There have been one or two grouses about this MK3 MINI Hatch's styling, with some saying as it's got bigger, this generation MINI has become a bit ungainly, especially around the front end. The styling of this revised model doesn't look all that different - as before there's a choice of three and five-door body styles. Close inspection will reveal the addition of standard-fit LED front and rear lights, plus there's now extra scope for all-important personalisation. Get out the tape measure and you'll find that this MK3 design is actually larger than you might think, thanks to a wheelbase exension of 28mm over its post-2014-era predecessor. These proportions give it quite a squat, purposeful look, helped by the tapered glasshouse.
The interior features sports seats and black chequered interior surfaces, with piano black and dark silver highlights. The plectrum-shaped starter is a very nice touch and while I love the fact that the speedometer is these days positioned properly in front of the driver, there are other ergonomic glitches such as the fact that you can hardly move the infotainment controller when you're parked with the handbrake on.
It's a touch larger than you might expect inside too - or at last it is provided you haven't been consigned to a rather cramped seat in the back: if that's an issue, you ought to be considering the alternative five-door version of this model - or perhaps the MINI Countryman SUV. Still, access to the rear isn't too bad and the rear bench seat splits 60:40. Boot volume is a supermini-like 211-litres. There's also decent interior stowage space, with cupholders and storage cubbies. Various fresh trimming options are available and a 6.5-inch colour infotainment screen and a multi-function steering wheel are both fitted as standard.
Market and Model
Prices start at around £21,000 for the Cooper S three-door hatch with the five-door version bumping that up by £700. There's a £1,360 premium for the Steptronic auto gearbox. That's for base 'Classic' trim which hardly an Cooper S buyers will want. Most will find the extra for either 'Sport' or 'Exclusive'-spec. At first glance, all this seems like a touch more than you'd pay for rivals like the Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Polo GTI but when these competitors are properly specced-up, there's not a lot in it. Equipment includes full-LED lighting, hip-hugging black cloth sports seats, a DAB stereo, a three-spoke sports steering wheel, air conditioning, Bluetooth and keyless start.
This being MINI, there's a huge amount of personalisation options, so you might well indulge in body stripes, a John Cooper Works spoiler and contrasting mirrors. You can also choose from technology such as a head-up display, MINI Navigation System, MINI Connect and traffic sign recognition. Standard safety fittings include front and side airbags as well as curtain airbags for the front and rear seats, automatic passenger airbag deactivation and front and rear ISOFIX child seat mounts.
Cost of Ownership
As you might expect with BMW pulling the strings in the background, this MINI Cooper S features some faintly otherworldly efficiency measures. The quoted combined fuel economy figure is up to 41.5mpg and up to 145g/km of CO2 for the 3-door version. And 40.9mpg and 148g/km for the 5-Door variant.
An innovation lies with the MINI Driving Modes set-up, an optional extra. 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, comfort-biased or geared towards fuel efficiency. The latter includes a coasting mode when the driver removes their foot from the accelerator pedal.
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