The Updated Mini Has A Strange New Face

What is it with BMW Group and grilles? The signature ‘kidney’ arrangement on its own cars has been getting bigger and bigger, while at subsidiary Mini, this has happened.

You’re looking at the facelifted Mini hatch, for which the grille has been enlarged significantly, only to be mostly concealed by a big chunk of body-coloured plastic. The spot lamps have gone, meanwhile, replaced with small ‘air curtains’.

LED headlights now come as standard on all models, as do the neat/naff (depending on your point of view) Union Jack rear light clusters. There’s also a new rear apron.

Mini has added a bunch of new equipment packages and five new wheel options. Making the personalisation choices even more bewildering, a trio of new colours has been added to the palette: Rooftop Grey, Island Blue and Zesty Yellow.

Inside, Mini has ditched the chrome and added some Piano black trim, along with a new 8.8-inch infotainment screen and five-inch digital instrument cluster. The vents that flank the central display have been redesigned, and there are some new trim options to pick from. The new Driver Assistance Package, finally, adds lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control.

The engine line-up hasn’t changed. As before, the range kicks off with a 1.5-litre inline-three producing either 100bhp or 134bhp (depending on whether you pick the One or the Cooper), topping out with a 2.0-litre inline-four. The latter develops 178bhp in the Cooper S, and a burlier 231bhp in the John Cooper Works.

The final powertrain option is of the plug-in variety. The Mini Electric gets 181bhp from a front axle-mounted motor and a 32.6kWh battery pack, making for a respectable 0-62mph time of 7.3 seconds.

The rejuvenated range starts from £16,045.