New MINI Hatch and Convertible revealed

Another facelifted version of the MINI Hatch and Convertible has been revealed ahead of an Australian launch in the second half of 2021, as the BMW-owned British brand extends the lifespan of the current generation for another couple of years.

A variety of issues, from COVID-19 to Brexit and program development costs, are understood to have forced the delay of the next-generation hatchback until 2023, which as we’ve reported will be a smaller model based on a new BMW Group platform carrying both electric powertrains and traditional combustion engines.

The slower-selling MINI Convertible is set to be discontinued, making this latest update potentially one of the last before the brand enters a dramatic new era with all-new SUVs and the redesigned hatch.

The latest upgrade has emerged two-and-a-half years after what was deemed a mid-life overhaul in mid-2018 and seven years after the third-generation BMW-developed MINI hatch launched in Australia in 2014.

Local pricing and specs are still to be revealed, but the new 2021 MINI Hatch and Convertible range is headlined by revised styling, a multitone roof option for three-door and five-door hatch models (billed as a “world-first innovation”), tweaked interior design, a new instrument display and improved adaptive suspension system.

As if taking a thick black Texta marker to the mouth of each model, a striking black grille surround now dominates the front-end design of the MINI Hatch and Convertible, while the lower front bumper has vertical air inlets at each corner that are meant to improve aerodynamics.

Applied at the Oxford factory using a “wet-on-wet” painting process known as Spray Tech, the multitone roof option delivers a colour gradient from blue through to aqua and then black, extending from the windscreen frame to the rear glass.

The update also brings new exterior colours – Rooftop Grey, Island Blue and, for the MINI Convertible, Zesty Yellow – and five new light alloy wheel design across 17- and 18-inch rims.

In addition to the 5.0-inch LCD instrument display, which up until now was exclusive to the MINI Electric Hatch, interior upgrades include new ambient lighting options, revised sports seats, a reduction of chrome elements in favour of black trim, and improved functionality for the steering wheel via redesigned keypads.

The 8.8-inch touch-screen infotainment system also now features touch-sensitive ‘favourite’ buttons and a new operating system with improved graphics display and additional connectivity features.

The adaptive suspension upgrade will be available on all models bar the MINI Electric Hatch. It brings an additional valve into play that the car-maker claims can reduce damping forces by up to 50 per cent, making adjustments within 50-100 milliseconds to improve ride comfort while maintaining the car’s sporty handling characteristics.

Powertrains remain unchanged, meaning a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine (100kW/220Nm) in the MINI Cooper and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo (141kW/280Nm) in the MINI Cooper S.

MINI John Cooper Works (JCW) variants have an uprated 170kW/320Nm version of the latter, while the battery-powered MINI Electric musters 135kW/270Nm.