For Would-Be Buyers, Mini Selections Maxing Out

TURIN – Mini keeps expanding its offerings to such an extent that making a satisfactory choice is becoming a challenge.

Shopping for a Mini raises many questions: Buy now, or wait? And which one? A specialty of the second generation such as the Paceman, Clubman or Countryman? The Coupe, Cabrio or Roadster?   Or the new, third-generation Mini One, Mini Cooper or newly launched Mini Cooper S 3-door hatchback?

A buyer might decide to wait a little longer for the anticipated 5-door, the second body variant of the third generation. As for engines, there are 3-cyl. and 4-cyl. options, but fuel is an easier choice:   gasoline in the U.S., Japan and China, diesel in many European markets.

Complicating matters is Mini’s announcement of an upcoming extended-wheelbase 5-door addition to its third-generation Cooper and Cooper S hatches. The market launch is planned for autumn, just a few months after the Countryman is given a new start after a midlife restyling this July. This will create choices not only of body type but also powertrains, as well as considerations including performance, fuel consumption and pricing.

The differences between the second and third generation are great, since the new Mini has been engineered by parent BMW to be synergistic with the new family of BMW front-wheel-drive cars led by the 2-Series Active Tourer due to reach dealers in coming months. The new-generation Mini and the anticipated new-generation BMW 1-Series share the all-new UKL1 platform and its modular architecture.

The all-new 5-door Cooper hatchbacks will be measured against the 5-door Countryman, even though the Countryman is a CUV and the Coopers are in a class of family cars that includes the Volkswagen Golf. The Coopers feature three rear seating positions and are lighter and much more affordable than the Countryman.

The two additional doors and longer wheelbase increasing rear legroom and cargo space are expected to add only €1,000 ($1,360) to the cost of the 5-door third-generation compared with the 3-door model, whereas the difference between the 3-door Mini and its corresponding Countryman CUV is three times as much.

The Cooper 5-door series follows the design trend of the Fiat 500L, a reversal from years past when the Fiat 500 benchmarked both the marketing strategy and the design approach of Mini.