2015 MINI Cooper 5-Door Review: Seriously Sensible Fun
What’s Hot: Added space and versatility, spirited on-road feel
What’s Not: Chunky pillars can hamper visibility, options can quickly get expensive
X-FACTOR: The grown-up way to enjoy a MINI without missing out on the fun.
Vehicle Style: 5-door small sports hatch
Price: $27,750 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 100kW/220Nm 1.5 turbo petrol 3cyl | 6sp manual
Fuel Economy claimed: 4.9 l/100km | tested: 6.4 l/100km
OVERVIEW
A modern MINI is enormously different from the simple, raw, space-efficient original. And perhaps, to some, it may seem that with each new model there’s less of the archetypal spirit of the original, and more complexity, more creature comforts, and more, well, flab.
Traditionalists then, will be up in arms over this creation. It isn’t the first MINI five-door (the Countryman and Clubman took that honour first) but it is the first five-door to be so blatantly mainstream.
I know a few MINI fans - ardent folk who love the hedonistic ethos of a two-door car that is just for them - and they’re mostly childless. Or at least they were.
But families are on the way and suddenly the idea of buckling junior into a car seat while squashed over the top of a folded front seat isn’t so appealing.
What’s needed is a MINI that’s just as fun, just as compact(ish) but with enough common sense to allow owners to stack kids, pets, or friends into the back seat with a little more grace.
And of course, MINI’s parent company, BMW - famed for their niche filling models - found the answer.
This time it isn’t a niche though, this time it’s the business of building a MINI that’s designed to tackle sensible duties.
Serious stuff! But how comfortably do function and form sit together in this trendy little 'extended' MINI: the five-door Cooper Hatch? That's what we put to the test to find out.
THE INTERIOR | RATING: 4/5
- Cloth seats, multi-function leather trimmed steering wheel.
- Dynamic cruise control, electric windows and heated mirrors, automatic wipers and lights, air conditioning, push-button start.
- USB/aux connectivity, Bluetooth telephony.
- Optional equipment as tested includes 6.5 inch display with centre console ‘MINI Controller’, Extended Bluetooth with music streaming, and a folding centre armrest.