While driving Peugeot’s new RCZ recently, I lamented that its plain-Jane interior didn’t match its pretty external shape. What car does, countered a motoring press colleague. After humming and hawing, we could only come up with Jaguar’s splendid but pricey XF. Both of us overlooked the Mini.
Not only does its body shape evoke and modernise the original, classic Mini, its designers saved enough imagination to come up with an interior whose flair matches the car’s youthful exuberance.
With its huge central speedometer, co-ordinated colour scheme, chrome switches, and numerous other smart pieces of detailing going right down to the set of pips showing how much fuel’s left, it eschews the conservative interior design that’s so depressingly in vogue in favour of something that puts a smile on your face every time you drive it.
It’s been a while since I’ve taken a Mini for a spin, so John Clark Mini in Dundee kindly loaned me the Mini 50 Mayfair, a special edition celebrating 50 years of Mini heritage.
On sale for one year only production comes to an end in August it comes with white 17-inch alloy wheels, three-dimensional bonnet stripes in a new toffee-metallic finish, additional headlights on the grille, and Mayfair badging.
There’s a choice of black or chocolate brown metallic finishes, both of which have contrasting white roofs.
All in all, it’s a pretty funky little car.
It’s available with 1.6 litre petrol or diesel engines with 120 or 110bhp or a 175bhp Cooper S petrol.
I drove the entry level 1.6 litre petrol, which costs £18,415.
The peppy 1.6 powers the lightweight Mini very nicely, and I wouldn’t be fussed about going for the faster version. While it can’t match the diesel’s incredible 72.4mpg, helped by stop-start technology and various other features, the petrol unit delivers a frugal 52.3mpg.
On the road, all the usual superlatives about the Mini’s handling still apply.
It’s tremendously rewarding and fun, its low stance making it the most go-kart like thing to drive this side of a Caterham.
The usual downsides remain, in that there’s not much room in the rear and the boot’s fairly titchy.
Buyers should be aware of this by now, however, and the rear seats can be folded to create a much bigger load space.
That low stance means it doesn’t have the most cosseting ride in the world, but Mini’s engineers have done a remarkable job of making it decent enough that long journeys aren’t a chore.
It’s certainly light years ahead of any hot hatches I’ve driven lately.
Spending my first weekend with a Mini in a couple of years reminded me of why it’s been such a success.
It’s a car you buy with your heart, not your head, and none the worse for it.
Price: around £18,415.0-62mph: 9.1 seconds.Top speed: 126mph. Economy: 52.3mpg. CO2 emissions: 129g/km.