Wow, that's small.
Hang on. Are you talking about the new MINI One's engine or are you getting personal?
Um, let's say I was talking about the MINI.
Fair enough. And you're right, MINI has just introduced the five-door version of the MINI One First, which does indeed use a tiny engine. It's a three-cylinder 1.2-litre unit that nonetheless packs some serious high tech. Aside from the turbo it also gets direct petrol injection and BMW's double Vanos variable valve timing. Peak power is 75hp, which is perhaps not much reward for all that effort, but there's also 150Nm of torque, which is.
It takes 13.4 seconds to do 0-62mph and BMW quotes average fuel economy of 55mpg. The emissions figure could be problematic though, as its 121g/km, which pushes it up a band compared with its diesel brethren. There's not a massive extra tax cost but it could put off some buyers.
As for the rest, it gets the same stretched wheelbase compared to the three-door hatch (boosted by 72mm) and a bigger boot that can expand from 278-to 941 litres when you flip the back seats down.
Neil Briscoe - 21 Jan 2015
