In Praise Of My F56 Cooper D...

My 18-month old manual F56 Cooper D has covered more than 22,000 trouble-free miles and, yesterday, it brought me & my lady (plus a full Christmas load) some 400-miles across France.

This is my 5th (BMW-era) MINI, but my first ever diesel... and I've praised the 3-pot 1.5L motor on this forum before.

The reason I'm posting today is that I am truly amazed by the performance & economy of my Cooper D - which returned over 56mpg for the 400-mile journey at full motorway speeds (110 / 130 kmph) in high winds & very well-loaded.

I find this remarkable!!

As normal for motorway driving, I engaged Green Mode & Cruise-Control in 6th gear and, despite some pretty steep inclines and fierce headwinds, I did not once have to change gear - nor did the car struggle in the slightest... it just maintained the selected speed perfectly.

Having filled up with 74p per litre diesel in Calais, I still had 4-bars left on the fuel-gauge on arrival - so my travel expenses were, you might say, quite reasonable.

As we got near our destination, the last 30km or so were on unlit back-roads that were tailor-made for the F56’s go-cart handling... what a fine end to a great journey - made in safety, comfort & with great music playing on the HK audio!

I'm loving the F56 ownership experience and hope you guys are too.

Merry Xmas