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In-depth reviews

MINI Cooper review - Boot space, practicality & dimensions

“There’s now decent room for adults in the back, but boot space is still a weak point”

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Boot space, practicality & dimensions Rating

3.0 out of 5

The latest MINI Cooper is 20cm longer than an electric Fiat 500, so it stretches the definition of a city car and is closer in size to most superminis this time around. This means it can be used as a four-seater, especially if your rear-seat passengers aren’t too tall. Headroom isn’t the issue, but a dip in the rear seats means your knees end up raised above your hips.

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Getting in and out of the back also requires a fair bit of agility, so it’s a good thing MINI has given the front passenger seat ISOFIX mounting points for a child car seat – it would be rather tricky to take a child in and out of the back too often. The good news is that five-door versions of the MINI Cooper C and Cooper S are on their way, so there will be more options for those wanting easier access to the rear seats.

Size comparison

Model 

Length

Width

Height

MINI Cooper

3,858mm

1,928mm

1,640mm

BYD Dolphin

4,290mm

1,770mm

1,570mm

Peugeot E-208

4,055mm

1,745mm

1,430mm

Vauxhall Corsa Electric

4,060mm

1,765mm

1,433mm

Fiat 500 

3,571mm

1,627mm

1,488mm

Does the MINI Cooper have a big boot?

One of the biggest cons of the MINI Hatch has always been its limited boot capacity, and this hasn’t been overcome for the MINI Cooper. There’s just 210 litres of boot space behind the rear seats, which might beat the Fiat 500, but it’s still quite a bit smaller than the Peugeot E-208, Vauxhall Corsa Electric and BYD Dolphin

Even folding down the rear seats doesn’t bring a huge jump in load space, with just 800 litres on offer (725 litres in the petrol versions) – most cars easily surpass 1,000 litres once the back seats are stowed. There is an adjustable boot floor, but the change in volume it provides is so small we think some other practical features like hidden storage cubbies or hooks would have been more useful.

Boot space comparison

Model 

Boot space

MINI Cooper

210/800 litres

BYD Dolphin

345/1,310 litres

Peugeot E-208

311/1,160 litres

Vauxhall Corsa Electric

267/1,081 litres

Fiat 500 

185/550 litres

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Charlie writes and edits news, review and advice articles for Carbuyer, as well as publishing content to its social media platforms. He has also been a regular contributor to its sister titles Auto Express, DrivingElectric and evo. As well as being consumed by everything automotive, Charlie is a speaker of five languages and once lived in Chile, Siberia and the Czech Republic, returning to the UK to write about his life-long passion: cars.

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