Mini has been expanding its fortunes lately, from a small carmaker solely building sporty two-door coupes and convertibles to

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

a wider-reaching brand now creating four, or should we say five-door models, starting in 2010 with the 2011 Countryman, the British marque’s first foray into the crossover SUV sector, and now for 2015 the new 5-Door.

It’s based on the latest Hardtop, a new name given to the outgoing hatchback that has once again been rechristened for 2015 (only a year later) to read 3-Door. More precisely they’re all based on the new UKL1 front-wheel drive platform architecture set to underpin all new Mini models as well as six new front-drive BMWs before 2017, starting with the compact 2 Series Active Tourer. My first drive in last year’s new Mini Cooper Hardtop (a.k.a. 3-Door) proved positive. The base model’s newfound power was wonderful and overall stability through the curves and on the highway impressive,

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while increased interior room plus better cabin quality and ergonomics made for nothing but positive remarks in my review. The new 5-Door is much the same, except that it ups size and functionality in ways the previous three-door couldn’t dream of.

The new passenger-friendly 5-Door is 161 millimetres (about 6 inches) longer than the 3-Door, which was already 114 mm (4.5 inches) longer than the old Mini Cooper hatchback it replaced, while the 5-Door rides on a wheelbase that’s been stretched by 72 mm (about 3 inches) over the 3-Door; the new short (regular) wheelbase model again being 28 mm (1.1 inches) longer than the old car. The extra

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

length has been divided up between the rear passenger area and cargo compartment, allowing a little more rear legroom and a bit more luggage space than the 3-Door. The new 5-Door also includes a third rear seatbelt, making it a true five-occupant car. Just the same, unless kids are strapped in the back, fitting three adults within the rear quarters will be tight, despite 61 mm (2.4 inches) of extra elbowroom carved out of the interior door panels. This said, rear seat headroom is excellent (with about four inches remaining above my five-foot-eight frame) and legroom adequate enough for most (again about four inches between my knees and the front seatbacks), but if you need more of the latter take note that Mini will be reintroducing the reinvented Clubman soon, with an even longer wheelbase plus the same unique Dutch oven rear doors as the outgoing model. Another

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bonus for pragmatists results in its three side-door layout being replaced with a similar four-door design to this 5-Door.

On that note, getting in and out of the new 5-Door is exactly as advertised, meaning that it’s easier in every respect, plus as inferred it’s more comfortable in back and more capable of swallowing up gear. This is not exactly a new idea, with most every small hatchback competitor offering four side doors for as long as I can remember, but for Mini such a move is tantamount to putting out a pickup truck (or an SUV?), worthy of revolution amongst the old guard’s legions of devout loyalists. I’m not one of these Bracknell, Berkshire devotees per se (or should I say Longbridge and Cowley followers), but even I found four side doors on

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a Mini hard to wrap my mind around. I kept looking back at it over and over again while walking away, not sure what to think. Certainly it still looks perky and cute in Mini’s almost impertinent way, the car’s new face a bit more startled looking than its mischievously impish predecessor, and I must admit that after a day with the new Cooper 5-Door and Cooper S 5-Door my senses adjusted and all was starting to seem right in the world.

Other than the increased space in back and better access to the rear seating area via stubby albeit wide opening doors, the new 5-Door incorporates everything I’ve already praised about the new 3-Door. Compared to the original Bini (BMW-Mini) the new cars look and feel more luxurious. Soft pliable synthetics are just about everywhere, and those who like glossy piano black plastics will appreciate the amount incorporated into my Cooper S tester’s cabin. The S combines the black gloss

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with a matte finished checkered pattern across the dash to spice up the look (other trims are available), while the gauges are black-faced to set it apart further from more common Minis. The seats looked like leather but were stock Carbon leatherette, and wonderfully comfortable while totally supportive both in the lumbar area and via side bolstering.

Also like the 3-Door, all of the 5-Door’s switchgear is above-par quality, plus the new start/stop ignition toggle switch is much cooler than the previous pushbutton. It’s placed right in the middle of a classic row of chromed toggles situated on the centre stack just under the standard dual-zone automatic climate control system, the toggle to the left assigned to the idle-stop

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system’s on/off mode, and the one on the right for turning the stability control system off or back on.

Strange (for those experienced with Mini) but appreciated (by yours truly) is the new speedometer that is now positioned directly ahead of the driver instead of within the massive circle above the centre stack (or spinning around that circle when equipped with navigation). Again some diehard Mini zealots will not be happy, but I commend Mini for pulling the car into the 21st century while still maintaining the look of a centrally-mounted speedo by housing all infotainment equipment there instead, yet putting primary controls in a much more functional (and safer) location. The new speedometer, which now tilts and up and down with the steering column for better visibility, is smaller but

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easier to see at a glance, and is now flanked by a crescent moon-shaped tachometer to the left and a row of big orange fuel gauge LEDs to the right. On that note Mini continues to confuse those new to the brand by lighting up all the LEDs in alarming “warning” orange when the gas tank is full, instead of the opposite. Once you get used to it, it’s just an oddity, but you won’t be the first to think you’re running on empty when heading off the dealer lot.

