There are front, side and curtain airbags for the front passengers, anti-lock brakes with a system that ensures the full braking force goes to the wheels with the most grip, plus a system that monitors the cars and if it senses the driver is about to lose control will work the brakes and engine to regain control of the car. The standard MINI was awarded the maximum five stars for adult occupant safety in Euro NCAP crash tests.

This may be a more practical MINI, but the boot is still far from impressive. The twin doors are a neat touch – but like a commercial vehicle you have to open one (the right hand side) before the other. However they are very convenient thanks to gas-pressure struts, so require almost no effort. The boot itself is still small though – only 260 litres (that’s 100 litres bigger than the MINI) which is less than cars like the Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Fiesta while the load cover is awkward and doesn’t self retract.

Folding down the rear seats is easy though and only requires one handle – doing so boosts boot space to 930 litres.