Super TestCar reviews - Mini - 5-door - rangeMini modelsOverviewMini extends appeal by adding length and height – and two doors – to its best seller30 Oct 2014 By TIM ROBSON AS MINI works hard to lift itself from a hum-drum retail year on the back of the excellent new third-generation hatch, it knows it has a fight on its hands. That fight? The war of perception. Perhaps because of the name, or perhaps because it launched with just a single model, Mini has always been up against it – in the media, at least – whenever it strays from the formula of three-door hatchback. In 2014, the model line-up now stands at seven, with the inclusion of the all-new Mini Cooper 5-door range. The expression ‘all new’ is important it’s not simply a scaled-down Countryman divested of its all-wheel-drive capability. “It’s not a redone Countryman,” says Daniel Silverman, Mini’s product planning manager. “It’s on a new platform that's been developed for the 5-door, and shares its architecture with the 2-Series Active Tourer". That architecture is BMW’s UKL platform, designed to stretch, shrink and generally be flexed under all BMW products up to the size of a 3 Series. Debuting to much acclaim under the R56 Mini three-door, the slightly longer and taller 5-door – similar in dimensions to Audi’s A1 – is expected to claim its smaller sibling’s mantel of number one seller in the Mini line-up. Click here for the full review... GalleryClick to see larger images Model release date: 1 October 2014 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen |
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