www.automobilemag.com: 2012 Mini Cooper S Coupe

Well, what do you get when you leap $10K in price from the Hyundai Veloster and the Volkswagen Beetle? You get a much sportier chassis, for sure, a much more energetic powertrain, and the best steering of the trio. You also get an incredibly harsh ride and lots of torque steer. This car scores high on performance and style, very low on value and utility. The equivalent Mini Cooper hardtop (the original, base car) is just as good to drive but has enough room for four people in a pinch or, say, four wheels and tires so you can drive to track day and swap them out. That said, I just checked the trunk again and this Mini does actually have a decent amount of cargo room.

Is the toggle switch new with this car? I don't recall using it on my drive in Vienna, but that was all on the track and we really didn't use many secondary controls. In any case, it's intuitive and it reminds me of similar multi-layered menus in other BMWs.

Harman Kardon stereo is great. Seats are great.

While sitting in the coupe on the first floor of the parking structure, I've just been accosted by an AATA bus driver, who loves this thing, says "they got it right. it's very sporty." Plus a woman and a couple who just got out of their stock Mini hardtop. The woman part of this couple asked, "Is it a convertible? Does the top come off?" It's interesting that this is her perception. The man was impressed that there's a movable rear wing "Oh, that's like on Porsches!" I told them that there is a roadster version coming next year and that I think it will be more popular.

Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/editors_notebook/1110_2012_mini_cooper_s_coupe/viewall.html#ixzz1ckRiG6eV

Wisconsin MINI