The Mini remains an icon of the roads, but with an electric version in full song, should you still consider the petrol-powered version? What is it? > The modern-day Mini is an icon of our roads. While many people voiced opposition to a recreation of the original ‘classic’ Mini in the early 2000s, the BMW-built version has only gone from strength to strength as the years have passed. These days, it’s hard to drive a section of road without driving by a modern Mini.
But even cars like the Mini need to change. It’s why the latest version has launched with a large emphasis on the electric-powered version but, for those drivers for whom an EV won’t work, there remains a petrol-powered option – which is what we’re driving today. What’s new? > Mini has been quite clever with this ‘new’ hatchback.
While the electric version sits atop a brand-new platform and – for the time being – is built in China before production moves to Oxford in a few years, this petrol-powered version is, in fact, fundamentally the same underneath as the previous-generation car. Sure, the exterior gets the same bold new look as the electric version, but the underpinnings remain quite tried and tested. How to spot between the two? Well, the electric version gets flush handles and a complete lack of black plastic trim around the wheel arches.
This petrol-powered model gets the old ‘hoop’ style handles instead, while that black plastic framing the arches remains – just as it was on t.
