Well it is and it isn’t, it doesn’t cost £600 GBP but it will cost you just £600 more than the two door Mini Hatch its based on, around $950 US Dollars, or 2,240 Bitcoins or 745 euros. That’s not bad considering you get a whole new car that hasn’t lost the appeal of the new 2 door version. We try to be impartial here, ahem!, but that said the new Mini 5-doors does look really nice.

So what do you get for your extra £600? A longer wheelbase, 72mm in total, which doesn’t sound like a good return on investment but in car terms that’s a big increase. The boot space is, rather predictably, bigger by 67-litres giving a grand total of 278-litres which is enough for, well what ever you want it to be for. Oh and the rear seats fold forward, expect a round of applause and seal of approval from motoring hacks who just love 60:40 split level seats.

Mini “residual experts” say the Mini 5 doors is “class leading” I think the public will decide that because the experts can get it wrong, just ask Tesco executives.

Six model variants will be available when the Mini 5 Door Hatch goes on sale in UK dealerships from 25th October. A total of six engines, three diesels and three petrol, ranging from 1.2-litres and up to 2.0 -litre 3 to 4-cylinder units will be carried over from the current Mini 2 doors. An uprated version of the Cooper SD engine with 170-bhp and 360Nm, makes its debut.

A six speed manual transmission is standard and an automatic transmission will be available as an optional extra. Purchasing options is a peril if you are a first time Mini owner because Mini aren’t exactly known for giving away a whole bunch of standard kit, the options list can bring in serious cash for the company.

The highlight of standard equipment is DAB radio and air-con and they do throw in some other stuff but expect to burn a hole in your wallet if you want the good stuff.

Mini are hoping the new 5-door hatch will appeal to fleet buyers and this opens a small window into the logic behind this model, more sales. And that’s a good thing in the long run because the more 5-doors sold means those so called”residual” experts will be scratching their heads at the low re-sale value for future used examples. Get in there pre-owned cars.

The New Mini 5-doors will retail from £14k for entry level models, full price list is below;

MINI One 5-Door Hatch £14,350 MINI One D 5-Door Hatch £15,490 MINI Cooper 5-Door Hatch £15,900 MINI Cooper D 5-Door Hatch £17,050 MINI Cooper S 5-Door Hatch £19,255 MINI Cooper SD 5-Door Hatch £20,050