New MINI 5-Door Hardtop Strays Farther Off Message
The MINI variants keep on coming and the latest is the all-new 5-door MINI hardtop.
Essentially a five-door hatchback version of the regular MINI hardtop, this isn’t a replacement for the quasi crossover countryman. Not sitting as tall as the Countryman or with the ALL4 all-wheel drive option, the MINI 5-door is for those who want the handling and driving experience of the two-door MINI hardtop, with added space for rear seat passengers.
With a 2.9-inch extended wheelbase and an overall length increase of 6.3-inches, there is nothing MINI about this car. Longer than the Toyota Yaris and Mazda2, the four-door MINI can accommodate five passengers and offers half an inch more headroom than two-door models. Trunk space also grows a half cubic foot for 13.1 total.
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Two turbocharged engine choices will be available, a 1.5-liter three-cylinder or a 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The smaller engine makes 134 HP and an impressive 162 lb-ft. of torque. MINI claims this will be good enough for a 0 to 60 MPH time of 7.6 seconds for this 2,750 lbs. car. Those looking for more performance will want to step up to the S Hardtop 5-door that pulls 189 HP and 207 lb-ft of torque from the turbo four. It can briefly be put into overboost mode that pumps torque up to 221 lb-ft., allowing for a 0-60 MPH sprint of just 6.6 seconds. Like all MINIs, a choice of six-speed transmissions is offered in manual or automatic flavors.
Two drive modes are offered in the car, sport and green. These adjust the throttle and transmission responses, angled towards more performance in sport mode or greater efficiency in green mode. For automatic equipped cars, green mode also puts the car in neutral when coasting to save even more fuel.
SEE ALSO: 2015 MINI 4 Door Unveiled
Of course, the 5-door comes with all the latest MINI technology like a camera-based adaptive cruise control, optional LED headlights and a toggle-type start/stop button. The 5-door hardtop will begin at $22,550 after destination charges while the Cooper S comes in at $25,950.
Hitting dealerships soon, anyone who wanted a four door MINI, but didn’t like the ungainly Countryman, here is your car.
GALLERY: MINI Cooper 5 Door Live Pics
GALLERY: MINI Cooper 5 Door
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A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
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Let's get real here. The Mini comes in many guises, those that appeal to some and not to others. It is moving with the times and without doubt remains a premier small car. I have owned many motors from Freelanders, VW Passat estates to my current Mini clubman and If I'm honest the Mini is the most fun to drive. So let's not be too narrow minded on what BMW have done with the Mini, as they've evolved it into a great car of many flavours. Fyi, I've just ordered a new 5 door mini which appeals to me, and I feel retains the Mini character that attracted me to the car in the first place.
We have an older Mini '04. We bought it new because it reminded us of the original. (Although the new Mini was even then much bigger than its namesake.) We have loved the car even though it has been plagued with a myriad of problems. Fortunately, I restore old cars as a hobby and do my own maintenance and repairs or it would have long ago left our stable. We've kept the '04 because BMW saw fit to start increasing its size and devolved away from the original styling cues. Styling doesn't have to change. We also have 911/930s (also older). That body style didn't appreciably change for 20+ years. We won't buy a new Porsche for same reason we won't buy a new Mini. Like the Porsche evolving from a great driving sports car into a status symbol the Mini is trying to become the every man's car except with a bigger sticker price. We'll either keep this Mini until the wheels fall off or look for something else when the time comes to retire it.