Spot the difference: it's a MINI facelift

The most expensive small car in Australia just got a little dearer – but also a little more attractive.

The new MINI has come in for a mid-life makeover, although you can barely see where the surgery took place.

There's a different bend in the front bumper, new LED tail-lights, and much of the silver plastic in the cabin has been replaced by black plastic – and some dials have been replaced by buttons.

But the big news is under the bonnet – and in your wallet.

All the engines have been given a tune-up to either eek a fraction more power out of them or make them slightly more fuel efficient – or both.

The downside is that to save some money in fuel, the cost of each model has risen on average by $400 and $1000 depending on model variant (prices for each model are listed at the bottom of this story).

"We've put about $1500 worth of extra equipment in, so actually it's a better deal," says BMW Australia's PR and corporate communications manager, Piers Scott.

Extra equipment includes Bluetooth wireless phone connection, front fog lights, rain sensing wipers, and floor mats as standard across the new MINI range.

The new model also has a greater spectrum of interior lighting colours than before. Previously, every MINI had a choice of six mood lighting settings. Now, the maker says, advanced LED technology means there are up to 756 different colour combinations.

The car maker says the suspension has been given a mild tune-up as well.

The 1.6-litre petrol engine in the regular MINI Cooper goes up from 88 to 90kW (torque, 160Nm, is unchanged) and has trimmed its average fuel consumption rating from 5.8 to 5.4L/100km.

MINI Cooper S, powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, goes up from 128 to 135kW (torque, 240 to 260Nm depending on the overboost mode, is unchanged) and has trimmed its average fuel consumption rating from 6.9 to 5.8L/100km.

While the 1.6-litre turbo diesel engine in the MINI Cooper D may be the same capacity as before, but it is an all-new design borrowed from the BMW 1 Series diesel engine family. Power is up from 80 to 82kW but torque is the big improver – up from 240 to 270Nm.

The result is a slightly swifter run to 100km/h (down from 9.9 to 9.7 seconds) and a 0.1L/100km fuel saving to 3.8L/100km. As before, the Cooper D is only available with a six-speed manual transmission (all other MINI models are available with auto or manual). But an all-new 2.0-litre turbo diesel due in March 2011 will be available exclusively with an automatic transmission.

At the launch of the facelifted MINI in Melbourne today the company defended the subtle styling changes saying that it protects the resale values of the cars that are already on the road.

"A lot of customers can't pick the new one from the old one and we see that as a good thing," explained Scott. "The changes are subtle but significant."

Almost 17,000 new MINIs have been sold locally since 2001.

Its record year was in 2007 when the maker switched from the first generation to the second generation model, and 2269 new MINIs were sold.

Since then, MINI has averaged 2000 sales a year but has already overtaken that amount so far this year and is on track for another record in 2010.

Visit the Carsales Network again for our local launch review of the revised MINI range.

Australian pricing for new MINI:

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