Features

Silly things like a larger bore pair of tailpipes pipes (rather than the pert pair of peashooters peeping from the centre of the original's bum) and fatter 'S' logos adorning the side repeaters on the front wings are about as headline as the casual observer is likely to get, but the metamorphosis is more thorough when you start to do a bit of measuring. Like you do.

The designers have gone to quite extreme lengths to make the new Mini just like the old one. Every panel is different, but it wasn't until the old version poked its cutesy little frog-face around the corner that I realised just how much has moved. That bonnet now meets new pedestrian-safety regulations regarding distance between impacting head and headache-inducing immobile engine block, so it has raised the front of the Mini some 20mm.

In doing so, the designers were required to raise the shoulder to keep that nice strong horizontal line along the length of the car. But that would make the car bigger if they left the roof as it was, so, essentially, it's had a bit of a roof chop.

The roof is the same, but the distance between the bottom of the roof and the top of the bodypanels is shorter. So the car has a fraction less glass and a touch more metal underneath the windows. To trick out the extra weight visually, the wheelarches got a bit taller, maintaining their relationship with the ends and height of the car.

Look at the fuel filler cap on both versions - it hasn't moved, but the metal has migrated around it between the generations. Tiny things that all add up to a car that looks fatter than the original, without having gained weight. Neat trick.

But this isn't just a re-skin and that's why it's all the more intriguing. The heart and soul of the Cooper S have also had an overhaul, the heart being the engine, the soul being the suspension. Now, instead of the old Brazilian 1.6-litre supercharged four we get a BMW-designed and PSA-built 1.6-litre turbocharged four-pot pinging away at the front end, driving the front wheels. Ho-hum, you may say, they've gone for a cheaper turbo installation.

But no, this is a new, lighter aluminium engine that does wonders for the Mini's weight over the front wheels. It's also more efficient than the old always-on supercharger, getting more mpg (just under 41mpg) but producing ever so slightly more power than before with 175bhp (versus 172bhp).

Speeds are near-as-damn-it the same, the new car gaining a couple of tenths to 62mph and a couple of mph at the top end - the frenetic acceleration stopping at 140mph. The stock Cooper, by the way, gets a non-turbo version with BMW's 'Valvetronic' variable valve timing producing 120bhp.

First impressions for the new 'S', surprisingly, aren't great. From a start-up it sounds like a quiet diesel, and not quite as tasty as the old car. Rev at a standstill and the old car rasps while the new one just sounds a bit thrashy.

Move off and both cars have a slightly sluggish response at very low revs - something that makes the non-forced-induction cars feel more lively at townie speeds. Get moving, though, and the new Mini starts to make a whole load of sense.

The new standard-fit six-speed manual gearbox is a joy to use in the new car, swapping gears with just the right amount of feedback as to where the lever is coming from and going to, and giving you the kind of confidence in it that makes changing gear an absolute pleasure. The old car feels a bit notchy by comparison - not bad, just a half-step behind in the slickness stakes.

The turbo spools up pretty quickly, but you'll still be at 2,500rpm before you get properly on-boost, something that the older car never suffers with. You'll also not get the squirm through the steering wheel that the new car delivers when pulling away in a low gear on lock or over bumps, because the supercharged car doesn't change its delivery the same way.