Pre-Christmas delivery asserted, no pricing yet.

NEW Zealand has been confirmed as starter for a five-door Mini Cooper, set to arrive before Christmas but also likely only to configure in petrol.

Following on from the BMW-owned brand having today taken the wraps off its new Cooper variant, the local distributor said it was a starter, with allocation coming a few months after three-door Coopers start to avail.

The five-door shape is a second time around. There was a five-door version of the outgoing, third-generation Mini hatch and this new model is actually an evolution of that car; hence why t has the same door handles and door skins.

The five door has a longer wheelbase than the standard three-door Cooper, this increased by 72mm. The bodyshell is 172mm longer overall, at 4036mm. A bit awkward-looking as result?

The derivative has the same styling cues as the three-door Cooper, with a smooth front end, simple lines and triangular taillights, while the interior design also mirroring.

The type introduces a new graduated roof colouring, which, on the model shown in the official pictures, fades from the car's body colour into a white finish. Standard and contrast roof colours will also be offered, along with the usual upgrade packs and personalisation options.

The big change with the new Cooper is that it is two cars, with two drivetrains. There’s an electric one, on a wholly new platform, out of China and a petrol one, that’s effectively a revision of its predecessor, from Great Britain. The five-door joins the latter team.

From launch it comes in the same Cooper C and Cooper S forms as the three-door.

The first features a three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that makes up to 116kW and 230Nm of torque an official fuel consumption figure of 6.0 litres/100km.

The Cooper S has an extra cylinder for a 2.0-litre capacity, and peak outputs are 152kW/ 300Nm. With a cited 0-100kmh time of 6.8 seconds, it’s 1.2s nippier to the legal open road limit than the base car, while fuel consumption is still close, at 6.3 litres/100km. All cars are front-wheel drive, and like the three-door Cooper the only gearbox choice is a twin-clutch automatic.

Pricing is going to be announced closer to time of national availability.