Mini 5-door Cooper D vs BMW 118d vs Mercedes A180 CDI Spec comparison

Mini launched the 5-door Cooper D last week - only diesel trim, brought in as a CBU and their first proper 4-door hatchback. Now it has a diesel engine under the hood with three cylinders pumping out 118PS of power. In most countries around the world, it would be just another hatchback, but here it’s a hot hatchback with the oomph to make it a socialite’s blue eyed boy. But the Mini 5-door isn’t the only one looking to woo the young and rich. You’ve got the Mercedes A-Class that’s also a looker, albeit in a bit more conventional way, and the BMW 1-series, the one that appeals more to the heart than the eye. Can the Mini carve its own niche in this rarified air of oil-burning hot hatchbacks? We pit them against each other in a specifications comparison

Engines and gearbox:

The Mini is the only one with a 3-cylinder engine under the hood. It powers the front wheels with 118PS power and 270Nm of torque. Despite being the smallest engine with a cylinder short to the other two, the Mini’s modern block betters the Mercedes A-class on paper. The 2.2-lire 4-cylinder diesel in the Mercedes pumps out only 109PS of power and 250Nm of torque. The BMW 1-series is miles ahead on the performance front with 145PS and 320Nm to boast of. The Mini uses a 6-speed automatic gearbox, the A-class uses a more advanced 7-speed dual clutch unit and the 118d uses an 8-speed auto ’box. The BMW is the only rear wheel driven car here, the most powerful and theoretically the most fun to drive as a result.

Size and space:

The compact 5-door was conceived keeping it true to its roots of a small hatchback with cart like handling, so very little leeway has been taken in sizing it up. It is under four metres long, has about a 130mm disadvantage between the wheels and has the least width among the three as well. The 1-series and the A-class are considerably larger, adding about 300mm length to the 5-door Mini and otherwise in the same ballpark dimensions of each other, give or take a few millimeters. The longer hatchbacks also benefit from their length in the storage department. Both have a much larger boot, although the A-Class stores a space saver in it. 

The Mini though is light, a good 315kg lighter than the A-Class and 155kg lighter than the 1-series. That makes its power to weight ratio almost on par with the BMW and way better than the A-class. There’s nothing like a light hatchback with a spring in its stride, and the 5-door Mini will be just that. 

Price and efficiency:

India is a diesel loving country, even when you move up the curve. All three cars have their bases covered here, more so the Mini, with combined fuel economy of over 26kmpl. It’s not in Indian test conditions though, so we can’t judge it on par with the other two. Both the BMW and the Mercedes return figures in the same range of 20-21kmpl. Considering the Mini is light and has a smaller engine with only three cylinders to burn fuel, it should be the more efficient car among the three nonetheless. 

When it comes to price, you’ve got to say that it’s going to take some convincing to make a buyer buy the Mini. It costs over Rs 5 lakh more than the 118d and almost Rs 10 lakh more than the A180 CDI. The Mini 5-door is the most standout car of the three though purely on the styling front, and that’s the main reason to buy the Mini.