MINI Cooper S vs. JCW: Which One Is Actually Worth the Money?
The gap between Cooper S and JCW has never been consistent. A generation-by-generation breakdown of what the premium actually buys, and which one is worth it at each price point.
The 25th Anniversary of the New MINI Cooper – Building a Brand While Reinventing an Icon
Reinventing a car is one thing. Reinventing a car while simultaneously inventing a brand is something else entirely. It’s a story that often gets lost in the narrative but sets the MINI’s...
The Secret AWD MINI That Could Have Changed JCW Forever
In 2004, while the R53 MINI Cooper S was busy redefining what a modern hot hatch could be, Getrag was testing something that might have redefined MINI itself: a compact, torque vectoring...
The Cancelled Alpina MINI: The Luxury MINI That Almost Happened
In the long and occasionally strange history of modern MINI, there are a few fascinating what-if stories. One of the most intriguing is the Alpina MINI project. It is a car that...
The Ultimate R50 and R53 MINI Cooper Buyer’s Guide (2001-2007)
What to inspect, what fails, and how to spot the gems Few modern cars have aged into cult-classic status as quickly as the first-generation MINI. The R50 and R53 brought the brand...
Every MINI JCW GP Driven and Ranked
It’s rare to get all three generations of the MINI JCW GP back-to-back, but over the last 30 days we’ve had that chance to get reacquainted with these legendary MINIs. First came...
MINI Cooper Quality: How the Brand Went From Dead Last to Top 5 in Reliability
For years MINI carried a reputation that was equal parts thrill and headache. On one hand, the cars topped “fun-to-drive” lists with their go kart handling and cheeky style. On the other,...
Revisiting the Original 2006 MINI GP: Raw, Rare and Still Remarkable
Back in the seat of a 2006 MINI GP is like time travel. Everything is simple, almost crude compared to what we’re used to today. And that is what makes it feel...
How MINI Conquered the U.S. 23 years Ago With a Small Team, Small Budgets and Small Cars
When BMW of North America agreed to import the newly reimagined MINI Cooper in the early 2000s, most assumed it would be an unmitigated disaster. Small cars have never had it easy...
Our Favorite MINI Mods That Actually Make a Difference
Skip the mirror caps—these are the upgrades that count. Whether you drive an R53 with a supercharger whine that sounds like a swarm of angry bees or a brand-new U25 Countryman that’s...
Why the 2006 MINI Cooper S Might Be the Best Modern MINI Ever Built
There are MINIs that are good. There are MINIs that are fast. And then there’s the R53 MINI Cooper S— so immediate, so brutally charismatic, and so Mini, it might just be...