Go karts and rockets… and five doors, too?

YOU HAVE to love a car that gives you little go kart and rocket ship icons when you turn on Sport mode.

Yes, it is playful and probably a bit of a marketing ploy as well. But also, yes, isn’t that what the Mini has always been anyway?

From its very earliest years, it was a combination of being a vehicle for the new world, a style statement, and an adult toy.

When it was introduced back into the world under the BMW Group umbrella, this pretty much stayed intact. It had spirited driving fun built into its DNA. In many ways, it was so much fun that  it had a tough time convincing buyers it was anything else.

The new Mini five-door is actually a practical vehicle, relatively at least.

When Mini launched the crossover SUV Countryman, the response was quite positive in that the Mini was now actually more usable on a daily
basis.

The new five-door Minis build on this. They have the happy, skippy and quick-turning feeling that endeared it to so many enthusiasts (go karts and rocket ships included), but it also has more real-world use.

It has, obviously, five doors now—as opposed to the three doors previously.

This brings easier access from the rear and more comfort. It also brings a longer wheelbase while maintaining the same track as the three-door, which brings a bit more stability to the handling without sacrificing too much quickness—so a good balance.

It also allows more usable space and legroom. Basically, it is a more mature package without sacrificing the driving—really, the driving dynamics—and styling that make the vehicle so unique.

The Mini five-door is available in the Philippines with either three- or four-cylinder engines, all of which use its Twin Power Turbo technology to help take the most fun out of the small package.

The Mini Cooper five-door uses the 1.5-liter, three-cylinder gas engine that produces 136 horsepower at 4,500 revolutions per minute and a maximum of 220 Newton-meters of torque at 1300 rpm with overboost.

The more spirited Mini Cooper S five-door uses a 2-liter, four-cylinder engine, that puts out 192 HP at between 4,700 and 6,000 rpm and 280 Nm of maximum torque at between 1,250 and 4,750 rpm.

While both are fun in their own quirky way, the S variant delivers the real performance.

Both cars are optimizing these small but efficient powerplants by using a six-speed automatic transmission as standard.

Automatic engine start-stop is on hand to reduce emissions and fuel use at traffic stops.

The intelligent system allows for more comfortable shifts when it senses what is needed, and more sporty dynamics when you want to go quick.

If used in conjunction with a Mini navigation system, it would even take the route into account as it decides how you want to drive, and does things like hold a gear rather than shift up if you have a couple of twisties heading your way.

This power is further adjusted depending on which driving mode you choose: a standard middle-of-the-road Mid, a calmer Green, or a far swing to fun with Sport.

Mid is pretty self-explanatory, adjusting things like steering dynamics, acceleration curve, engine acoustics (you can get this neat shifting burble), and even how much power the air-conditioning saps.

In Green mode, the car will coast when you get off the gas at speed; in Sport, the rocket ships and go karts come out, and a grin spreads across your face.

It has never been easy to argue that something so skewed for fun deserves a place in an intelligent garage for anyone with a family.

The three-doors were a blast, but they were almost all fun and no practicality. The new five-door, with a choice of efficiency or sport, the ability to tune within those, and with more usable and comfortable space, helps to make that argument a little stronger.

The problem is, it will also make more people in your household want to drive it when you want to do that yourself.