MORE MINI FOR YOUR MONEY (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 82

Originally launched in 2014, the third generation F55 version of the 5 Door MINI Hatch got a useful mid-term update in 2018 to create the car we're going to look at here. In this form, it became smarter and more sophisticated - and could be more individual too. Plus by this point in the F55 design's life, some re-fettling work had been done on the punchy range of eager three and four cylinder engines. Let's check it out as a used buy.

Modelsword count: 16

5dr Hatch (1.2, 1.5, 2.0 petrol/ 1.5 diesel [One, Cooper, Cooper D, Cooper SD, Cooper S])

Historyword count: 460

Take a standard MINI, add a dash of length and practicality and you'd have a strong seller. You'd have a car like this, the MINI 5-Door Hatch. It was launched in 2014, then much improved in mid-2018. It's that revised version we're going to look at here. This 'F55'-series model wasn't the first five-door modern MINI - that was the Countryman SUV 'R60'-series design launched back in 2010. But perhaps it should have been. For years prior to this 'F55' model's original introduction, MINI had been losing customers to other brands. People who'd loved life in the company's little 3-Door Hatch, but had out-grown it. In its second generation, the Countryman helped a little in keeping these folk loyal. But this 5-Door Hatch version helped a lot. It was, after all, a rather purer and more affordable expression of 'MINI-ness' than the Countryman - or indeed the estate-style Clubman model. Here, most of the stylish frugality and fun, chuckable, cheeky demeanour of the iconic MINI 3 Door Hatch was carried over intact. But packaged up in a car that could meet an occasional need to transport up to three people in the back. And deal with the modest proceeds of a family supermarket shop. This revised post-2018-era 5 Door Hatch F55 model wasn't fundamentally very much different from the original, but it did feature quite a few significant improvements. Mechanically, the re-fettled engine range saw a de-tuned version of the Cooper model's 1.5-litre three cylinder unit make it into the base MINI One variant, plus the four cylinder 2.0-litre powerplant used in the top Cooper S model was significantly overhauled in pursuit of greater efficiency. The optional Steptronic auto gearbox became a dual-clutch unit with seven speeds; oh and diesel power was ditched as part of the 2018 update, to suit the market's prevailing mood. Just as important were the aesthetic, technology and customisation updates. The piercingly bright headlights of this updated model used full-LED technology, as did the trendy new Union Jack-style tail lamps. There was a whole fresh level of connectivity via upgraded 'MINI Connected' services. And the brand introduced a 'MINI Yours Customised' programme that set a fresh industry standard for the level to which buyers could personalise their cars. So quite a lot changed as part of this update - but thankfully at the same time, nothing really important was different. Here was a MINI that could still charm you with its dinky looks and go-kart handling. And it's a go-to used choice if you want a style-conscious urban runabout from this period with much of the technology of a larger car. A further update followed in 2021, lasting the F55 design through to the end of production and the end of sales in early 2024.

What You Getword count: 459

If you like the look of the 3-Door F56 MINI Hatch, the changes made as part of the 2018 update, though subtle, may well be enough to probably keep you loyal to this, its bigger stablemate. This F55-series 5 Door Hatch model is 161mm longer than its smaller F56-series stablemate and has 72mm of extra wheelbase. Otherwise though, key elements of MINI design remain intact: the clamshell bonnet, the upright windscreen and yes, the round headlamps - which in this updated form feature full-LED technology and could from new be ordered with optional 'Matrix' adaptive beams. Avoid the entry-level MINI One version and you can have a car with a contrast-coloured roof, while plusher-trimmed versions feature larger 17-inch wheels. Try for 'Sport'-spec, which gets you a John Cooper Works aerodynamic body kit. Get behind the wheel and it's all quite BMW-like. If you've driven the pre-facelift F55 model, you'll know that the huge central display doesn't function as a speedo in the way that it did with earlier MINI Hatches. Less characterfully but more practically, the speedo here was re-located to a pod in front of the steering wheel where it's flanked with a crescent-moon rev counter and fuel gauge. All of this freed the central area up for much more infotainical trickery. By 2018, the screen was 6.5-inches in size across the range as standard and could be upgraded from new to 8.8-inches in size as part of the 'Navigation Plus Pack' which included all the latest 'MINI Connected' media features. Nearly half of the extra length you get with the F55-series 5-Door Hatch variant went into providing extra rear seat space, though to some extent, the issue lies in getting to it. The extra rear doors are really pretty small, so squeezing in and out can be tricky. Inside, all that extra wheelbase length creates a cabin that's obviously a huge improvement on the cramped quarters provided by the 3 Door model - MINI claimed that this F55 5 Door variant delivered 10mm more headroom and 61mm of shoulder width, enough to make it possible to fit the three belts in the back that couldn't be accommodated by the smaller car. The brand claimed that owners would get 30mm more rear legroom than they would in the equivalent 3 Door model (helped by the deeply sculpted seatbacks) but leg room remains pretty cramped if there's an adult of more than average height in front of you. It's at this point you're reminded that this is a five-door supermini, not a Focus-class family hatch. View this car from that smaller perspective and you'll bond with it just fine. Out back, the boot is 278-litres in size (which is 67-litres more than you'd get in the 3 Door variant).

To see the full road test text contact us on 0330 0020 227