What's the news?
MINI is updating its Irish lineup for July and the 172 plate.
The big news is thew arrival of two new versions, one fast, one frugal. The MINI Countryman John Cooper Works swoops in with 231hp and 0-100km/h acceleration of 6.5 seconds, backed up by all-wheel drive grip. Oh, and it'll set you back €50,440.
At the kinder-to-polar-bears end of the scale, the new MINI Countryman Cooper S E plug-in hybrid is also arriving in July, priced at €34,850 including the SEAI grant, and boasting 134mpg fuel economy and the promise of 50km on just the batteries when you charge it up.
Across the rest of the MINI range, there's a mid-life cabin update with improved instrumentation, a new heads-up display, and extra tech in the shape of Apple CarPlay for the infotainment system, and a driver alertness sensor for the safety package.
The coolest new extra is the roof tent, though. Available for the MINI Countryman, and developed by Italian camping specialist Autohome, the the new pop-up tent can sleep two (we've tried it and it's surprisingly comfy, but possibly better for one) and folds down into a standard roof-box size.