Mini Cooper S (F56) | PH Fleet
The new boy at PH has a fresh set of wheels - and a question for the PH community
I’ve just recently joined the PistonHeads team, and as tradition demands, I’m kicking things off with a new addition to the PH Fleet. Last month I waved goodbye to my 2014 Ford Focus ST – a car I admired for combining practicality and turbocharged hilarity, but mainly for the aptly named Tangerine Scream paint.
Three years in, and I was getting twitchy. The ST had served me well, but the mileage was creeping up, and depreciation was looming. Time for a change. Of course, that meant juggling the usual constraints: a limited budget, sensible insurance, fewer miles than the outgoing car, something reliable and, ideally, fun to drive. With a house deposit in mind, finance was off the table too.
The classifieds search narrowed fast, and I eventually landed on the Cooper S you see before you. It’s not my first rodeo with a Mini – I think this might be number six – and it’s the second time I’ve owned an F56. The last one was a 2015 Thunder Grey Cooper S, which I ran during the 2020 chip shortage. At the time, dealers were offering more than I’d paid for it… so you can guess what happened to that.
While the most recent Mini on the PH Fleet didn’t exactly go to plan (sorry, Matt), my F56 ownership was a positive experience. The MOTs always came back clean, it never missed a beat, it was great fun to drive and surprisingly economical on long runs. I was genuinely sad to see it go.
Given all that, why not do it again? Admittedly, cars are always dependent on their previous owners, so we’ll have to wait and see further down the line – but two weeks in, and it’s all smiles so far.
There are a few differences between my last F56 and this one. For starters, this car gets the Storage Pack (believe me, the extra cubbies and deeper boot floor come in handy) and the Media Pack XL, which means a larger central screen, improved smartphone connectivity, and a much nicer iDrive-style control knob. It also has a black headliner rather than grey – probably too much detail, but it suits the interior much better. While driving the grey Mini, these were all things I wished it had.
Spec-wise, it’s well equipped. But the biggest change is the John Cooper Works exterior pack and the ‘cup-spoke’ diamond-cut 18-inch wheels. Sadly, though, this isn’t the full-fat JCW experience – so we make do with 189hp instead of 228hp, and no Brembo brakes, stiffer suspension, or sports exhaust. Still, a car that rides a little softer for daily use might not be such a bad thing.
Of course, being on the PH Fleet, this Mini is likely to catch a case of upgrade-itis. As this is going to be my long-term daily – and since I’ve never modified a car – I’d love to hear from the PH community, especially fellow Mini owners. What would you do to improve the Cooper S on a sensible budget? (I’m not made of money. And no, I’m not selling it.)
First things first - let's take a look at all that chrome.
FACT SHEET
Car: 2015 Mini Cooper S (F56)
Run by: Adam Betteridge
On Fleet Since: June 2025
Mileage: 77,000
Genuinely great to drive with sensible road manners once you get rid of the run flat tyres.
We have the Clubman which is really practical, and they are generally pretty reliable, the BXX BMW engines are all generally solid.
I'd say a manual Cooper S is a little underpowered, I've not driven the auto. it really needs the JCW engine power.
As others have said as long as you don't get a very early Cooper S (early ones did have a chocolate crank) you can easily tune for the missing BHP.
Or just get a JCW, they are all pretty affordable now and sensible to insure.
Sure you could go the exhaust route, but as its a pre-OPF car, probably not the most urgent issue!
Sure you could go the exhaust route, but as its a pre-OPF car, probably not the most urgent issue!
Can these be chipped to JCW levels?
I was lucky to get one without the chrome strips
Great little car
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