What Car? drives the new Mini - What's new?

To look at from the outside, not much has changed with Mini MkII. Its designers argue that the current car has aged well and is still selling like hot cakes, so there was little need to overhaul the looks radically.

The car is 6cm longer than before, but the same height and width. New design details include a new grille and headlamps, while the sides of the car are now rounder with classic 'Coke-bottle' curves. From the side, the rear windows are noticeably shallower, giving it a squat appearance.

The big news is a range of fresh engines. Today's model attracted some criticism for its unrefined Chrysler-derived petrol motors, but now Mini's parent company BMW has joined forces with Peugeot-Citroen to build a new family of engines for their small cars.

Two models will be available at launch in December: the Cooper, with a 1.6-litre engine developing 118bhp, and the Cooper S hot hatch, which ditches its supercharged engine for a new 1.6-litre turbocharged one mustering 173bhp.

Both engines are marginally more powerful than before and, although no performance figures have been published, Mini promises that both cars will be faster than before. Thanks to fuel-saving measures, they will also be more economical.