An excerpt from the Autoweek driver's log:

I had a lot of exposure to our long-term hardtop Cooper S with more power and stiffer suspension, so I was pleasantly surprised by this Cooper’s peppy, normally aspirated engine and agile handling. It wheezes some, and needs a sixth gear to keep the revs down, but it still gets 30 mpg, so if you can put up with the extra noise, five gears are fine. It feels solid, looks special and runs like a go-kart. I really love the warning sticker urging drivers to consider whether they really need to put the top up. Mini continues to be the industry’s four-letter word for “fun.”

You can read the entire article here.