MINI five-door next

MINI's all-new three-door hatch is coming to Australia in April 2014, but unlike in previous MINI generations the Cabrio is not the next model planned for release.

Instead MINI will introduce an all-new five-door version of the standard Cooper hatch for the first time, possibly later this year.

The idea of the five-door hatch, which will be longer than the three-door version, is to boost sales in markets that favour more practical five-door hatches, such as Australia.

Andreas Lampka, Head of Media Relations for MINI, told motoring.com.au that MINI's first ever five-door hatch would be the next model launch for the brand, primarily because many buyers demand the practicality of five-doors.

"The reason for rejection for the three-door hatch is practicality, so why not make five doors if there's space for it?

"In some markets it will outsell the three-door," reasoned Lampka, who says it has the potential to grow global volume significantly.

"It would need to grow a bit, but that's the funny thing with our new [UKL] architecture, we're able to do that. We've got increased wheelbase and increased track and that allows a lot of new possibilities for the car to grow," he said.

The MINI five-door will be powered by the same engines seen in the new third-generation MINI range, the mainstay being an all-new 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine worth 100kW/220Nm.

There's also a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol for the sporty Cooper S models that generates 141kW/280, and a frugal new turbo-diesel 1.5-litre triple that bangs out a respectable 85kW/270Nm.

Recent spy photos of the five-door MINI hatch show a longer wheelbase to improve rear seat room, but as previously reported the five-door MINI hatch may not spell the end of the niche Clubman model.

Roderik von Ostrowski, Product Manager for MINI, told motoring.com.au it's "not decided yet".

"The current model [Clubman] is still on the market. We have staggered market introduction. There are some ideas to have a successor of this model as well," he said.

"We have many fans of this concept but it's not the right time now to talk about details of the next Clubman," said Ostrowski.

Another vehicle rumoured to be on the chopping block due to low sales is the MINI Coupe and Roadster, but again Ostrowski said the fate of the sporty two-seat models are yet to be decided:  "We will see. It's not certain".

When pressed on whether the Coupe could last another three or four years, the MINI product boss said he couldn't talk about details, but did concede "we will see it for some time".

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