhone, a touch screen, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, navigation, wireless device charging, and much more.
Honorable Mentions
If the 2021 MINI Cooper doesn’t cut it for you, several years are worth checking out as well.
2016 MINI Cooper Hardtop
In general, you’ll want to avoid MINI models that were made before 2015. Although some models were also relatively reliable before 2015, it will be a gamble on your part as a buyer. With that said, the 2016 model is one of the best MINI models regarding reliability and overall value proposition. According to J.D. Power, the 2016 MINI Cooper Hardtop has a Quality and Reliability rating of 85 out of 100, which is scored as Great. Furthermore, it also achieves an impressive 88 out of 100 in the driving experience.
2019 MINI Cooper Hardtop
If you want a slightly newer model than the 2016 MINI, the 2019 version of the Hardtop is also worth considering. It also scored a high Quality and Reliability rating from J.D. Power with 85 out of 100 and a driving experience of 87 out of 100. The 2019 MINI Cooper excels in delivering a confident and firm ride. Plus, you get all the tech features and amenities of most modern vehicles.
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Get a Curated List of the Best Used Mini Coopers Near You
When looking at the last five years of Mini Coopers, it’s hard to go wrong when deciding which one to take home. The Mini brand is known for its consistency, which is certainly true to this time range.
In the end, the 2021 Mini Cooper included what was working, looked to the past to discover what could work better, glimpsed the future to incorporate fresh ideas, and came out on top as our best year for the Mini Cooper. Ready to snag one? The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car.
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