BMW will facelift the popular Mini hatchback range in summer 2010. Our new spy photos reveal the revised Mini for the first time six months ahead of launch.
I thought the Mini was unfaceliftable. If that’s a word…
Quite. Like most retro designs (think Mini, Beetle, 500), the Mini is a difficult shape to facelift. But engineers in Munich and Oxford have been busy fettling the design to give it some edge as the years roll by.
The disguise on this prototype masks new bumper detailing and fresh light graphics at the rear and similar detailed changes at the front to the air intakes and lower bumper assembly. A typically modest, Germanic facelift.
What else is new on the 2010 Mini facelift?
Not much else, according to our sources. BMW is the past master of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it facelifts – to the benefit of existing owners who won’t suddenly be lumbered with last season’s model.
Expect modest engine changes in the coming years, too; engineering officials have told CAR that hybrid Minis are coming, but not for a while longer yet. They promise 10-15% economy gains and will probably be held back to the next generation car coming in 2013.
A new cabin for the 2010 Mini
The interior of the Mini hatchback will be upgraded as part of the 2010 facelift. A look inside the new Mini Crossover shows how new, classier plastics will appear on the centre console as the shiny metal-effect silver surfaces haven’t gone down well with customers.
Expect to see the new Mini hatch around August 2010, with a motor show debut planned for the Paris salon in September 2010.