Mini Cooper Hatch 5-Door

So what do you call a Mini hatch that has five doors instead of three? Why, the Mini Cooper Hatch 5-Door, of course. Take the three door, stretch the wheelbase, add two rear doors and you’ve the Mini for small families. You can squeeze regular sized adults in the rear but don’t expect them to sit happily there for a day trip. Yes, the headroom is fine but leg and foot room are tight, and entry and egress aren't wonderful either. So what you have here is something ideal for two adults, and two kids beyond car seat years, but not yet teenagers.

Whatever, this body addition makes the Mini more marketable than ever. It’s all very well saying Mini already has a contender in this area, with its Countryman, but check out the price difference. For a 4WD Countryman you’re looking $50k if you tick any of the options boxes, and for the less expensive examples there’s not much in the way of pace. With the new offering, you can drive off the lot in a new Cooper 5 door for $37,200 which puts it in amongst Mazda 3 and Golf. And you know what? The Mini is competitive on many fronts, it looks right, in a part hatch/part estate way, it goes real well, uses sod all fuel (claimed combined figure of 4.2L/100km), and you can buy one with a six-speed manual transmission.

At which most will cry, “I knew there was a catch”. And they’re right, because optioning the auto costs better sit down $3000 for a six speeder. So most will now be thinking $39,200 drive away for a hatch that can only carry kiddies in the back. True, but what’s rather refreshing is that not everyone will have one. Plus this gets the natty little three cylinder 1.5-litre turbocharged direct injection engine. It’s great, with one proviso. You need to drive it with the Sport mode selected or it can feel nobbled. Guess that’s how Mini gets a combined fuel figure into the low fours; drive it in green mode everywhere. Except don’t, because it kind of smothers the life out of it.

If you want Mini driving fun, the middle engine mode won’t do either, you really need Sport. When you select it, images of a rocket and go-kart appear. Guess they couldn’t decide. Whatever, in Sport the little three potter feels like a rocketing kart, more so than its 100 kW and 220 Nm suggests. Mini reckons on standing start acceleration to 100 kays of 8.2sec and with some perseverance we managed to get close enough, with a best of 8.26sec. The three door with the same powertrain did 8.07sec, reflecting its 60kg lighter weight.

This engine just slaughters the lame 1.6 of yore. Being turbo-energised it pulls well from 1500 rpm, so despite high gearing will putter around town in fourth, though third is better. On the flat sections of motorway at legal speeds it easily manages mid4’s for thirst, pulling 2000 rpm even. Torque production across the board is impressive.

The manual transmission is sweet as a nut, the clutch uptake just so, the lever movement oiled, a delight to use, though not many will buy it. Shame because the fewer who do, the less often it will be offered, until they’re all gone and a distant memory.

As to the Mini drive, well, it’s good but just not quite as nippy as the three door. Nor would you expect it to be, given the 72 mm longer wheelbase needed to fit proper rear seats. Another bonus of the extra 161 mm of overall length is a bigger hatch, capacity up by 67L to 278L. The floor height is variable too.

On our demanding loop road, it’s a well mannered, energetic drive with some of the better electric steering around. In Sport there’s extra heft at the wheel which is quite live and direct. It’s fun to punt in the hills, and the engine has enough grunt to satisfy, while sipping frugally when not given a hiding. Tyre noise isn’t great, however, and the ride at slower speeds tends firm but then roll control at pace is good.

Our red (and white roofed) car came standard with cloth seats, a round key fob that no longer has to be inserted in the dash, stop/start, a trip computer including digital speed readout, dual zone air, and a central screen to handle all the infotainment and connectivity duties. Also part and parcel are cruise control with brake function (handy that), rain sensing wipers, Mini drive modes (just leave it in Sport), and two aux-in connections. Absent is a reversing camera, but rear parking sonar suffices.

Mini, like owner BMW, has extensive options lists. Tick a few boxes and your $37k car suddenly costs well in excess of $40k. And all the tasty bits cost four figures. The smarties will probably just tick the auto box and leave it at that. Others might go for the $45,200 Cooper S 5-door, which doubtless is a firecracker, like the three door version.