The standard Cooper's 118bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine makes it feel much faster than the 94bhp 1.4-litre One. The 108bhp Cooper Diesel is flexible, but nowhere near as fun to thrash as the petrol. The Cooper S's turbocharged 1.6 gives 173bhp for hot-hatch performance, while the John Cooper Works version ups the ante to 208bhp for blistering pace.

Whichever version you go for, the Mini is a hoot to drive. It's great fun on twisty roads thanks to go-kart handling and well weighted, informative steering. It's also easy to drive around town, and although there's a firm edge to the ride, it's never choppy or uncomfortable.

The Mini feels surprisingly grown-up for such a small car. Although the tyres and suspension thud over bigger bumps, and there's some wind and road noise at speed, it's quiet enough to make a civilised long-distance cruiser. The petrol engines are smooth and cultured, too, even when worked hard. Shame the diesel is gruff at low speeds.

It's not cheap, and you can forget about discounts, yet the Mini still makes great financial sense. No car in this class holds its value as well, and fuel, contract hire and company car tax bills are all extremely low. For £185, you can also have Mini's TLC package, which covers all routine servicing costs for five years or 50,000 miles.

The Mini has a premium image, but although much of the cabin trim looks the part, some of the materials and switchgear are disappointingly plasticky. The Mini has always scored well in the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey and in our own reliability surveys, so it should prove to be dependable.

The Mini has a five-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating and all models have front, side and cabin-length head airbags. You also get ISOFIX child seat mountings, and importantly, stability control is standard throughout the range. The Mini has most of the security parts that make BMWs so hard to steal.

The driver's seat is comfy and there's a wide range of adjustment for both that and the steering wheel, but the dash is far too fussy. The huge central speedo is hard to miss, but the stereo and heater controls are difficult to read and awkwardly placed. The retro toggle switches put style above ease of use, too.

The Mini has lots of head- and legroom for those in front and reasonable space for two rear passengers. However, getting in and out of the rear seats requires a fair degree of dexterity, because the door opening is low and narrow. The boot is small, with room for just a couple of holdalls, although the 50/50 split rear-seat back folds for more space.

Just like the One, the Cooper gets air-conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, remote central locking and a CD player as standard. Cooper trim does add alloy wheels and sportier trim, though. The Cooper S adds a range of sporty design touches to the bodywork, along with sports seats and a Sport button.