Here comes the new Mini! No, really. Only the lights are looking different for most onlookers but the whole car has been entirely reengineered. It’s built on a newly designed platform, one which will be shared with a future front-drive BMW. Engines are new too, and they’re now all with forced induction and direct injection, gas or diesel, but the biggest surprise is assuredly that the base engine only counts three cylinders. It’s a 1.5-liter though, so it’s not smaller than before and with 136-hp and 162 lb-ft of torque available, it’s much stronger than the previous base unit. No driver shall be disappointed, and there’s always more for those who want it, with the top engine making a strong 192-hp with 199 lb-ft of torque.

All Mini cars now have a top speed over 200-kph (124-mph), and official fuel economy figures are excellent, going from 67 mpg combined for the 115-hp diesel Mini, to 41 mpg for the 192-hp Cooper S. Who needs a hybrid? Those figures are really excellent considering all dimensions are up. Length, width and height are 150.4 ; 67.9 ; 55.6 inches, respectively, while dry weight of the base model is 2392 lbs. Yet the most important difference for hardcore Mini fans should be the moving of the speedometer. It’s now right in front of the driver’s eyes, and nobody should complain about that.