Standard electronic safety nannies help keep the car under control in adverse driving conditions. The Mini Five Door includes stability control and traction control, an electronically-controlled front differential lock that transfers power to the front wheel with the most grip when cornering, and Cornering Brake Control which automatically varies brake pressure to different wheels when cornering to enhance stability.

195/55R16-inch all-season run-flat tires on “Loop spoke” alloys are standard equipment on the Cooper S Five Door but my test car was equipped with Pirelli Snow Control 195/55R16 winter tires that proved to be very grippy over wet roads and surprisingly quiet over dry roads.  The standard all-season run-flat tires allow the vehicle to be driven for up to 80 kilometres at speeds up to 80 km/h on a flat tire in order to reach the closest service centre.

While the Cooper Five Door has a twin-scroll turbocharged direct-injection 1.5L three-cylinder engine that develops 134 hp from 4,500 to 6,000 rpm and 162 foot-pounds of torque at just 1,250 rpm, the Cooper S Five Door offers a 2.0L twin-scroll turbo four-cylinder engine that pumps out 189 hp at 4,700 to 6,000 rpm and 207 lb-ft at 1,250 rpm. Thanks to the turbo, the Cooper S offers strong low speed throttle response and brisk acceleration.  In a 0 to 100 km/h sprint, the Cooper S Five Door with manual transmission takes 6.9 seconds, 1.3 seconds faster than the Cooper Five Door, according to Mini’s own figures.  I found the Cooper S engine surprisingly quiet during acceleration with no turbo whistle to speak of.  That’s partly because the Five Door includes more sound insulation including an underbody cover that improves aerodynamics and reduces interior road noise.

Like many cars these days, the Mini Five Door includes driver-selectable electronically-controlled performance settings. Simply by adjusting a dial behind the shift lever, the driver can select from three driving modes: Sport, Normal and Green. These adjust throttle sensitivity, steering response, exhaust sounds, and shift timing (with the automatic transmission). The most noticeable difference is in throttle response: in any given gear, throttle response varies from weak (Green) to acceptable (Normal) to sporty (Sport). Green mode saves fuel – the Eco gauge even tells you how many extra kilometers you’ve driven by choosing Green mode – but performance feels lethargic. Sport mode offers acceleration and steering response that’s more appropriate for this performance-oriented hatchback but performance in Normal mode is quite acceptable for the daily commute.

2015 NRCan fuel economy ratings for the Five Door Cooper S are 10.0 city/7.0 hwy/8.6 combined. My car’s fuel economy readout was showing 8.4 L/100 km, almost right on the money. That’s not particularly economical, but it’s within an acceptable range for a performance-oriented four-door subcompact. The Hyundai Veloster Turbo, for example, offers 9.7 city/7.0 hwy/8.5 combined. The Ford Fiesta ST is a little better, offering 8.9 city/6.8 hwy/8.0 combined. However, Premium 91-octane gas is recommended for the Cooper S (mid-grade 89-octane is acceptable) while the Fiesta ST and Veloster Turbo only require Regular gas.

At 40L, the fuel tank in the Cooper S Five Door is surprisingly small, even smaller than the Cooper Five Door’s 44-litre tank. Still, that gives the Cooper S a combined city/hwy range of 465 km.

To help save fuel, the Cooper S Five Door includes a standard engine start-stop system that automatically turns off the engine while waiting at traffic lights and restarts it as soon as the clutch pedal is depressed. I was really surprised at how quick, how quiet and how smooth this system is. It’s virtually vibration-free and barely audible; impressive for a four-cylinder engine. A ‘Ready’ mode in the tachometer indicates when the engine is in auto-stop mode.

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