2025 Mini Cooper

Hatchback · 1.5L Turbo I3 · FWD

75/100

AutoVault's overall score, weighted for what a hatchback is actually for — performance, technology, comfort, reliability, safety and value.

Specifications

Engine	1.5L Turbo I3
Horsepower	161 hp
Torque	184 lb-ft
0–60 mph	7.5 sec
Top speed	130 mph
Drivetrain	FWD
Seats	5
Combined MPG	32 mpg (28 city / 36 hwy)
Range	514 miles
MSRP	$28,950
Body style	Hatchback

The verdict

What's good

Handling agility punches well above its price class
New-generation OLED round display is genuinely premium and responsive
Tight body structure keeps chassis feel crisp on winding roads
Strong residual values reduce long-term cost of ownership

What's not

Tiny 11.6-gallon tank means highway fill-ups every 250 miles
Rear seat is tight for anyone over five-foot-nine
Firm suspension transmits road texture sharply into the cabin
Three-cylinder note becomes coarse under hard acceleration

The engine

B38

1.5L Turbo I3

A characterful three-cylinder that thrums with a slightly offbeat warble under load yet pulls with torquey eagerness, giving the Mini a peppy, go-kart enthusiasm low in the rev range.

The BMW B38, in production since 2013, is the smallest member of BMW's modular engine family and is shared between Mini and BMW; its first-ever application was actually the BMW i8 hybrid sports car.

It's effectively half of BMW's B58 straight-six: the modular family uses a common 500cc-per-cylinder design, so the 1.5-liter triple, 2.0-liter four and 3.0-liter six share core architecture.
To tame three-cylinder vibration it uses a 270-degree offset crankshaft plus a balance shaft spinning at twice crank speed, bringing its smoothness closer to a straight-six than a four.
Its debut car wasn't a Mini at all but the futuristic BMW i8, where it sat transversely mid-mounted behind the cabin.

See the rest in AutoVault

The six sub-scores behind the 75 — performance, tech, comfort, reliability, safety and value
Market value today and year-by-year value history
Studio photography — exterior, rear and interior
Side-by-side comparison with up to four cars

Open in AutoVault