For our money, the best review yet. Here’s an excerpt:

>The road to Castellet is narrow, undulating and sinuous. The new Mini Cooper S eats it for lunch. While the suspension layout — struts up front, multilink in the rear — and the tire sizes are essentially the same as before, there are noticeable revisions.

>Slightly increased wheel travel lets the suspension breathe a bit, while lighter rear trailing arms, aluminum instead of steel, reduce unsprung weight and allow the chassis engineers more freedom with the damping. Revised steering geometry and a quicker ratio make turn-in more immediate, yet improve straight-line stability. Fourth-generation Dunlop 195/55R16 run-flat tires feature less rigid sidewalls.

>It all results in handling that’s just as epic as before, with much less kicking and screaming when the road gets lumpy. Even the optional 205/45R17 tires, brutish at times on the last car, have a shot at being livable on the streets and freeways back home.

[ First Drive: 2007 Mini Cooper S ] Inside Line