2021 MINI Cooper S 3 Door, 5 Door, Convertible LCI on sale in Malaysia

The latest MINI Hatch range has officially landed in Malaysia, less than six months after MINI unveiled the revised F55, F56 and F57 models, albeit for the second time. Prices for the Cooper S trio have gone up slightly, with the 3 Door now going for RM253,319 (RM250k previously), the 5 Door at RM261,009 (up from RM260k), and the Convertible at RM274,360 (up from RM270k).

The prices are inclusive of the sales and services tax exemption, which has been extended for the second time until December 31, 2021. Also included in the price is a four-year unlimited mileage warranty with free scheduled service.

So, what’s new, you ask? Well, unlike the previous facelift, the changes made to the Hatch are quite a bit more comprehensive this time around. The headlights are now get darkened internals, and the trademark grille has been enlarged to take up almost the entirety of the front fascia. Within the grille is a body-coloured panel where the registration plate sits, and the sides of the bumper get vertical air inlets, replacing the old LED fog lights.

Round the side, the redesigned “side scuttles” feature a slim LED indicator strip, and the wing mirrors are replaced with the Cooper SE‘s larger, boxier version. The grille outline is repeated in the design of the new rear bumper, again with a body-coloured strip; the corners are also more angular.

Other new additions include piano black finishes on the door handles, exhaust pipes, MINI badges, and a range of new alloy wheel designs. For paint finishes, the 3 Door and 5 Door can be had in White Silver, Island Blue, Chili Red, British Racing Green and Rooftop Grey, complete with Jet Black roof and black bonnet stripes. The Convertible can be had in the same colours except Rooftop Grey. However, as seen in the gallery below, it is the only model with the Zesty Yellow option.

The design refresh continues inside. The biggest changes here are the fitment of a new five-inch digital instrument panel (lifted from the Cooper SE), the larger 8.8-inch infotainment display with Apple CarPlay support, as well as a brand new steering wheel design with slimmer spokes. The air vents and MINI Ambient Light with six colours are restyled as well.

In terms of safety, all three Cooper S variants arrive with Driving Assistant as standard, comprising digital high-beam assistant, speed limit information, person warning with light city braking function, and approach control warning with light city braking function. There’s also Parking Assistant and lane departure warning, the latter operable between 70 km/h to 210 km/h. There’s no lane centring assist, though.

No changes have been made to the powertrain, so the Cooper S 3 Door, 5 Door and Convertible share the same B48 2.0 litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces 192 hp and 280 Nm of torque. Equipped with a seven-speed dual-clutch sports transmission, the 3 Door will do the century sprint in 6.7 seconds, the 5 Door in 6.8 seconds, and the Convertible in 7.1 seconds. Top speed is 230 km/h for the open top variant, while the others max out at 235 km/h.

Newly appointed BMW Group Malaysia managing director, Hans de Visser said: “Designed to be the perfect driving companion, the MINI 3 Door, 5 Door and MINI Convertible were some of our best-selling models in 2020 – having delivered just over 240 units combined, despite the slowdown in the automotive industry last year.”

GALLERY: 2021 MINI Cooper S 3 Door