IF YOU ARE thinking about buying a MINI three-door, five-door or convertible, you might want to hold off until March 2018 when the facelifted models are launched.
The third-generation MINI Hatch and Convertible range get the mildest of midlife facelifts, more a chemical peel if you will than a full reconstructive surgery.
The main changes to the exterior are the lights which are now LED as standard front and rear and the headlights get a black insert which make them look slightly different than before. There is now an Adaptive LED option with Matrix high-beam function. The other major upgrades are the wheel and colour options.
Roulette Spoke two-tone and Propeller Spoke two-tone 17-inch light alloys are now available on all body styles and there is a new design called Rail Spoke two-tone available.
There are three additional body colours to choose from for 2018: Emerald Grey metallic, Starlight Blue metallic and Solaris Orange metallic. There is also a Piano Black Exterior option which changes the surrounds of the headlights, rear lamps and radiator grille to high-gloss black, instead of chrome.
The cabins of all models now come with a new multifunction steering wheel and radio with a 6.5-inch colour screen, USB and Bluetooth as standard. Customers can choose to upgrade this screen to include optional MINI Navigation with a touchscreen display and Apple CarPlay functionality.
There are also new upholstery options, interior trims and colour lines and the MINI Yours Customised programme includes new products whose design can be created by customers themselves, which are then produced precisely according to their individual specifications. It includes side scuttles, decorative strips for the interior on the passenger side, LED door sill finishers and LED door projectors.
On the mechanical front, the updated MINI One models now use a larger 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine, as opposed to the PSA-sourced 1.2-litre motor they formerly employed. This sees maximum torque increased by 10Nm, taking it to 190Nm.
For the three-door MINI there are five engine variants available; a 102hp, 136hp, 192hp and 231hp petrol unit or 116hp diesel option. The five-door models get the same options apart from the 231hp petrol unit and the convertible can be had with the 136hp or 231hp petrol engines.
All new MINIs come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, but now the three-door hatch, five-door hatch and convertible models are available with a seven-speed Steptronic transmission with double clutch as an option.
The transmission is offered on MINI One, MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper D engine variants. The transmission comes with an all-new electronic selector lever, while on the MINI Cooper S the automatic option includes paddle shifts.
For 2018, MINI has also introduced new options and enhanced the equipment offered in the popular Pepper and Chili packs, details of which can be found on the MINI Ireland website.
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