Sometimes I get into a car and I have to search for a word to describe the experience, writes Brian Byrne.
Sometimes it takes a while to find the one, or even three or several words to do the job.
Not this time.
Just one. Joyous. Just simply that.
The new Mini Coupe is the latest in a line of derivatives on the original BMW hatchback (we really should ignore the very original, which only provided design cues for the current car).
And in fairness, some of those variants have been a little on the clunky side in the looks department. I couldn't personally get to like either the rack-stretched Clubman or the steroided Countryman, both aesthetically challenged to my viewpoint.
But the Coupe is a visually super sweetheart, its 'helmet' roofline cute and unlike anything else this side of WW2 Wermacht headgear. In the Cooper S version which I had on evaluation, there were the added twin exhausts and other relevant detailing. A brace of 'racing' stripes and funky spoiler provide an oddly mature look and the big wheels offer a reassuring stance.
With the baseline Mini styling elements underpinning the lot, it really can't go wrong.
And here's a thing. I don't much like 2-seaters. Usually a bit cramped, generally with nowhere to put bags and coats within easy reach, and often too redolent of poseur motoring.
I make the exception with the Coupe. Sure, it ticks the first two of the three above boxes, and some might say the third, but it has enough more going for it to trump them.
And while on the room for things bit, the boot volume under that rear hatch door is pretty good. After all, some of the space from the missing rear seats had to be used for something.
Anyone familiar with Mini interiors will feel right at home in the Coupe. There's nothing different in the style, dashboard or controls. Still the massive and quite useless even as decoration centre-dash speedometer (I depend on the digital speed readout in the tachometer pod atop the steering column). Still the high-quality finish and fit which BMW insists on.
But we're in Cooper S territory here, so along with the individual looks the review car provided a very individual performance.
After all the (albeit excellent) diesels I have been driving lately, it was nice to be behind a powerful petrol engine. With 184hp on tap, and a full torque available all the way from 1600-5000rpm, it was a car that promised much.
A promise kept.
With its sprint capability of a whisker under 7 seconds to the 100km/h mark, this is a true hot hatch. Enough pulling power to bring in the electronic traction management gizmos occasionally. Push in the back acceleration that made merging onto motorway traffic a confident doddle. Handling which turned twisty bad-cambered roads into virtual slot-car tracks. Grunt and verve in big helpings.
And all with as much refinement as one could wish for in any car. Sweet 6-speed shifter, nice clutch (though my size 10s needed to learn a little deftness in a narrow space), and a steering wheel that Baby Bear would describe as just right.
This car dropped straight into a very reserved spot in my affections. It became one of the relatively few which I got into again and again on any excuse, just for the fun of taking it somewhere.
And the good news is, you can get into a Mini Coupe for as little as €23,410 plus dealer charges. The Cooper S arguably worth the extra at €27,790. There's a diesel for a bit more and a JCW for a lot more. The review car is B-rated for tax and won't ask you to stop too often at the petrol pump.
Joyous.
