The MINI lineup may cover more niches than ever, but since the marque's rebirth in 2001 there's been a noticeable omission - a five-door hatchback. The Countryman was a little part of the answer but it targeted a different segment altogether.
Now the lapse has been addressed with the new MINI 5 Door - a longer, taller and more family-friendly version of the hatchback. Besides the Cooper S model of the five-door car that we tested earlier, we also had the chance to sample the car in SD guise, a variant in the MINI range we have never tried before.
Up close and Personal
Proportionally, the MINI 5 Door looks just like its three-door sibling. From the front and rear you probably won't even notice the difference, but in profile you can see what MINI has done to improve space.
To fit the second pair of doors along the sides, MINI stretched the UKL1 platform of which the new MINI is based on and this results in a longer overall length of 155mm, a longer wheelbase by 72mm and a longer overall height of 11mm.
Thankfully, the extra dimensions do not harm the MINI's looks too badly. It's not quite as cute as the three-door, but not enough to put people off.
With the increased space, the MINI 5 Door has enough cabin room for family use and it has a more sizeable boot, with practical touches like an adjustable boot floor.
The MINI 5 Door also remains trendy inside, especially so thanks to the selectable interior lighting and the pulsing luminous ring that surrounds the central dash - resembling a jukebox and giving the cabin a retro-chic feel.
The Drive
If the power and practicality of the Cooper S 5 Door whet your appetite but you have an allergy in visiting the fuel pump, then this Cooper SD 5 Door could well be on your list.
The bad news is that the century sprint time drops from 6.8 seconds in the Cooper S 5 Door to 7.3 seconds in the Cooper SD 5 Door. Being a diesel powerplant also means the delicious pops and crackles that's often associated with the Cooper S are also missing.
But because the good news is that there's much more torque from the 2.0-litre diesel powerplant for greater in-gear flexibility and when paired with the responsive six-speed automatic transmission, the Cooper SD 5 Door still feels every inch fast and fun.
At low revs, the diesel lump is also hardly audible, and if you ask more of it, it revs with eagerness rather than harshness. The engine is so smooth you could kid yourself you aren't driving a diesel.
More importantly, this oil burner is more efficient, returning an impressive claimed fuel economy of 24.4km/L over the Cooper S 5 Door's 18.5km/L.
If the power and practicality of the Cooper S 5 Door whet your appetite but you have an allergy in visiting the fuel pump, then this Cooper SD 5 Door could well be on your list.
The bad news is that the century sprint time drops from 6.8 seconds in the Cooper S 5 Door to 7.3 seconds in the Cooper SD 5 Door. Being a diesel powerplant also means the delicious pops and crackles that's often associated with the Cooper S are also missing.
But because the good news is that there's much more torque from the 2.0-litre diesel powerplant for greater in-gear flexibility and when paired with the responsive six-speed automatic transmission, the Cooper SD 5 Door still feels every inch fast and fun.
At low revs, the diesel lump is also hardly audible, and if you ask more of it, it revs with eagerness rather than harshness. The engine is so smooth you could kid yourself you aren't driving a diesel.
More importantly, this oil burner is more efficient, returning an impressive claimed fuel economy of 24.4km/L over the Cooper S 5 Door's 18.5km/L.
And just like its petrol equivalent, the Cooper SD 5 Door is successful in retaining the agility of the standard MINI with excellent grip despite weighing a heftier 1,325kg.
The five-door car carves corners as flatly and changes directions as quickly as that of the three-door MINI. In order to achieve a 'maximum go-kart feel', all that is required of the driver is a quick toggle of the MINI Driving Mode switch to the left where the sharp steering gains weight and the dampers firm up for a sportier ride.
Conclusion
The MINI 5 Door offers the character and fun that's missing in other rivals.
And while the car in Cooper S guise offers sharper acceleration and a cheerful exhaust noise, this Cooper SD 5 Door that you see here is just as entertaining and it's more frugal, too.
We say there's very little not to like about this one but whether it joins the local MINI 5 Door lineup remains to be seen.
