MINI Cooper 2024: Prices, specs and release date

• New MINI Cooper replaces today’s three-door MINI Hatch
• Petrol-powered Cooper available with a choice of two engines
• Visually almost identical to the new MINI Cooper Electric
• On sale now with prices from £23,090

The new MINI Cooper is a petrol-powered, British-built alternative to the new MINI Cooper Electric and is on sale now ahead of a UK launch date in the spring.

Visually almost identical to its electric sibling, the new MINI Cooper replaces the existing 3-door MINI Hatch, and is available with a choice of two petrol engines.

The new MINI Cooper – there is no longer a MINI One, with Cooper branding featuring on all models – also offers a choice of three styling packs, called Classic, Exclusive and Sport.

The new MINI Cooper is set to compete with a shrinking group of small car alternatives, such as the venerable Fiat 500, the funky Toyota Aygo X, plus the Hyundai i10.

2024 MINI Cooper prices and release date

The new MINI Cooper is on sale now. It will be released in the UK from spring 2024.

New MINI Cooper prices start from £23,090, for the new MINI Cooper C Classic. New MINI Cooper S Classic prices start from £27,535.

These prices compare to the new MINI Cooper Electric, which starts from just over £30,000 for the new MINI Cooper Electric E, and £34,500 for the new MINI Cooper Electric SE.

2024 MINI Cooper styling, interior and technology

The styling of the new MINI Cooper continues with the retro design cues featured on all new MINI since 2001. Visually, it is almost identical to the new MINI Cooper Electric. The exposed doorhandles are the giveaway, as they contrast with the flush-fit handles of the MINI EV.

Key traits of the new MINI Cooper include the floating roof, long wheelbase, short overhangs and short bonnet. The ‘filigree contour’ octagonal grille design has been updated.

The new MINI Cooper has simple round LED headlights, with a much cleaner appearance. The new MINI Cooper no longer has any chrome on the outside, including the headlights. They are optionally available with three customisable light signatures.

At the rear, the new MINI Cooper has a triangular tail lamp design. These matrix lights can be switched to different customisable modes in a similar way to the headlights.

The new MINI Cooper comes in three different trims, called Classic, Exclusive and Sport. Classic has the most minimalist appearance, with key details such as the MINI wings logo finished in Vibrant Silver. It’s available in five body colours, including new Ocean Wave green and Sunny Side Yellow, with two contrast roof colours and three wheel options.

The new MINI Cooper Exclusive is a posher take, with Vibrant Silver grille. Paint choices include British Racing Green, and 17-inch U-Spoke silver alloy wheels are standard, with two optional 18-inch designs.

The new MINI Cooper Sport has a beefed-up front and rear design with a high-gloss back hexagonal pattern grille and logo, and rear spoiler with airblades. There are standard 18-inch JCW Lap Spoke two-tone alloys, and black brake calipers with JCW logos. A contrast Chili Red roof plus red and black bonnet stripes are also available.

Inside, the clean look of the new MINI Cooper continues. The layout is designed around a circular 24-inch LED display, which replaces virtually all the buttons – just a toggle bar below it remains, with controls for the parking brake, gear selector, start/stop key, experience mode and audio volume.

The dashboard itself has a textile surface, instead of regular plastic. A new knitting process creates an easy-to-care material in a two-tone design, which is made from recycled polyester.

Again, the new MINI Cooper interior features no chrome, while being automatic-only means there’s extra space for a new wireless charging shelf between the front seats.

The new MINI Cooper’s infotainment runs the latest MINI Operating System 9. This has over-the-air updates and voice control. Instead of physical buttons, climate control heat settings are permanently displayed on either side of the screen.

The top half of the screen shows vehicle-related information such as speed, while the lower area is for navigation, media, phone and more in-depth climate functions. Swiping up from the bottom reveals customisable favourites and the entire display can be switched to a classic Mini-style speedometer.

The new MINI Cooper has an intelligent personal assistant too – say ‘hey MINI’ to activate it. A 3D avatar pops up, and owners can either choose a car icon or a cute dog called Spike.

The new MINI Cooper has a suite of active safety assist tech, plus a new MINI Digital Key Plus function that allows owners to use their smartphone as the car key. The lights will illuminate when they are less than three metres away, and doors are automatically unlocked as they approach the car.

The new MINI Cooper is available with an opening panoramic glass roof, while the four-seat layout is combined with a 210-litre boot that expands to 725 litres with the rear seats folded.

2024 MINI Cooper engines, performance and fuel economy

New MINI Cooper buyers have a choice of two engines. The new MINI Cooper C has a 1.5-litre turbo petrol three-cylinder and the new MINI Cooper S has a 2.0-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder. Both have a standard automatic gearbox.

The new MINI Cooper C produces 154PS and 230Nm of torque, for 0-62mph performance in 7.7 seconds. It averages up to 47.9mpg, and emits from 133g/km CO2.

The new MINI Cooper S produces 201PS and 300Nm of torque. It accelerates from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds, impressively averages up to 46.3mpg, and emits from 138g/km CO2. Both versions serve up “the traditional performance and characteristic sound of a combustion engine,” says head of MINI Stefanie Wurst.

New MINI Cooper C and S models with the Sport pack have a Sport Transmission automatic gearbox, with paddles on the steering wheel

All new MINI Cooper models are said to feature suspension and dampers “designed for precise handling,” combined with powerful brakes.