JOHANNESBURG: Mini automakers has launched five-door Cooper S mini for $32,900. Mini Cooper S has been featured with two-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with six-speed automatic option. Carmakers give 3 years warranty up to the limit of 100,000km.
And so we now have a five door Mini hatch. Not the high-riding Countryman based on the old car, but a fresh, stretched version of the Mini we know and love. While three-door A1s aren’t even on sale anymore, this five-door Brit icon will complement the three-door hatch while filling a few driveways it may not have with the Countryman.
Armed with three cylinder petrol and diesel engines, the five-door could almost be a sensible choice.
VALUE
The Cooper D five door’s base price is $32,900 (up $1100 from the three door), which compares favourably with its most obvious competitor, the restrained Audi A1. The base car is well-equipped with dual-zone climate control, cloth upholstery, keyless entry and start, an elbow-bruising armrest, auto headlights and wipers, reversing sensors, sixteen-inch wheels, tyre pressure sensors and rear spoiler.
DESIGN
It looks like a Mini with five doors, rather more so than the Countryman. Forward of the B-pillar is basically unchanged while behind is an extra chunk of wheelbase, bodywork and doors. The third window at the back is a little awkward from some angles, but it could have been a lot worse.
The extra 72 mm in the wheelbase is sacrificed at the knees of the back seat tag-alongs. The practical result is a door that just gets away with being worthy of the name while allowing smaller humans ingress to a more spacious back seat. The longer roofline means rear headroom is just as good as the three-door, too.
The boot is a reasonable size for throwing in a few bags of shopping or a couple of decent-sized soft bags (or one Samsonite). Drop the seats and you have a fair approximation of a small panel van, albeit with a big step in the floor.
SAFETY
Six airbags, ABS, stability and traction control, corner braking control, brake assist, active pedestrian safety and crash sensors have delivered a four star EuroNCAP. The lowly score was caused by the performance of the pedestrian safety bonnet, and the lack of a sticker in the interior showing you how to disable the passenger airbag.
INFOTAINMENT
The Mini’s big central pod houses a 6.5-inch screen controlled by an iDrive-style rotary dial. It’s not just iDrive-style – it is pretty much lifted straight out of BMW, then given funkier graphics.
The screen is clear with appropriately fun animations and is a vast improvement over the old car’s weird dial. You can connect phone via USB or Bluetooth and both are easy to organise and control either with the rotary dial, steering wheel controls or voice commands.
The four speaker stereo is adequate – if you want more, there is, predictably, an option to pump up the power.
