2014 Mini Cooper SD auto UK first drive

From £14,6207

Potent diesel engine impresses, although this is a Mini model a long way from the sweet spot in the range

Mark Tisshaw
Mark Tisshaw
31 October 2014

What is it?

A range-topping diesel model for BMW’s third-generation Mini three-door hatchback. First seen in the new five-door Mini, this potent 2.0-litre turbodiesel is now offered in the smaller model badged as Cooper SD.

And with a badge like that, Mini would have you believe this is a performance diesel hatchback. You get the looks, chassis and a similar kind of performance as the Cooper S, but with better economy. That’s the theory, anyway.

What's it like?

A very un-Mini-like driving experience, one that’s a long way from the Cooper S. Not that it’s a bad car, mind. The engine is strong and exceptionally refined, doing its best work on motorway cruises. It’s a nice match for the automatic gearbox, which is slick and unobtrusive.

Related Mini 3-door Hatch reviews

Economy in the mid-50mpg range is also easily achievable, making this a very nice little car for covering great distances in, especially when you’re sitting in such a desirable interior.

The drivetrain makes this Mini feel every bit the baby BMW, but sporty it is not. Yes, the performance is impressive, but the urgency and turn of pace from the Cooper S model is lacking.

The dynamics also take a hit from having a bigger, heavier engine providing power. The ride and handling balance is still tidy, but the sharpness and poise from the petrol powered-Minis is left behind. 

Should I buy one?

Don’t be taken in by that badge. This is a Mini that’s more GT than GTI. If you’re sold on the way the new Mini looks and undertake a serious amount of miles, making refinement and motorway performance the overriding factor, then Mini has made the model for you.

But that of course is going to be an incredibly small amount of people and at odds with the Mini’s mission statement. It is not a bad car – far from it, in fact – but it is a very niche product, and a very expensive one at that. 

With every new Mini we drive, our original verdict that this is a car where less most definitely is more is reinforced, the sweet spot of the range being right back with the 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol-powered One model.

Mini Cooper SD auto

Price £21,070; 0-62mph 7.2sec; Top speed 140mph; Economy 70.6mpg; CO2 104g/km; Kerb weight 1265kg; Engine 1995cc, 4cyls, turbodiesel; Power 168bhp at 4000rpm; Torque 266lb ft at 1500rpm; Gearbox 6-speed automatic 

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?, Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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Add a comment…
bowsersheepdog 4 November 2014

Diesel get you going

Not specifically related to this article but if anyone can offer information I'd be appreciative. The only diesel car I've owned was a 1997 Rover 620 turbodiesel, which I bought at about ten years old and ran as a second car for a couple of years. It was very comfy and had a reasonable turn of pace for a family saloon but each winter there would be at least a couple of occasions when I'd go out in the morning and find the diesel had frozen. Or waxed as I was informed is more correct. So long as I didn't drain the battery trying to fire it up then with the aid of a kettle I would eventually get away, and once running it was okay, but I have wondered whether this is something that is maybe only really a problem up here in the highlands, and whether more modern diesels have solved the problem. As it stands I'd be quite wary of having to rely on a diesel as my only transport in a harsh winter.
MkVII Golf GTI 4 November 2014

What has happened to MINI?

BMW: PLEASE STOP MEDDLING WITH MINI. This latest iteration is a testament to your lack of knowledge. The first two gens of revived MINI's were great, now we have this brick. It's so ugly!!! It isn't faster, more economical, as fun to drive, or unique. Gone are all reasons to buy this car over anything else. The quality is still poor, the features overpriced and all optional, and instead of being razor sharp it is still uncomfortable but has tons of body roll. The aural stimulation of the R53 blower wine and the R56's turbo bov and exhaust are gone. The F55 5-door looks like a MINIvan and the boot is still as useless as ever. Why did BMW emulate the 500L?
bowsersheepdog 1 November 2014

c-oops!

The last sentence of the review advises that the sweet spot of the range is the 1.2 One, and offers a link to the review of that car. Whereupon we find that that review advises upgrading to the Cooper if funds allow. Is Autocar gradually setting up its own version of the staircase optical illusion, with every test leading on to another until we get back to the start?
Overdrive 2 November 2014

bowsersheepdog wrote:The last

bowsersheepdog wrote:

The last sentence of the review advises that the sweet spot of the range is the 1.2 One, and offers a link to the review of that car. Whereupon we find that that review advises upgrading to the Cooper if funds allow. Is Autocar gradually setting up its own version of the staircase optical illusion, with every test leading on to another until we get back to the start?

I was thinking the same thing. In the previous Autocar articles on the new Mini I remember reading that the Cooper, which gives nearly all the driving thrills of the Cooper S but with better ride and refinement, is the best all round Mini!

So, a bit of mixed messaging going on here, or it could just be that different testers have different views.

AHYL88 2 November 2014

Same, I saw that too, and

Same, I saw that too, and then checked the authors of each review; not surprised to find it's actually four different authors who reviewed this Cooper SD, the Cooper D, the 1.2 One and the Cooper. True, it's different testers with different views, but Autocar should at least be consistent; the only way we'll get a better idea of which is best is if someone has driven the Mini range. Although to be fair, it's no contest that the Cooper is the far better option; by £1550, the 1.2 One isn't really much cheaper as it loses performance and things like alloys which buyers will add on for £300 anyway, thus eating a chunk of the relatively small saving already. The diesels, as I said, aren't much cheaper to run than the petrol models, though all the Minis' on-paper MPG is optimistic. And the Cooper S is a lot more expensive and not that much faster in the real world really.