The new F65 MINI Cooper Five Door is here and it’s beginning to hit the roads across Europe and North America. Heavily revised with more performance and technology, it’s a leap forward over the previous car while also filling a large space in the line-up with the Clubman now gone.
The F65 MINI Cooper five-door is based on the previous generation F55 and is 100% petrol-powered. Like the all-new electric Aceman (which is roughly the same size albeit in crossover form), it’s intended to take the best parts of the Cooper and add just enough room for an extra set of doors. Unlike the Aceman the F65 Cooper five-door is 100% combustion-powered and will be available in Cooper C and Cooper S forms. And unlike all other MINI models, it will not be offered as a full JCW model.
Performance For The F65 Five Door MINI Cooper C & Cooper S
While there is no JCW model planned, MINI has upped the ante in terms of power with both models. The F65 Cooper C is getting a 14% power upgrade going from 134 hp to 156 hp. This change takes the C from 0-62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in 7.7 seconds. The more powerful F65 Cooper S gets a less dramatic 7.4% horsepower boost from 189 to 204 hp but sees a significant torque increase to 221 lb-ft. This is all driven through the front wheels courtesy of a revised 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. Yes like all other models, the five door Cooper has lost the manual transmission.
Model | F55 Cooper (2015 – 2024) | F55 Cooper S (2015 – 2024) | F65 Cooper C (2024 – 2030) | F65 Cooper S (2024 – 2030) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Power | 134 hp | 189 hp | 156 hp | 204 hp |
Torque | 162 lb-ft/1480 rpm | 206 lb-ft/1350 rpm | 170 lb-ft/1,480 rpm | 221 lb-ft |
Transmission | Manual/DCT | Manual/DCT | DCT | DCT |
This gets the new F65 Cooper S to 62 mph in 6.6 seconds (60 mph in 6.3 seconds). And keep in mind these are both likely conservative numbers knowing how BMW calculates figures.
How New is the F65 MINI Cooper 5 Door?
Like the recently released F66 three-door Cooper, the F65 is an evolution of the previous generation five-door. It’s mechanically evolved underneath with a completely new look and feel inside and out. The basic layout is the same albeit with slightly tweaked dimensions. There are no exterior parts (outside of the glass and the roof) shared between the two cars and subtle changes are everywhere. But even these subtle changes can have big effects. Take the lights, for example. MINI has pushed the headlights forward and made them slightly more upright. It means that this car feels more upright and a little closer to the R50 and R56. It also marks this car out as different than the sleeker J01 MINI Cooper EV.
Then there’s the taillights which adopt the triangular design we’ve seen on the J01 and F66. Here they actually feel more obvious because of how the rear hatch protrudes from the glass. Love them or hate them, they are more in your face on the F65 as compared to the three-door F66 Cooper.
In our recent hands-on time with the F65 MINI Cooper five-door we came away liking the more minimal styling on the outside but really loved the subtle tweaks inside. The general layout is the same up front but there is slightly more rear width than before offering a bit more room for rear passengers. In the US this is purely a four-seater due to regulations. However, in the rest of the world the three-seat layout becomes more doable with these revisions.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the tiny doors. Due to the size of the car, MINI had to shrink the front doors considerably as compared to the three-door in order to make room for the rear doors. Subsequently, the rear doors are also tiny. I’m 6′ 2″ and getting in and out of the five-door Cooper has always been something that required attention. This new F65 model is no different.
The boot is fractionally larger but the difference is negligible based on our real-world experience. Similarly, the car itself is fractionally wider than the F55 but without the two side-by-side and a tape measure you’d not be able to tell.
We’ll have more on the new five door Cooper in the weeks ahead as we get behind the wheel for the first time.