After a long road-trip, and back canyon carving in a 2025 Mini Cooper S; I found it lost something, but gained a lot. It must be a pain to design something that has to maintain its iconic status.

The quintessential Mini Cooper will always be the two-door Hardtop. Both the regular Cooper and Cooper S are fine everyday propositions, but the 2025 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop is maximum Mini.