MINI 5-door

If MINI purists have recovered from the launch of the Countryman,Clubman, Roadster and Coupe, it’s time for them to be up in arms once again with the arrival of a five-door version of the standard MINI hatchback.

It makes complete sense, though – the five-door hatch market is twice as large as that for three-doors, and MINI admits people have been going elsewhere as its car only has three doors.

An extra 72mm has been added to the wheelbase, which has all gone straight into rear legroom. There’s also an extra 89mm of bodywork at the back, meaning an extra 50 litres of boot space, giving a total of 278 litres – still less than a Ford Fiesta, but a decent enough space that’s easy to access.

Then, there’s the price – our Cooper S costs from £19,255, a £600 premium over the three-door, which is mirrored throughout the range (which follows that of the three-door with One, Cooper and Cooper S and three petrol or diesel engines). Economy takes a slight tumble – 47.9mpg vs 49.6mpg – and CO2 rises by 3g/km. Not a huge difference in the general scheme of things.