2017 Mini hatchback review you join me on a wet and cold day here in mini cooper the UK but it’s okay because I want to talk about many you see back in 2001 when BMW relaunched the MINI brand it

hit upon an unusual phenomenon and that was that people willing to pay top dollar for a small but premium car up until then small hatchbacks had been

seen as budget choices but what many proved is that by adding luxurious features and materials inside and ensuring funky lips on the outside you

can also charge a premium price tag fast-forward to today and minis are some of the best-selling cars in the country and there’s one to suit every lifestyle

as well as the three and five-door hatchbacks as a convertible the Clubman estate and even an SUV in the form of the countryman it’s still the three and

five-door hatchbacks would sell best though and it’s easy to see why because among their conservatively styled rivals cars like the Volkswagen Polo and Audi

a1 they really do stand out thing is though does this five-door version have the practicality and driving fun to back up it’s funky looks keep watching to

find out choice is the order of the day when it comes to engine in this mini hatchback and thinking off the range is a 1.2 liter petrol in the mini 1 or if

you’re wanting a diesel then you can also have a 1.5 liter needle in the 1d the Cooper models are our pick at the range though and the 1.5 liter

turbocharged petrol you get in the Cooper of this punchy performance but the 1.5 litre diesel you get in the two birdies als very fuel-efficient and then at the very

top of the range there’s this the Cooper s it has a 2 litre petrol engine for real hot hatchback performance and it’s pop and crackle exhaust note only adds

to the drama but the Fiesta ST is still better to drive the thing is though this Cooper S does cost more to buy and it also have higher running costs and the

truth is the standard Cooper is just as fun to drive so that is the one we’d go for now just like the three door mini hatchback refinement can be an issue at

speed and the centi of road and winds noise the standard 6-speed manual gearbox can be a bit notchy but in truth if you’re looking for an

automatic the situation isn’t much better we’ve got the Ottoman to give off in this car and it can be decidedly thin witted even though on this toothbrush

model we’ve also got these paddles behind the steering wheel if you think with smaller wheels than the mini rides pretty comfortably just not buy this

smoothly as a Ford Fiesta if you do go for bigger wheels though we’d also recommend that waiting to adaptive dampers which can soften the ride at the

touch of a button those who remember the original Mini will find lots of retro charm in here but thankfully it’s all been given a modern twist this driver

seat is nice and comfortable giving you a good view over the road ahead but if you want to adjust it and there is a lot of adjustment to be had some of the

controls can be a little bit harder to reach once you’ve got these doors close the pedals are offset as well meaning you sit slightly at an angle and that

means finding that perfect driving position could take some time fortunately though this steering will adjust for both height and reach giving

you a good range of adjustment to find your ideal position now parking the Mini is no trouble because you get a great view over the road ahead and even

looking out the back towards the back window gives you a good view should you need more help though than rear parking sensors are on the options list as well

as an automatic parking system everything feels well put together in here and there are some nice premium touches too there is some evidence of

cost-cutting though particularly around the seat switches to adjust a seat and also the orange backlit display you get on standard models can look a little cheap

sadly our standard you don’t get a color screen in the mini which you do in rivals like the Audi a1 and Volkswagen Polo but you do get standard equipment

including a USB socket and Bluetooth connectivity and a DAV digital radio thankfully it doesn’t cost much to upgrade to a 6.5 inch screen which is

based on parent company BMWs excellent iDrive infotainment and navigation system it all works and looks really good and is controlled by this rotary

dial down here behind the gear lever you can also upgrade to this larger 8.8 inch screen which really makes the iDrive infotainment system look at its very best

now sets destination I’m going to select menu here on this rotary controller go to navigation and then I’m going to do destination input and I’m going to use

this pad to start writing Twickenham which is where our offices are face now it’s got an end there we need to double you I see okay it’s already found

Twickenham there we go and if I then select start guidance it’s already found the route that selected criteria is fast so when I move off this route now

displays in front of me and if you have a heads up display which is what we’ve got on this car then the sat-nav directions are also put directly into

your field of vision now we already connected our phone and via Bluetooth earlier so if I go to the telephone menu I’ve got all my contacts in here I can

make and receive calls and that means that I can keep my attention on the road where it belongs now one of the neat features we’ve got on this car is this

ring of LED lights which encircle this infotainment system not only do they look good they also change their function depending on what you’re doing

in the car so if I start the engine and we can see they give us this nice red light display – welcomes to the car if I want to change the volume for example on

the stereo they’re going to show me that as well as I turn up the sound of Jeremy Vine here on radio – it gives me an indication of how loud the stereo is

going let’s turn that down again it also changes depending if you’re setting the temperature so if I want to set the temperature inside the car we get a nice

indication there of how hot or how cold the temperature is going to be now if you’ve got the option of choosing driving modes on your mini

then it also changes depending on those so if I flip the car over to its eco mode now we get this ring of green LED lights and they change and rise and fall

depending on how eco-friendly your driving is in mid mode or normal modes we get this ring of yellow lights and in sport mode the whole dial changes to

become an indication of our rev counter and as we’re driving along this white line rises and falls with the revs it really looks fantastic

there’s a bit more space in this 5-door version of the mini hatchback compared to the regular 3 door car and in the front at least you should be able to get

comfortable there’s also a few well-thought-out storage areas and cupholders dotted around for your odds and ends but it’s in the rear where

you’ll notice the biggest difference suddenly getting into the rear seats of the Mini isn’t as easy as it is on some five-door rivals and that’s because

these door openings are rather small and you also have to step over this high sill now the problem is compounded here because I’m a larger driver and that

means my seat needs to be set further back and that really does mean there’s the bare minimum of legroom for anyone else once you are seated back here those we

recommend only seating to people rather than three because as you can probably tell anybody sitting in this middle seat is going to be very squashed in terms of

boot space this mini rivals the big selling at Ford Fiesta and that means that while is not a huge amount of space in here there is at least enough for a

large weekly shop or for a couple of suitcases it is a bit short on length though so if you plan on loading bulkier items like a pram or a set of golf clubs

in here then you might need to load them with ways you can also get a variable boot floor which eliminates this awkward loading lip when putting items in if you

do find yourself in need of more space then these rear seats fold down to several different angles but in truth anything but the most reclined setting

will make passengers feel as though they’re leaning forward for a small car that many offers a very reasonable amount of space inside but which version

should you buy we’d avoid the Cooper S model we’ve got here because in truth if you’re looking for a small hot hatch back then Ford Fiesta see is still a better bet and for

similar reasons we wouldn’t go for the Cooper SD the most sensible options in the range are the Cooper and Cooper D models both are still fun to drive but

also offer sensible running costs whichever version of the mini you end up going for though is worth spending a little bit extra and one of the optional

equipment packs both get you plenty of extra features for not much money and the truth is most many buyers go for at least one so not doing so could affect

the resale value of your car when it comes time to sell the cheapest is the pepper pack and it gets you 16 inch alloy wheels climate control and ambient

interior lighting and the media pack is worth looking at to the addition of two extra doors doesn’t transform the Mini into the ultimate family car but what it

does do is make it more appealing for those who regularly need to carry for people it’s priced in line with Audi’s a1 sportback and will depreciate slower

than other small cars like the Fiesta or polo now if you’re looking for a smallcar with a posh badge the Mini is well worth considering its relaxing to drive has a smart interior and a strong range