MINI 5-Door Hatch Cooper [F55] - ABC Leasing

Car & Driving
The independent definitive MINI 5-Door Hatch video review
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    MINI MAGIC(some text hidden)

    By Jonathan Crouch


    Ten Second Review word count: 90

    We're now starting to get used to the idea of a MINI Hatch with five doors. With this bodystyle, you get a longer wheelbase, quite a lot more luggage space and potentially room for three people in the back. On top of this, there's the third generation MINI model's sophisticated design with underpinnings better suited to longer journeys. Oh and a range of punchy but economical engines. You wanted more MINI? Well you've certainly got it now. Here, we're looking at the improved model in perky 136hp petrol Cooper form.


    Background word count: 152

    Take a standard MINI, add a dash of length and practicality and you'd have a strong seller. You'd have a car like this, the MINI Hatch 5-Door. There are potentially lots of folk who like the stylish frugality and fun, chuckable, cheeky demeanour of the MINI Hatch 3-Door model but simply can't justify that car's tiny rear seats and restricted boot. Like me perhaps, they've an occasional need to transport up to three kids in the back. And they require a car that won't be daunted by the modest proceeds of a family superstore shop. A car like this one? It's certainly going to be a strong seller for the brand, priced and sized in fertile territory somewhere between Fiesta-shaped superminis and Focus-sized family hatches. You can see why it might appeal. But would you really want one? Let's find out at the wheel of this usefully enhanced petrol-powered 1.5-litre Cooper model.


    Driving Experience word count: 340

    The key update with this most recently revised model is that it's now possible to order it with adaptive damping - an important option given this car's go-kart-like firm ride, especially with larger wheels. Otherwise it's as you were. Can a slightly bigger MINI like this one really feel like a proper MINI should? Fun, frisky - up for anything? The brand's Countryman crossover model has tried hard in that regard but arguably remains a little too heavy - and perhaps even a little too sophisticated - to quite hit the mark. With his MINI -Door Hatch model though, buyers get the extra doors and at least some of the extra practicality they were seeking without any dynamic downsides. Or none that I can feel anyway. If the stretched wheelbase of this car has done anything to dent the eagerness of the taut MINI chassis, then I couldn't feel it. We reckon the 1.5-litre petrol-powered Cooper model on test here represents the sweet spot in the range. The engine is actually basically the same unit that assists the electric motor in BMW's old i8 supercar. Here, as there, it punches well above its weight, enabling the performance of this third generation version Cooper to at last aspire to the lower-rungs of the hot hatch ladder: 62mph can be dispatched in just 8.3s en route to 129mph, which, I think, will be quite as fast as most will really want to go in this car. You now have to have a 7-speed Steptronic auto gearbox. MINI driving modes are available as an option, which offer drivers the choice between Sport, Mid and Green modes. Using a rotary switch at the base of the gearstick or selector lever, drivers can swap from the default Mid mode to either Sport or Green. The three choices offer a set-up which is either performance-oriented, balanced or geared towards fuel efficiency. MINI driving modes also influences the ambient lighting, shift characteristics of the automatic transmission and the Variable Damper Control - if that option is selected.


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    Scoring

    Category: Compact Car

    Performance
    70%
    Handling
    80%
    Comfort
    70%
    Space
    70%
    Styling
    80%
    Build
    80%
    Value
    60%
    Equipment
    70%
    Economy
    70%
    Depreciation
    80%
    Insurance
    60%
    Total
    72%
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