Production of new five-door Mini begins

A month after making its global debut, the new five-door Mini has rolled off the production line at Mini’s Oxford production facility in the UK. Prices for this new model start from £15,900 (Rs 16.29 lakh) for the entry-level Mini Cooper. As for the entire range, each model is priced £600 (Rs 61,400) more than the equivalent three-door Mini hatchback.

Mini has made it official that its latest 5-door model will hit the showrooms in the UK starting September 2014. Internally called F55, the five-door Mini is based on an extended version of the UKL1 platform, which also underpins the three-door hatchback.

Except for the additional doors in the rear, the five-door Mini looks identical to the three-door model. The former, as a result, features trademark Mini styling cues such as the hexagonal front grille and circular chrome-ringed headlamps. Being a Mini, buyers will be offered with a high level of customizable options ranging from alloy wheel designs, paint schemes and colour options for the roof and the door mirrors.   

The five-door Mini will be offered with a range of three and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines from the Cooper range, paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic gearbox. 

While the BMW-owned brand has revealed no immediate plans of launching the 5-door Mini or even the all-new generation 3-door Mini for that matter, we can expect the new Mini range to arrive in the Indian market early next year.