Speaking of orange, I’m guessing you’ve already noticed my test car’s brilliantly cool hue. It’s called Volcanic Orange and it’s a no-cost option, as is the black roof and mirror caps. On top of the base Cooper S 5-Door’s starting price of $26,740 plus $2,295 for freight and pre-delivery prep, my tester’s black bonnet stripes will set you back $150 extra and 17-inch Cosmos Spoke Black alloys another $800, but these are money well spent in my humble opinion (16-inch Loop Spoke silver rims are standard). Mini added a set of LED fog lights, LED headlights and white turn signals to my tester too, all included in the $1,050 LED lights package, while rear

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fogs, heated front seats and a dual-pane panoramic glass sunroof add yet more goodness via the $1,250 Essentials package. As you can see by the photos, navigation was included within the infotainment system, which is a $650 charge overtop the $800 Mini Connected package that otherwise includes the full-colour display operated via a BMW iDrive-style controller fixed between the front seats, plus Bluetooth and USB audio, Mini Connected (which is one of the best wireless systems available period, especially if you’re pairing up an iPhone), plus a front centre armrest. There was more added to this well-equipped Cooper S 5-Door tester and more yet could be added, plus loads of standard features such as a multifunction

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leather-wrapped sport steering wheel, sport seats, an onboard computer, dynamic cruise control, performance control, and 14-mm larger (294-mm) front rotors, but at the risk of sounding too much like a brochure I’ll leave it there.

When it comes to Minis what matters more to me is how they drive, and fortunately this particular Cooper S benefited from the brand’s slick six-speed short-throw manual gearbox. The shift lever delivers nice notchy engagement while the clutch pedal requires just enough effort for ideal pushback, its usage so smooth and linear that a novice could enjoy it as much as an expert. The new twin-scroll turbocharged Cooper S engine is more responsive than the outgoing one thanks to 400 cubic centimeters of additional displacement for a total of 2.0 litres,

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resulting in a horsepower increasing from 181 to 189 and torque rising from 177 to 207 lb-ft. If you’re up on recent Mini history you’ll know why this last number rings a bell, it was the twist provide by last year’s John Cooper Works engine when in overboost mode. That the new Cooper S matches the previous top of the range Mini’s torque is impressive indeed, yet it still allows room for the upcoming 2016 JCW introduced in Detroit earlier this month, which makes a heady 231 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque.

The Cooper S 5-Door’s handling is superb, as expected considering every Mini effectually gets a sport suspension right out of the box. Don’t get me wrong because even the Cooper S offers a sport suspension upgrade, but personally I’d stick to the stock setup as it’s beyond brilliant through every kind of twist, curve and corner

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you can throw it at, its steering wonderfully direct yet never nervous feeling, making for a very real feeling connectivity and total stability on the freeway or while winding through big sweeping turns. Most importantly it’s still compliant enough to enjoy on rougher inner-city roads and lanes, where we most of us find ourselves more often than not.

Part of its appeal is a driving position that’s near perfect. No matter the Mini model, you benefit from close connection to the steering wheel and all other controls just like a rally driver, with everything falling easily to hand and feet. Sightlines are superb all around as well. As I’ve said about this brand in the past and have only added upon since the new UKL1 cars arrived last year, Minis, and especially the Cooper S, are cars that reward good drivers. Their neutral balance can

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be teased into oversteer with a little provocation, yet the chassis’ more natural tendency to understeer when pushed to its limits results in a safer driving experience for the majority of less experienced owners too. In other words, no matter your skill level you can have good safe fun in a Mini. The 5-Door’s added length makes it that much more stable at high speed, a practical measure that certainly hasn’t hampered the car’s fun factor.

At the base of the shifter boot a sliding switch lets you pull fun out of the equation by choosing “GREEN” mode or add to the laughs by opting for “SPORT”. You can probably guess where I kept it during most of my test drive, but then again there’s a time and a place for retarding throttle response and activating the idle-stop system, especially considering all Minis’ requirement for pricier premium unleaded. It does well at the pump, fortunately, but Mini has yet to provide any fuel economy claims for the Cooper S 5-Door. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that it’ll be close to the slightly smaller Cooper S 3-Door’s rating of 10.0 L/100km in the city, 7.0 on the highway and 8.6 combined with the manual, or 9.2 city, 7.0 highway and 8.2 combined with the paddle-shifter enhanced six-speed automatic; these numbers will have to do for now.

Back to that “SPORT << . >> GREEN” controller, flick it to the right and the rim around

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

that large circular infotainment interface I mentioned earlier glows green, whereas it’ll glow red if pushed to the left. The default setting is yellow. The same ’70s era disco light show (which Mini calls Excitement Lights) makes setting the climate control temperature more fun too, the ring glowing red for warmer or blue for colder. Knowing this, can you guess the colour they chose for increasing the stereo volume? No, I was thinking something along the lines of a psychedelic phlox too, but it’s just red, not even vermillion.

Of course, more red suits the Cooper S 5-Door. Red is a fast colour (stoplights aside). It’s the colour of Ferraris and Alfa Romeos, not to mention a lot of Mini Coopers. It even highlights the chrome trimmed “S” on the front grille, side engine vents, rear liftgate and two of the four aluminum doorsill plates of my bright

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

orange and black tester. You can get the Cooper S 5-Door in one of two different reds including no-cost Chili Red or optional Blazing Red II Semi Metallic, and additionally you can have a Glowing Red interior colour line package thrown in to boot. Mini offers 11 different colours and shades plus various roof and mirror cap colours, cool decals and skins plus so much more to help you individualize your personal ride.

Choosing a colour might be the most difficult decision you have to make after driving a Cooper S 5-Door, because the car itself is not only difficult to fault, it’s extremely hard to say goodbye to. Spend a little time in a new Cooper S 5-Door and you won’t care one iota about its departure from the brand’s status quo; then live with it for a while and I bet you’ll never want to go back to life with only three doors. Personally, I’m starting to like its unorthodox styling as much as I love its much more livable functionality.
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