Cruising Cebu’s streets in style: Cebu Daily News takes all-new Mini Cooper hatchback for a spin

THE MINI COOPER F56. Ready for Cebu.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON

The Mini Cooper, undeniably one of the coolest-looking small cars ever, is about to make a huge splash in Cebu.
During the official launch of the Mini Cebu dealership weeks ago, the Mini Cooper F56 hatch was also introduced.
The all-new model is the third generation of the iconic British hatchback. Mini Cebu, through its president Kris Lyndon Go gave Cebu Daily News a chance to experience the F56 for a weekend.
The variant lent to us was the base model that was powered by a 1.5-liter twin power turbo engine. On paper, the said engine can produce 136 horsepower and 220 newton meter of torque.
We immediately put this to the test, sprinting around the city with four adults on board.
The power of the hatch was more than what we expected, and it was more noticeable when we accelerated from a standstill.

The Mini Cooper’s patented circle headlights makes it stand out from the rest.
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO

It just made us wonder how much more powerful the top-of-the-line 2.0-liter version was going to be. But we’ll leave that out for the moment as Mr. Go hinted of another test for that variant of the F56.
The power of the twin turbo engine of the Mini was impressive but what really amazed us was how much attention the car garnered on the streets of Cebu City.
Throughout the three days that the hatch was with us, the F56 drove through highways, small town streets, compounds and around malls. And through all those times, we noticed that our ride had attracted more than a little attention.
That could be chalked up to many factors (the driver’s looks included, hopefully) but we think that the car’s unique design was the main selling point.
Surely, there isn’t any other hatch in the local market today that sports those patented circle headlights up front paired with the attractive combination taillights at the rear end.
One friend, a 30-year-old salesman who is also fond of hatchbacks, said it is the Mini’s unique overall design that draws eyes.
This must be the same reason why the Mini Cooper has been used in many movies, more notably in the 2003 movie, “The Italian Job”.
But whatever explanation, we truly enjoyed all the attention we got when we drove the Mini.
Then there is the Mini’s terrific advantage—aside from the powerful twin turbo engine—which is its compact body that allows us to squeeze through the busy streets of Cebu and leave in our wake all those bulky SUVs trapped in traffic.
And if ever we really got stuck in traffic jams, sitting idle inside the Mini’s cabin wasn’t boring at all. The interior of the car is, after all,  as uniquely appealing as its exterior.
Style is surely one of the Mini Cooper’s strongest points, and we’re pretty sure that this style will be seen more around Cebu’s streets  soon.

(CDN PHOTOs/BRIAN J. OCHOA)