USED CAR ROAD TEST:

MINI HATCH

In 2014, for the first time ever, we had to get used to the idea of a MINI Hatch with five doors.

Now, five years later, how does it stack up as a used buy?

The worst mistake any MINI can make is to lose its ‘MINIness’. And much of that, of course, is tied up in this model’s diminutive dimensions.

Which, as it happens, aren’t so diminutive these days thanks to the third generation Hatch design’s increases in width, height and length.

To these enhancements, this five-Door variant adds 161mm of length and 11mm of height over its Hatch three-Door sibling, all of this thanks to a wheelbase stretched by 72mm.

Nearly half of the extra length you get with this variant has gone into providing extra rear seat space, and once inside you’ll feel the difference.

On the move, your first impressions should be good.

At the foot of the range, there’s a choice between various three cylinder engines – a 1.2-litre unit in the MINI One, a 1.5-litre petrol in the Cooper and a 1.5-litre diesel in the Cooper D. A 2.0-litre four cylinder diesel powerplant features further up the range in the Cooper SD diesel.

Even lesser MINI five-Door Hatch models have plenty to offer the discerning driver.

In one sense, it’s extraordinary that it took the MINI brand so long to bring us this car. After all, over 70% of all sales in the small hatchback segment are of five-door models.

In not offering a conventional MINI Hatch with that option, this franchise was missing out on a significant number of sales. No longer.