Mini stretches out with new Hardtop 4 door [w/video] [UPDATE]
UPDATE: Information on US availability, specification and nomenclature added to the updated text below.
Few automakers have managed to spin off as many variants of essentially one vehicle as Mini has. The second generation produced even more versions than the first, and now that the third generation is upon us, the process is starting all over again. The jury may still be out on whether parent company BMW will roll out as many body-styles of this latest Mini as it did with the last, but here’s our first indication.
Following the introduction of the new three-door Mini hatchback at the LA Auto Show, the Anglo-Saxon marque has introduced a new five-door model. Or four-door, depending on which Mini office you’re speaking to: while this new model – an addition to the lineup and not a direct replacement for anything previously offered – is called the Mini 5 door by the factory, here in the US it’s called the Mini Hardtop 4 door. Whatever you call it, though, this new Mini is essentially the same as the three-door model (or two-door model with a tailgate), only with – you guessed it – two extra doors. The new Clubman will be a separate model altogether.
To fit in the extra portals, Mini has stretched the hatchback’s wheelbase by 2.8 inches, all to the benefit of rear-seat leg room, along with more head- and elbow-room in the back and a bigger luggage compartment. At 157 inches from bow to stern, the five-door is 6.3 inches longer than the existing three-door, and the suspension has been revised accordingly.
Engine options carry over, and once again, they’re all turbocharged. The base Mini Cooper packs a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine with 134 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque and the Cooper S gets a 2.0-liter four with 189 hp and 207 lb-ft. Those two engines should constitute the choices for US customers, at least until the JCW performance model comes along. (While no bare-bones Mini One model is being offered, European customers will also be able to opt for the Cooper D powered by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo diesel with 114 hp and 199 lb-ft or the Cooper SD with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel offering 167 hp and 265 lb-ft.) Six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are on offer, and the quickest model – the Cooper S automatic – will hustle to 60 in 6.5 seconds.
The Mini with the extra doors is set to arrive at US dealers towards the end of the year with deliveries set to begin in the new year at a $1,000 premium over the equivalent two/three-door. Scope out the details in the press release from Mini USA, along with a couple videos, below, and the very extensive image gallery above for a closer look.
Continue reading Mini stretches out with new Hardtop 4 door [w/video] [UPDATE]
Mini stretches out with new Hardtop 4 door [w/video] [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Jun 2014 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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