In Cars, Local Car Launches, Local News, MINI / / 16 April 2015 9:33 pm / 16 comments Also launched at BMW World Malaysia 2015 is the F55 MINI Cooper 5 Door – the lower-powered, more-doored MINI joins the Cooper S variant that debuted the body style in Malaysia last year. Hailing from MINI’s Cowley plant in Oxford, the Cooper 5 door is priced at RM188,888 (a RM12,000 premium over the base 3 Door) on-the-road without insurance, inclusive of 6% GST, a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty and a three-year/50,000 km MINI Service Inclusive package. Like the Cooper S, the Cooper also gets a TwinPower Turbo engine, but it’s a 1.5 litre three-cylinder mill (as seen on the BMW 218i AT) instead, knocking out 136 PS at 4,400 rpm and 220 Nm at 1,250 rpm. Equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission, the Cooper zips from 0-100 km/h in 8.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of 207 km/h, while producing a combined fuel consumption figure of 5.0 litres per 100 km. Fitted as standard are regular reflector halogen headlights and fog lights, 16-inch Loop Spoke alloy wheels, auto lights and wipers, Hazy Grey interior with Chrome Line and Carbon Black trim, Carbon Black fabric upholstery, push-button start, MINI Visual Boost radio with a 6.5-inch display and Bluetooth connectivity, an interactive LED central ring, manual air-conditioning and cruise control.
As such, the kit list is similar to the 3 Door (minus the Visual Boost radio), but the 5 Door isn’t available with the Chili pack (LED headlights, leather sports seats, dual-zone auto climate control) that is a RM20,000 option on the 3 Door. Safety-wise, there are four airbags (dual front, dual curtain), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) with electronic differential lock control, rear Park Distance Control and run-flat tyres with a flat tyre indicator. Looking to buy a new MINI 5 Door in Malaysia? Research MINI 5 Door car prices, specs, safety, reviews & ratings at CarBase.my. You can also compare the MINI 5 Door against its rivals in Malaysia. MINI Cooper 5 Door (2015) MINI Cooper S 5 Door (2014) The new F55 5 door and it's 3 door in my books are the best revisions of the MINI lineup, besides the previous R56 generation. The first BMW-Mini was a bit confused looking for me, and the spinoffs, well have been a hit or miss for me, like the MINI Coupe which well... err...
This little car just looks perfect, some complain saying the Mini has become too big, but honestly, I don't mind. The 5 door design has a less upright C pillar compared to the 3 door, and loses the frameless doors, a bit of a disappointment, but in the long term, one less point of failure. The hero blue colour is not really the best colour in pictures, but in real life it is not too bad. The red instead is my pick though. It's a pity in Malaysia we all get the stickers and can't opt to not have them at all, the thing is in my old Countryman, the stickers got pretty nasty in a few months, mainly cause I don't have covered parking. The interior is the best form of a Mini yet. Finally, the Mini get's an interior that fits the price. Everything is so much simpler to use and is more logical than ever. However don't think this is a sign the Mini is getting German and losing the British humour - in fact far from it. The interior mood lighting is nice, but the another thing that really caught my eye the first time I got in, was the throbbing Start/Stop button.
The "pulsing" red is just like a heart beat, kinda reminds me of the lyrics of the song "Take Over Control" by Afrojack - the part which goes "plug me in and turn me on". But the thing that takes the cake is the little LCD in the speedo area, which at the end of a journey, when you turn off the car, you get a picture of a little Cooper, which "winks" with it's little headlight - that really made me fall head over heels for it. The new engine, is a shocking revelation, BMW's N20 engine, of which this engine in the Cooper S is inspired from, the B48 is just miles miles better than the older Prince PSA engine used in the older MINI and in the Countryman. While the PSA Prince THP was a good sounding engine, the main issue was the turbo boost was not very effortless, more often than not, you could catch the turbo not ready. On the other hand, the new B48 is very German. When I collected it, the first time I started it and drove it out of the showroom, I was surprised by the startup sound which sounded 100% like how my N20 powered BMW sounds when it starts.
The PSA Prince had a different sound, which a blowoff "piuuuu" sound (very difficult to emulate on a keyboard, but it is that typical french engine sound). When pulling away, the power is really really addictive, it just pulls like no tomorrow. And it keeps getting even better. The transmission, probably the main reason why I gave up on my Countryman, is finally sorted out. The shifts are perfect, almost DSG like/ZF8HP like without the jerkiness of a DSG in low speeds. In SPORT, it even does the exhaust "braaaap" burping noise, which just completes the whole fun nature of the car. Handling is also spot on, pretty go-kart still although it is definitely softer..... but that's not really a bad thing. The old Mini in Sport suspension, was just hopelessly unusable in our poor roads. It was bumpy and crashy, though it helped in handling. The new one just is miles improved and surprisingly even though mine is a sport tune one (all Cooper S 5 doors in MY are with this setup), it is still compliant.
In fact, it's softer than say the Clio RS, but not as soft as the Golf TSI. Body roll is very controlled, even on very twisty country back roads which I tackled at about 70-80kmh. It does roll a bit but not like it is going to fall over or float. Finally, while the old MINI was just a fun car, the new one is a fun AND sensible car. When you just want to potter in traffic, leave it in Green mode, it is still pretty responsive. Or if you are in a rush for a meeting, just flick the left paddle, and it will go. First off, the interior space. I was actually very disappointed initially when I first sat in it, I was expecting significantly more space than the 3 door, considering things like the Axia and Myvi have more space than this! The rear door is large, but the actual opening for the door is very tiny, not sure how they did it. The boot is not that big too, again another place where the Countryman was better. I'm not a fan of the interior choice for our Malaysian ones, it would be better to actually have a lighter colour headliner, and instead of the Cross Punch Leather (which feels a bit meh), they should bring the beautiful grey fabric seats available elsewhere.