F56 Hatch

In April 2014, Mini released the third generation of its smallest model, the Hatch, initially offering it in three different states of specification.

Virtually the entire car was new, sitting on BMW’s new ‘UKL’ small-car platform that spawned a wave of front-drive vehicles such as the upcoming 2 Series Compact Active Tourer.

Exterior changes were subtle: new doorhandles, a more upright pedestrian-friendly ‘active’ bonnet, sharper headlight and tail-light designs (with optional LEDs) and edged creases around the wheelarches.

Inside, the dominant circular dial on the fascia remained, but was now a display screen with navigation on up-spec models, as well as funky LED lighting that changes colour and shape with various driver inputs such as accelerating and arriving at a turn-point programmed into the maps. Other changes included moving window switches to the door.

In place of the previous Peugeot-sourced 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, the Mini Cooper got a turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder with 100kW of power (up 10kW) and 220Nm of torque (up 60Nm). The 0-100km/h dash was done in 7.9 seconds (down 1.2s) and fuel consumption fell to 4.7 litres per 100km on the combined cycle (down 1.1L/100km).

The new diesel Cooper D also got a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine with a turbo, producing 85kW (up 3kW on the current 1.6-litre four-cylinder diesel) while retaining the same 270Nm of torque at 1750rpm. Fuel consumption fell to a meagre 3.7L/100km.

The range-topping – at the time – Cooper S used BMW’s 2.0-litre direct-injection TwinPower four-cylinder engine with 141kW at 4700rpm and 280Nm from 1250rpm (300Nm with turbo overboost). The 0-100km/h sprint was dispatched in 6.7s in faster automatic guise, down three-tenths.