Fun Mini shows no signs of flagging

Facelift adds Union Jack to rear lights

ONE thousand Minis roll out of the Oxford factory every day. That’s one every 67 seconds.

Apart from the Countryman and Convertible, which are made in Austria, Minis are built here in a plant that you can visit on an organised tour – and 21,000 people did so last year.

If you need a little bit of help with your patriotism, owner BMW has fitted the new-for-2018 facelifted Mini with Union Jack rear lights. Chinese and American buyers will probably love this detail, Scots or Welsh owners may feel otherwise. Offering a choice of plain lights as an alternative might have been sensible.

So to the car itself. This thirdgeneration Mini was introduced in 2014 so, by industry norms, was due a facelift.

Apart from the rear lights you’ve got new front headlamps, which for the first time include the indicators. LEDs are standard but you can have adaptable ones as an option.

In fact, there’s a dazzling selection of extra goodies you can purchase to make your new Mini more individual – and extremely expensive. The base price for our Mini Cooper S test car is £19,850 but with all its options it’s a hefty £28,170. Of course, the majority of buyers will be leasing their car so the £2,000 for the Navigation Plus Pack is in reality probably only 20 or 30 quid extra on the monthly cost. But it’s still money.

What has always set the Mini apart from other hatchbacks, and which does so even more in this latest iteration, is its interior. Every