► Petrol-powered five-door Mini Cooper revealed
► Features much the same design and interior as EV
► Classic, Exclusive and Sport trims, priced from £24k
Mini has introduced a new five-door, family-friendly Cooper to the range. It joins the lineup as a stretched-out, 4,036mm variant of the new three-door Cooper – that’s 172mm longer, to be exact, and 72mm longer than the previous-generation five-door.
Only standard-issue Mini petrol engines are on offer here. There’s a Cooper C model with 153bhp or a Cooper S with 201bhp.
They’re the same as you’ll find in the new three-door Coopers, but acceleration takes a hit with the extra weight of the longer chassis – 8.0 seconds for the five-door C (7.7 in the three-door) and 6.8 seconds for the five-door S (6.6).
With easier access to the rear bench and a little more room when you get there, the five-door Cooper should appeal to small family car buyers, but they come at a slightly higher price. The same three trims are available – Classic, Exclusive and Sport – but the five-door Mini starts from £24,050 – just under £2000 more than the three-door Mini Cooper – while the S starts from £28,450.
Tell me more about the new three-door Mini Cooper
It really does look the same as the EV edition, so much so that even the sporty Cooper S model doesn’t have a visible exhaust tailpipe. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, as the new-shape Mini has really pared back some of the wilder design choices from older design choices and we’re left with a mostly clean design that’s still familiar.
Details include those multi-LED rear lights with customisable light signatures, sporty wheel designs and the options for bright and dual-tone colours.
Inside, the Mini Cooper C and S also features the same circular central infotainment screen as the electric model. The dashboard has a fabric surfacing that uses recycled materials and the screen itself is heavily customisable.
Give me some numbers!
Mini says there are two versions of its combustion-powered Mini hatchback, the C and the S. See here for performance specs, which seem to be broadly similar to the Cooper E and SE EV models:
- Cooper C: 153 bhp, 7.7sec 0-62mph, 139 mph, 1,260kg
- Cooper S: 201 bhp, 6.6 sec 0-62mph, 150 mph, 1,285kg
Mini also says there are three trim levels: Classic, Exclusive and Sport. Every Mini features the brand’s ‘Experience Modes’, has a seven-speed dual-clutch auto (RIP manual Minis), cruise control, rear parking camera and navigation. Exclusive adds some more decorative details, while Sport throws in some JCW-flavoured bits including a sport-tuned transmission for more aggressive shifts.
How much is the petrol-powered Mini?
The brand says the three-door Cooper C will be priced from £22,300, while the Cooper S will start from £26,700.