We compared Mini engines, and the efficiency crown goes to…

By Stuart Johnston

A few years back BMW revised its engine range here, offering a line-up of petrol three-cylinder and four-cylinder turbocharged engines, each in various states of tune. If it’s a diesel you are after, you will have to go for the Countryman model. But which engine is the most efficient?

A study of the rather lengthy Mini model line-up available in South Africa sees engines ranging in power outputs from 75 kW to 170 kW. That’s quite a wide range. All of them are petrol-fueled units, barring the single diesel offering which is available only in the Mini Countryman SUV.

The three-cylinder petrol turbo engine

BMW introduced this three-cylinder petrol turbocharged engine a few years back. It is available in a number of lower-end BMW models as well as in all the latest Mini ranges. This engine comes in two states of tune. The lower-boost version sees the 1 499 cc three-cylinder engine produce 75 kW and 190 Nm of torque. This low-output three-cylinder is available only in the Mini One line-up, which forms the entry-level sector of the basic Mini Hatch range

The 100 kW version of the three-cylinder turbo motor is available in the Clubman, Convertible, Cooper Hatch and Countryman ranges. This engine delivers 220 Nm of torque. Cars with these engines are badged as Cooper models (without the S).

The four-cylinder petrol turbo engine

The four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine is a 2,0-litre unit, and can be said to be the “mainstay” Mini power unit of the current generation of Minis. It is available in all the Mini variants, badged as a Cooper S derivative when in 141 kW tune. Torque is 280 Nm. We admire the under-stressed efficiency of this engine, but miss the more-free-revving aspect of the older-generation 1,6-litre Mini Cooper S engine, which had a sound more in keeping with the Mini reputation for driver involvement and excitement. The Cooper S Motor is available with six-speed manual, or seven-speed dual clutch transmission.

The JCW alternative

For more excitement, you need to go to the John Cooper  Works  versions. These models have various internal changes, including higher turbo boost, that enable a maximum power output of 170 kW and 350 Nm of torque. The JCW engine  can be ordered with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic gearbox. The Mini engineers feel that the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, available in the 141 kW Cooper S models, is not yet suited to the extra power and torque of the highly-boosted JCW engine.

For a review of the latest Mini features, including engine options, click here.

Manufacturer consumption figures

Manufacturer fuel consumption tests are conducted in simulated environments that don’t always translate directly to use in the real world. In almost all cases, real-world figures are much heavier.

But for the record, here are the stated fuel consumption figures for the various Mini engine options in South Africa. The model examples we have used are the front-wheel-drive manual transmission versions in three-door hatch form. The exception to this is the figure for the diesel engine, which is only available in the Countryman. Again, here, the manual version’s figures are used for comparative purposes.

Mini One Hatch 70 kW	4,9 litres/100 km (average)
Mini Cooper Hatch 100 kW	4,7 litres/100 km (average)
Mini Cooper S Hatch 141 kW	5,9 litres/100 km (average)
Mini John Cooper Works 170 kW	6,6 litres/100 km (average)
Mini Countryman Diesel 110 kW	4,8 litres/100 km (average)

 Which Mini engine is the most efficient?       

The 100 kW three-cylinder engine in the Cooper version of the hatch is in fact more efficient than the less-powerful 70 kW available in the Mini One models. That is a bit surprising, as usually a bigger power output translates to more fuel consumption, but obviously the 100 kW version of the same motor is operating in a “sweet spot” of the engine’s basic design parameters.

The 110 kW diesel engine is only fitted to the Countryman model in our market. At first glance, you might be surprised that the overall consumption is marginally higher than the petrol-engined Cooper Hatch. But bear in mind that the Countryman has a much higher un-laden weight than the three-door Hatch. The Countryman weighs, 1 480 kg, versus the 1 085 kg of the three-door Hatch. Being much larger, the Countryman also has a much bigger frontal area than the Hatch, which means much more wind resistance.

So the winner is….

Given all these variables, the clear efficiency winner is the 110 kW turbocharged 2,0-litre diesel engine fitted to the Countryman D model. But as an aside, we should point out that there is also a big difference in price between the two models. The  100 kW three-door Cooper Hatch costs R382 000, against the R488 380 for the Countryman D.

There again, the Countryman body style provides real-world space for families, while the Mini Hatch remains essentially a two-seater model with accommodation for rear seat passengers that is only suitable for short trips. In fact, the tiny original 1959 Mini had more space for rear seat passengers than the current, BMW-produced Mini! For more on the best engine in the Mini Countryman, click here.