It’s just been announced internationally and I’m bobbing my head to get my hands on this thing when it gets to SA. It’s the new Mini Cooper.

Immediately you can notice a lot of the body language and design layout that we’re used to from the current Cooper, but this one promises to be a much more mature and grown up hatchback with more space, safety features, materials and a higher quality finish. Apparently ride comfort has been tweaked too, so that’s a plus.

Power is going to come from newly engineered “TwinPower” turbocharged engines, the Cooper by a 1.5-litre 3 cylinder, 100kw engine and the Cooper S gets a 2-litre that makes 142kw which is a lot in a small car.

Obviously pumping fuel through only 3 and 4 cylinders respectively and a few other tweaks means consumption is down to 27%, which is a concern even the rich have started to take notice of.

Everything else I’ve seen leads me to believe that they haven’t, or can’t, tamper with the staunch shoulders and thus go-kart like ride of the new Cooper, another plus.

Biggest news though has got to be the new layout of the cockpit which sees the familiar (and I always thought quite dangerous) idea of having the speedo in the centre console. Now you’ll find it among the steering wheel setup along with a new HUD and no doubt all the loveliness, safety features and boastables that BMW has in their cars.

The wait begins!