MINI hatchback review - more tech, more efficient, but still fun - Prices, specs and rivals

Prices, specs and rivals

Opt for the basic 1.2 One and resist the company’s huge list of options, and you’ll pay £13,750 to put a new Mini on your driveway. Many evo readers will be more interested in the £15,300 Cooper, and many buyers will then spend another £890 on the Pepper Pack (leather steering wheel, dual-zone aircon, rain-sensing wipers and more) or £2250 Chili Pack (all the above plus half-leather trim, 16in alloys, sports seats and Mini driving modes), so a figure in the £17,000 range is likely.

You could of course spend another grand on the £18,655 Mini Cooper S (£465 more than before), which offers similar performance to cars like the Peugeot 208 GTI and Renaultsport Clio 200 for a few hundred quid less. A Fiesta ST is cheaper still, but what the Mini lacks in outright fun next to Ford’s hot hatch gem, it offers in kerb appeal to those not taken by the Ford’s heavy-handed bodykit and slightly naff interior.