Used 2012 Mini Cooper Hardtop Review & Ratings

The Mini Cooper Hardtop is a relatively small car that dates as far back as 1959. It was first produced at that time by the British Motor Corporation (BMC). It is a two-door, four-passenger family coupe or sports coupe, and it is available in three different trims. The initial design of the car is thought to have given many of Europe's automakers inspiration on conceptualizing their cars, especially Germany's Volkswagen Beetle. The car was given the award of the second most influential car of the century in 1999, after Ford's Model T car.

The Mini Cooper Hardtop was actually born in 2002 when BMW re-launched the Mini line, capitalizing the name to distinguish it from all the previous brands that had existed before that time. The brand has been reputed to have cars that are affordable, sturdy, and compact. This contributed immensely to the success the brand recorded before the advent of the new Cooper series.

In 1961, a few years after it had been produced, a racecar designer and builder John Cooper improved the design of the car and it was named Cooper S Model. The car had recorded the production and sales of about 5,387,862 million Minis before its production was suspended briefly in 2000. With upgrades to the car, its reintroduction brought several new features and models that were not found in the previous models.

Although fun to drive and certainly charming to look at, the Mini Cooper Hardtop is not strong in performance. It is powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbo engine, paired up with a six-speed manual transmission that delivers 177 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque. It achieves zero to 60 mph in approximately 8.3 seconds, which is not outstanding, but it's not as slow as a turtle either. Those opting for the six-speed automatic transmission will see an even slower acceleration rate. While the Cooper Hardtop may fall short in power, it makes up for it in fuel-economy as it returns an impressive 29 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway.

If you aren't satisfied with the adequate list of safety features that the Mini Cooper Hardtop offers standard, you can add on a few thoughtful options, such as dynamic traction control, antitheft alarm system and park distance control. Otherwise, you will have all the basics you need, plus a few extras you may not think of, such as a post-collision safety system and emergency interior trunk release.