MINI Cooper review - Boot space, practicality & dimensions

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.

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.

Does the MINI Cooper have a big boot?

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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.