TWENTY years after the launch of the modern Mini, the latest generation moves to the next stage of its evolution, with the Mini 3-Door Hatch, the Mini Electric, the Mini 5-Door Hatch and the Mini Convertible getting fresh new design and technology updates, bringing parity across the line-up.
The Mini’s iconic look remains but a few changes mark it out as the new model. At the front, the chromed grille is updated with the crossbar, now body-coloured, and the fog lights replaced by air vents to improve aerodynamics.
Five new alloy wheel choices and three new paint colours are available, with the Mini Convertible getting a Zesty Yellow shade. Choose the black trim pack and there’s a black fuel cap, badges, door handles and exhaust pipes. There’s a ‘Multitone’ roof option on three-door, five-door and Mini Electric models providing a gradient finish and every car with this roof option is said to be unique. The digital instrument cluster from the Mini Electric is standard across the range, along with the central 8.8-inch touchscreen. The screen features a new operating system with updated graphics, and you can enjoy enhanced connectivity by downloading the Mini phone app. You can check the fuel or charge level of the car and send sat nav routing from your phone to the car’s screen.
As before, you can choose from Classic, Sport or Exclusive trim levels but they’ve been tweaked slightly to offer more equipment choices. Rear parking sensors are fitted as standard on the latter two, and Exclusive buyers also get a darkened headlining and different driving modes. The Sport model introduces adaptive suspension to the range, plus leather upholstery and the black styling pack. There are now a few different option packs available, each with many desirable features. The Navigation Pack adds sat nav, Apple CarPlay and live traffic updates, the ‘Plus’ version of the pack gets a head-up display and wireless phone charging.
Cars equipped with the Comfort Pack feature automatic air con, heated seats, a front armrest, and extra storage, while the Driver Assistance pack includes stop-go functionality for the adaptive cruise control (but only if you choose an automatic gearbox).
A strange occurrence these days is that prices have come down slightly., starting at £16,045 and £16,745 for the three-door and five-door hatchbacks respectively, but you’ll need to pay at least £20,705 for the Mini Convertible and an automatic gearbox is £1,400 extra.
Coinciding with the launch of the facelifted car comes a special-edition Mini Electric. The Collection version is limited to 300 UK/NI cars and is based on the range-topping Level 3 model. It comes with the Multitone roof, the black pack, exclusive badging, and an aluminium interior trim. A panoramic sunroof is a no-cost extra and you can choose between two paint colours. It gets the plug socket-styled alloy wheels which are normally an optional extra, but the Collection is around £5,000 more expensive than the Level 3, with a starting price of £36,420 after the plug-in car grant is applied.
Crossland enhanced
VAUXHALL’S new Crossland (right) is available to order now with prices from £19k to £26k on the road. The new Crossland SUV features the latest advanced driver’s assistance technologies and a sporty SRi Nav trim for the first time. Building on the wide success of the outgoing model which sold more than 300,000 units customers of the new Crossland will benefit from reduced CO2 and fuel consumption.
Further enhancing the new Crossland are a range of three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines delivering lively performance and strong efficiency. The engines are complemented by chassis improvements which deliver an enhanced driving experience combined with new higher levels of comfort.
The Crossland features either 16- or 17-inch wheels, the sporty SRi models feature 17-inch alloys and a black roof with a red window accent as standard. Inside, there are new fabrics and trim materials that enhance the stylish design and promote that even greater comfort for the driver and passengers. The rear seats feature a practical 60/40 split and a slide feature giving up to 150mm extra space, helping customers to increase boot space by 25%. Fold down the back seats and the available space doubles.
With this new variation, customers can choose from a range of advanced and efficient powertrains with both petrol and diesel options striking the ideal balance between low fuel consumption and driving excitement. The three-cylinder 1.2-litre petrol engines are available with or without a turbo. 1.5-litre, three-cylinder diesel engines matched with the standard six-speed manual gearbox delivers a lively performance and excellent efficiency. Finally, the optional Panoramic Rear-View Camera increases visibility by up to 180 degrees behind the car, enabling drivers to see traffic approaching from the left or right when reversing out of parking spaces or driveways.
Meanwhile, the Vauxhall Insignia has been named the ‘Upper Medium Car of the Year’ for the fourth year in a row at the Company Car Today Awards. Now with all-new petrol and diesel engines, which won praise for their efficiency, the Insignia’s driving dynamics, design and high levels of equipment across the range were also highlighted. But you don’t have to be a company car driver to enjoy the benefits of a Vauxhall Insignia, you just need to be a driver who enjoys comfort, space, and economy. We currently have three Insignias in our family circle. A forthcoming upgrade will add extra efficiency and more technology to further enhance the appeal of a car predominantly aimed at the company car market. Priced from £23,795 on the road the revised Insignia will come standard with 17-inch alloy wheels, LED front and rear lights, cruise control with intelligent speed limiter, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning with lane assist, a 7-inch colour touchscreen with sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
With up to 61.4mpg and emissions as low as 121g/km CO2 from its 1.5 Turbo D diesel engine, the Insignia is an ideal choice for anyone looking for great fuel economy.
