Manual MINI Cooper Dies in 2025
The three-pedal MINI Cooper is an institution. Fans love the idea of a three-door hot hatchback with a stick shift in the middle. Well, the 2025 MINI Cooper S is on the way with a welcome bump in power. However, it isn’t going to come with a manual transmission for American buyers.
The manual MINI Cooper S isn’t a reality for 2025, despite a new powerful four-cylinder engine
It’s true; the 2025 MINI Cooper and Cooper S will go without a manual transmission. Tragically, it’s the latest casualty in the industry push to modernize. Of course, MINI isn’t solely to blame for the shift.
Quite often, as with the Chevrolet Corvette, consumer preferences skew automatic. Let’s face it, most MINI buyers want a fire-and-forget, traffic-friendly automatic gearbox for their daily driver hatchback.
Still, the 2025 model will drop the manual transmission as an option altogether, rather than offering it in limited numbers for enthusiasts. In its place, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox will channel power from the model’s 2.0L four-cylinder engine. What’s more, MINI silently dropped the base three-cylinder mill from the lineup. As a result, gas-powered MINIs will be four-cylinder affairs across the lineup.
The BMW-owned British marque continues to bill its Cooper S as having an “iconic go-kart” feeling. It’s a description that fans and critics used initially, and MINI co-opted to describe its most engaging rides.
Well, aside from the omission of a manual in the middle, the upcoming MINI Cooper and Cooper S promise to be handfuls. Power output in the MINI Cooper S rises from 189 horsepower to 201, per a BMW Group press release. Thanks to its 2.0L four-cylinder mill, torque figures rise by 15 lb-ft of torque to 221.
It’s a welcome announcement for MINI-loyal petrolheads. However, fans will surely miss the row-your-own gears driving experiences that bring to mind images of Michael Caine and his crew revving and sliding Minis in the “Italian Job.”
