While the majority of the automotive industry is looking towards futuristic new electric styling, it seems that Mini has no plans to ditch its retro style, unveiling the new Cooper models just recently.
To be fair, the Cooper has been given a significant facelift for 2022, and has done away with the classic chrome grille (unlike parent company BMW) in favour of a body-coloured panel stretching across the front end.
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Other exterior changes include a set of "bad weather lights" that have replaced the traditional fog lights, new wheels and wheel arches, a wider rear bumper, and union jack taillights which are standard across the range. Buyers also get the choice of three new colours: Island Blue, Rooftop Grey, and Zesty Yellow.
In terms of mechanicals, everything has remained unchanged from the last model, meaning that the Standard Cooper gets a 100kW three-cylinder, the S gets a 141kW four, and the John Cooper Works uses a 170kW four.
On the inside, the Cooper gets a bunch of changes ranging from a new heated steering wheel, to redesigned air vents and colour ambient lighting. Arguably the biggest change in here comes in the form of a new 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment display.
This new system includes Apple CarPlay as standard, but for some reason, Android Auto users won't be able to connect their devices using the service.
When it comes to safety tech, lane departure warning comes standard across the range, and the Adaptive Cruise Control system now allows the vehicle to semi-autonomously come to a stop.
We can imagine that all this extra tech will mean a slight price increase on the outgoing model, but Mini New Zealand is yet to release pricing and specification closer to the local launch.
