Designing a new Mini isn’t easy. As with the Porsche 911, Fiat 500 and VW Beetle, a new Mini must not stray too far from the original. Yet it’s also required to be different enough to make buyers fall in love with it so they desperately want to hand over their hard-earned and stay at the head of the automotive fashion scene.
Bigger, and definitely better, than ever before, the fourth generation (if you count the 1959 original as the first) Mini is smoother, quieter, cleaner and safer – but thankfully still provides the same smile-on-the-face driving sensations.
Best of all, the 2014 Mini is significantly cheaper, with no less than $5000 being stripped out of the entry level model, to bring it down to just $26,650. See the complete price list, showing old and new, that accompanies this feature.
The most obvious difference between the new and the about-to-be-superseded Mini hatch is the single piece grille. Rather than having a sort-of bumper bar dividing it into two parts, the gen-four Mini joins in the big-grille fashion revolution begun by Audi, and now copied by many others.
The theme works particularly well in the Mini, being deeper as well as wider, and ties in nicely with the housings for the foglights.
Mini’s taillights are significantly wider than before and their bold design is part of the low, chunky, visual stance of the tail. The rear diffuser again has the dual exhaust outlets as its centre focus. Interestingly, the below-grille area at the front of the Mini has taken on styling cues from the rear unit.
Sadly, one striking feature of every Mini to date has gone – the central speedometer. Introduced in 1959 to cut the costs and complexity of making the car with the steering wheel on the right or left, it was loved by all. The speedo now sits in a conventional position directly in front of the driver.
Its place in the centre of the dash has been taken over by an infotainment system, which includes the newly developed Mini Connected system that can give access to a huge array of features. The size of the screen varies from large to very large and depends on which Mini model you opt for.
As before the BMW Mini comes to Australia in Cooper and Cooper S, variants. But for the first time we will as also see the entry level model, tagged as Mini One, that has been denied us in the past.
Note that the design changes are only to the Mini three-door hatch. The convertible/cabriolet, Clubman, Coupe, Countryman, Roadster, Paceman (Wow!, what a list) are still to be introduced. All variants may not make it into the new series, stay tuned for details as we get them.
At this stage only two engines are on offer in Australia, both turbo-petrol units. One is a fascinating three-cylinder 1.5-litre unit with 100 kW of power and torque of 220 Nm (230 Nm with overboost) between 1250 and 4000 revs. The other displaces 2.0 litres and produces up to 141 kW of power. Torque is even more impressive with a peak should that be plateau?, between 1250 rpm and 4750 rpm of 280 Nm, with another 20 Nm being offered for a few seconds when overboost is demanded by the driver.
Coming in a few months is a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel with 85 kW and 270 Nm.
Also in the pipeline is the high-performance Mini Cooper JCW (John Cooper Works), which we will hopefully see by the end of the year.
Transmission choices are six-speed manual and six-speed auto.
The new Mini has been designed to obtain top scores in the various global crash tests to which it will be subjected. There’s a strong emphasis on minimising pedestrian-strike injuries as this is becoming increasingly important on the European market.
Driving. Ah, driving, this is what the Mini is all about – and why I’ve loved it so much since my first experience about a million years ago (well, 1963 actually).
New Mini retains the go-kart feel that was engineered into the original Mini almost by accident, but which has been carefully designed into every new BMW-sourced model every since.
The steering feels as direct as ever, the car responds to inputs through the wheel as well as the throttle better than ever – and that’s saying something.
Body rigidity is excellent, partly because BMW will also fit its own bodies to the platform within the next six to twelve months, and demanded a taut structure.
In the Mini, ride comfort is spoiled a little if you go for the fashionable big-diameter wheels, but is very good on the standard 15s and 16s fitted to the cars we road tested in south-east Queensland at the press introduction.
The engines tested, 1.5 and 2.0 were arguably the most responsive turbo units we’ve ever driven, with only the slightest traces of turbo lag before getting into their very wide torque bands.
Front seats are well sized and have decent support. The rear seat is still on the modest side, though bigger than in the past. Likewise the boot, at 211 litres, is better than in the past, but still won’t hold all that much luggage.
More refinement, better interior space, added performance, lower emissions all make the gen-four Mini desirable from a common sense point of view. But forget the practical stuff, by far the biggest reason for getting behind the wheel is the sheer driving fun the Mini provides in spades.
The complete 2014 Mini range, with previous model prices in brackets, is:
Cooper: $26,650 ($31,650)
Cooper D: $31,800 ($34,800)
Cooper S: $36,950 ($40,700)
Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Mini dealer for driveaway prices.
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