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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Of course if they’d come out with a five-door model back in the mid-aughts it’s quite possible the brand’s many ardent fans would have become irate and not bought into the new Mini philosophy, but now with a decade and a half of Bini (BMW-Mini) models behind us, which have included nearly every body style configuration seemingly imaginable, from hatchbacks, convertibles and the four-door Clubman, to a coupe, roadster and even a coupe-crossover combo, not to mention the compact Mini Countryman crossover SUV that quite literally opened up the door to more doors, the new Cooper 5-Door is a fitting inclusion. That it also happens to look really cool is
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
By all points and purposes Mini has been a success since BMW took over, although here in Canada the Munich-based automaker will need to quantify the term “success” in different ways than just the usual sales numbers. As far as subcompact car brands go Mini has done well here, but there aren’t many to compare it to. There’s Smart, but with only one model to its credit there isn’t much to work with. The Mercedes’ spin-off brand sold a total of 2,550 units in Canada last year, and I’m certain that number includes hundreds of Car2Go fleet sales, while Toyota’s Scion brand, which has an iQ city car of its own yet also includes
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
No
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
As you can probably tell the 5-Door is longer than the regular Mini 3-Door, so rear seat roominess benefits from added foot space, knee space and generally more airiness
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The extra length doesn’t just benefit rear passenger space, with legroom expanded by the same 72 mm (2.8 inches), elbowroom increased by 61 mm (2.4 inches), and headroom up by 15 mm (0.6 inches), plus a third rear seatbelt for five-person occupancy, but also cargo capacity, the 5-Door’s luggage compartment increasing from the 3-Door’s 246 litres (8.7 cubic feet) to a total of 278
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
One of the reasons the 5-Door looks good is its uniquely abbreviated rear doors, although this makes getting in and out a bit more difficult than your average subcompact hatch. Those who still want more length can breathe a sigh of relief, however, as a revised Clubman is on the way with six doors, the rear hatch of the 5-Door replaced by the Clubman’s traditional Dutch oven doors. Thanks to similar increases in overall dimensions to the rest of the new Cooper lineup, the longer Clubman won’t likely be as much of a niche player anymore.
No
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The 5-Door’s switchgear is also way above the class average in quality, while the new start/stop ignition toggle switch is much more appealing than the previous tiny black pushbutton. It’s situated right in the centre of a classic row of chromed toggles
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
My 5-Door tester was almost devoid of piano black lacquered interior trim, which was a welcome omission as the high-gloss and checkered grey substitute surfacing treatments looked great and matched the car’s rich new Thunder Grey exterior paint, which is $590 extra, incidentally, meaning that it’s priced the same as any of the car’s many metallic colours despite not being metallic.
My test 5 also boasted a cool set of black mirror caps that came with a black rooftop,
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
As
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
That groovin’ was done to the standard audio system, which is quite good for a stock stereo but not as impressive as the optional Harmon/Kardon setup I’ve tested on other occasions. Mini offers loads of other options too, such as numerous colours and textures of leather upholstery, a dark anthracite roofliner, heads-up
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
It’s hard to feel bad about anything when at the wheel of a Mini. Really, that’s how the brand should market its cars. Living with a Mini is all about feeling good! Embracing a certain quality of life, a raison d’etre that otherwise can’t quite be grasped. The 5-Door simply adds more quantity to all that quality lifestyle, allowing more grinning people into your little world of joy. Really, I’m not joking. Everything, from the way the new instrument pod tilts along with the steering column to the peripheral fun of watching the 5’s tachometer seemingly spin relentlessly as speed quickly climbs,
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
It’s all because of a brand-new direct-injected, twin-scroll turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine that makes a heady 134 horsepower and even more commanding 162 lb-ft of torque. That’s a lucky 13 horsepower and formidable 44 lb-ft of torque over the old 2013 base Cooper, which makes it good for a 0 to 100 km/h time of 8.2 seconds with the six-speed manual or 8.1 with the six-speed auto, not to mention a top speed of 207 km/h (128 mph) with either gearbox.
I tested the manual, and while it’s a tad slower off the line it would still be my choice in this car. Don’t get me wrong, as the automatic is an excellent transmission
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Mini’s new generation of Coopers can be made even more playful via a sliding switch at the base of the shift lever displaying two words and some graphic icons, “SPORT << . >> GREEN”.
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Just in case you forget where you’ve set its “SPORT << . >> GREEN” controller, you’ll get a big glowing reminder around the infotainment interface I spoke of a few minutes ago. Set to Sport mode the big dinner plate-sized rim glows red, while Green mode glows (you guessed it) green; default is yellow. Mini didn’t limit its Excitement Lights to just these features, mind you, but rather set them to glow blue
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
My test car’s seats were simply black, and covered in a high-quality leatherette that looks a lot like leather and no doubt will stand the rigours of everyday use. While these are merely base Mini Cooper seats, they’d be considered sport seats in a competitor’s offering. They’re very supportive and extremely comfortable, ideally suited to the 5-Door’s sporty nature yet perfectly capable of daily commuting as well.
That really sums up the new Mini Cooper 5-Door. It’s a sports car that you can use every day for car pool commuting as well as all of your errands, yet its premium-level interior and loads of upscale features make it a companion you’ll likely never tire of. It’s a Mini whose time has come. Drive one and you’ll know what I mean. Like me, you might find it a bit unorthodox at first, but spend a little time with the new 5-Door and its unusual lines will no doubt grow on you if they haven’t already, and then live with it a little longer and you’ll never want to go back to life with only three doors.
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