Mini Cooper hatch and Convertible review

Petrol hatchback enters its fourth generation and promises driver fun at a competitive price

With all the hubbub around the new electric Mini Cooper, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there is still a normal, petrol-powered one that’s being built in Oxford as before.At a glance, you will struggle to tell it apart from the electric Mini Cooper E and Mini Cooper SE, even though underneath they’re completely different cars.While the EVs sit on a brand-new, electric-only platform, the petrol cars are a thorough revamp of the old F56 Mini hatch, using the same UKL architecture that’s shared with the BMW 1 Series.But it does look remarkably similar; it doesn’t even have a visible exhaust. The easiest way to know you’re not looking at the EV is that it retains the black plastic wheel-arch trims. It also keeps the more traditional door handles and clamshell bonnet.For this latest generation of Mini, it’s not just the hatch that’s being built in Oxford: the Convertible is coming home. For the first time in nine years, the drop-top will be manufactured in the UK as well, a fitting move given the somewhat irrational British love for such machines. It also reflects the close relation between the two: the Convertible is avaiable in the same C, S and John Cooper Works variants as the petrol hatch.

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