Mini Cooper interior, tech and practicality

The Mini Cooper’s interior certainly has the wow factor. That’s partly down to the circular OLED touchscreen – more on that below – and partly down to the interior quality. The switchgear, for example, is shared with latest-generation BMW models. We really like the textured fabric-style dashboard trim, the fabric steering wheel strap and the tastefully upholstered seats.

These materials lift the interior ambiance, but also add to Mini’s sustainability credentials. The knitted easy-care dash textile is made from recycled polyester, while the steering wheel and trimmings are made from Vescin, Mini’s new recyclable vegan-friendly leather alternative.

If you’re upgrading from an older Mini, you might think the new car’s interior looks a bit bare. Mini’s new, pared-back cabin design has only three main elements – the steering wheel, touchscreen and a new toggle bar that houses all the main driving functions. This is where you’ll find the gear selector, the ignition switch and the ‘experience’ mode switch.

Plump for a Cooper C in entry-level Classic trim and standard equipment includes a heated steering wheel, a reversing camera, 16-inch alloy wheels, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, LED lighting and two-zone climate control.

A Cooper S Classic – same trim, more power – adds the ‘Level 1’ option pack as standard, which includes heated front seats, wireless phone charging, a head-up display, 17-inch wheels and high-beam assist.

Mid-range Exclusive is tailored to customers who want the luxurious Mini experience. The Vescin leatherette extends to the seat upholstery and there are upgraded rear lights, among other things. Again, Cooper C models miss out on the Level 1 pack, while it’s fitted as standard to Cooper S versions.

Top-spec Sport trim makes any Mini look like the John Cooper Works range-topper. There are JCW badges galore – too many for our liking – and lots of sporty red accents, plus a racy body kit and a big bootlid spoiler.

The 9.4-inch, almost completely circular touchscreen looks divine. It’s a brave design and impressive that the screen can be round – we’re used to seeing square or rectangular screens as they’re easier to develop. The new screen, with only a very slim bezel, looks leagues more modern than the old Mini’s nearly rectangular screen squeezed into a circular surround.

Not only does it look great, but it’s fantastically responsive too. There’s obviously a lot of processing power within the system, because it reacts to your touch instantly and pulls up the feature you want without a moment’s hesitation.

Some of the features and displays are stuffed around the perimeter like an overly ambitious pizza crust – and a lot of the information is small and perhaps not where you’d expect to see it. It can mean you’re looking away from the road for longer than you’d like to try and process the info on the screen.

A floating bar of shortcut icons is positioned at the bottom of the screen lets you quickly get to the main functions but, again, we’d ideally like these to be a little bigger, given the amount of spare space on the screen. Swipe up from the bottom to bring up a configurable shortcut panel, giving quick access to regularly used functions.

Don’t like how the screen looks? Don’t worry, you can choose from a dizzying selection of wallpapers and themes, like a changeable watch face. These are the ‘experience’ modes – Core, Green, Go-Kart, Personal, Vivid, Timeless and Balance. Like recent BMW models, this may be a few too many modes, but at least the illuminated dash trim and ambient lighting join the selected theme. In Personal mode, you can choose a background image from your phone – if you wish, you don’t ever need to be away from a picture of your pet.

And if you don’t want to spend ages trying to find the menu you want, simply say ‘Hey Mini’ and the car’s virtual assistant dog bounds onto the screen. This is Spike, and he can help you get to navigation, entertainment and telephony menus, as well as tell you the weather and find you an EV charging point en route. Who’s a good boy?

The Mini has never been a car you’d buy for its practicality, and that continues in this latest generation. Getting into the back seats is not for the inflexible but, once you’ve contorted yourself into the second row, space is just about okay. Headroom is sufficient for an average sized adult because the seats are mounted low, although that means you sit low with your knees high.

If you need easy access to the back seats, there’s a five-door hatchback available with the Cooper’s petrol engines, or the electric Mini Aceman crossover.

Handily, three-door Coopers have a set of Isofix points on the front passenger seat, which might save you the hassle of folding the seat forwards to get a child into the back seats.

As before, the Mini Cooper is staunchly a four-seat car. Part of a five-a-side team? One of you will have to follow on the bus.

Let’s not beat around the bush – the Cooper’s boot is small. The 210-litre space looks narrow and shallow, and is soundly beaten by the Peugeot 208’s 311 litres. On the plus side, the Mini doesn’t have a load lip so you might find it easier to load heavy items into the boot. From 2025, roof rails have become optionally available on the petrol Cooper, should you wish to increase the car’s luggage capacity with a roof box.