Business Car Manager verdict
BMW claims that the MINI Cooper D tested here costs just £9 a month more than the MINI ONE D which is £1560 cheaper but slower and less well equipped equipped (when costed as a typical 36 month/30k mile lease deal).
This is because of higher projected residual values – and the same equation applies to the petrol equivalents.
This explains why more than half of new MINI sales are predicted to be Coopers. But of those, how many will be diesels?
The three cylinder diesel engine tested here offers the same torque as the significantly more expensive petrol Cooper S, and exceptional motorway refinement.
For many business users that will clinch it, especially when allied to £35 a month in company car tax, nil VED and a 17E insurance grouping, and not forgetting the fuel efficiency.
Given the significant hike in overall quality of the new MINI, it seems a bargain that the Cooper D goes up just 1.64% in price over its immediate predecessor. That makes it a very sharp deal.
In our hands we were achieving 65 mpg driving fast on mountain roads, supporting the notion that the move to three cylinders pays off in real world conditions.
But the equivalent petrol engine, also three cylinders, is a gem and BMW believes it will pick up marginally more sales than the diesel.
The main financial consideration is that the Cooper D is a £1150 premium over the petrol. So it’s a tough difficult decision to make, because while the petrol version is not VED exempt, it falls into the £20 a year band – hardly a big deal. And the company car tax payable on the petrol MINI Cooper is even less at £33 a month.
More to the point, the eager, revvy petrol engine suits the nature of a MINI better than the diesel and still boasts 60mpg efficiency. You’ll need to be a high miler for the diesel to really make a difference.
In the aural department the petrol engine has the better sound track too. The diesel has a thrum but it is muted and only audible under high loads, which it doesn’t invite.
Ultimately, it’s a head versus heart affair, but make sure you carefully drive both before deciding.
The Low Down…
| Doors and body style | 3-door hatchback |
| Engine/gearbox | 1.5 litre 3-cyl turbodiesel/6-speed manual |
| CO2 Emissions | 92g/km |
| Economy (combined) | 80.7mpg |
| Power/torque | 116PS/270Nm |
| 0-62mph/top speed | 9.2secs/127mph |
| Insurance group | 17E |
…and what it costs
| P11D Value | £16,395 | |
| Monthly business rental (ex VAT) | From £172 (3yrs/30,000 miles) | |
| Road tax (VED) | Band A | |
| Company Car Tax Bands 2013/14 to 2015/16 | 13%, 14%, 16% | |
| Benefit in kind (BIK) 2013/14 to 2015/16 | £2131, £2295, £2623 | |
| Annual/Monthly fuel benefit (20%) | £549/£46 | |
| Annual/Monthly fuel benefit (40%) | £1097/£91 | |
| Annual/monthly company car tax (20%) | £426/£35 | |
| Annual/monthly company car tax (40%) | £853/£71 | |
| Figures correct at time of posting | ||
| For latest figures | Use our company car tax calculator | |
