MINI 5-Door Hatch interior
The Mini’s interior looks absolutely fantastic and everything feels solid and upmarket. You’ll have to pay extra to get rid of the standard, last-century infotainment screen, however
Style
When it comes to funky interiors, Mini leads the field. The 5-door’s cabin oozes sixties charm but comes packed with thoroughly modern equipment and feels solidly built, too.
The rounded infotainment screen in the dashboard – fitted to all but the most basic models – replaces the central speedometer fitted to older versions and comes flanked by glossy trims and slick chromed heating and ventilation controls.
Everything feels solid and suitably upmarket – especially the aeroplane-inspired toggle switches on the centre console. They’re so satisfying to use that you may find yourself turning the stop/start feature on and off for sheer hell of it.
Want to personalise your Mini? There’s an almost endless list of optional extras to spruce up its already eye-catching cabin. Ditching the standard black fabric seats in favour of four different leather finishes will set you back £1,500 while six door and dashboard finishes are offered for between £125 and £300 each.
The Mini’s seats are comfortable and fairly supportive but high-performance Cooper S models come with more heavily bolstered sports seats – to hold you in place in tight corners.
It might have five doors, but this Mini still lives up to its name – in the back seats at least. Try and fit three friends in there and they might not be friends for long…
- Used
- £6,990
Infotainment
Entry-level cars come with a disappointing orange screen that looks more like it belongs on an eighties synthesiser than in a stylish 21st century supermini. Thankfully, the upgraded £300 Mini Visual Boost system looks far better.
You use a knob on the centre console to navigate through its various menus – just like the BMW iDrive system on which it’s based. It’s pretty intuitive to use, even when you’re driving, and responds quickly to your inputs but it lacks any form of smartphone mirroring – such as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Satellite navigation is only offered as part of the £595 Mini Navigation upgrade.
You’ll need to pick the Navigation System Professional to get all the infotainment bells and whistles. It comes with a high-resolution 8.8-inch screen with 3D graphics, satellite navigation, ambient LED mood lighting that changes depending on what menu you’re in and a 20GB hard drive for storing music. It’s available as part of an expensive £1,800 pack that also includes a front armrest and active cruise control, but it’s worth having if you want your Mini to look even more special inside.
The standard stereo sounds absolutely fine but, to really put your eardrums to the test, you’ll want to upgrade to the £590 Harman Kardon unit. It comes with 12 speakers including two mounted directly under the front seats that’ll deliver powerful bass straight to your buttocks.
- Used
- £6,990