Used MINI 3-Door Hatch cars for sale

Used MINI 3-Door Hatch pros and cons

+ Really good fun behind the wheel

+ Good touchscreen and infotainment

+ Lots of aftermarket add-ons to choose

- Restricted luggage space

- Not easy to get in and out of the back seats

- Noisy, especially on the motorway

Is a used MINI 3-Door Hatch a good car?

There aren’t many cars that can make you smile the way a MINI does. Yes, it’s a long way removed in time, sophistication, and price from the original 1959-2000 MINI 3-Door Hatch, but there’s a lot of the same stuff going on here — a compact shape, sharp steering, suspension set up for fun, and a sense of style that not many other small cars can match. Think of it as a trendy pair of sneakers — a pair of robust Docs would be more practical, but when you walk in the MINI’s shoes, you bounce…

The current-shape MINI went on sale in 2014 and it’s been regularly updated. Major overhauls in 2018 and 2022 which have kept it at the forefront of in-car tech, so more recent versions come with things like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The touchscreen looks a little odd, in that it’s a square screen in a round hole, but it works really well, although built-in satellite navigation was always an expensive option. Not a problem if you can connect your phone, of course.

You do have to sacrifice some space for style, though. The back seats in the three-door MINI are tight for legroom (although headroom’s fine) and getting in and out around the folding front seats can be tricky. The boot is tiny, too, so plan your shopping and holiday packing accordingly. 

Most MINI hatchbacks will come with the 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine, which in Cooper form gives you 136hp — which is plenty. You can get 180hp if you upgrade to the Cooper S’ 2.0-litre turbo engine, but while that does give you muscular performance, it also runs up bigger bills, so you’re better off sticking with the nicely-balanced 1.5 which can crack 50mpg if you drive it carefully. 

More recently, there has been the fully-electric version of the MINI, but this has a small battery and a restricted 145 mile range on one charge, so buy carefully. There are diesel-engined MINIs too, with a choice of 1.5 or 2.0-litre engines, but these have gone out of production now, so they’re slightly trickier to track down. 

The best thing about the MINI, though, is just how much fun it is to drive. MINI has always prided itself on giving you a ‘go-kart’ driving experience, and while that’s a slight flight of fancy, it’s not a total work of fiction.

What to look for when buying a second hand MINI 3-Door Hatch

Generally speaking, MINIs are pretty reliable cars, and have tended to finish in the upper-half of most major reliability surveys. As always, you’ll want to make sure that the one you’re looking at comes with a full service history, and better-yet, one from a main MINI dealer. 

Diesel engines can suffer from oil pick-up problems, which if not noticed can lead to major failure – and replacement engines are expensive. The 1.5 three-cylinder petrol engine seems, so far, to be long-lived and reliable as long as it’s kept properly serviced.  There’s quite a lot of complex software in the cars, even relatively basic models, and it all comes from BMW, so be prepared for some expensive repairs if anything electronic goes wrong. 

Beware of MINIs that have been modified or overly-accessorised in any way, although there are some very good semi-official tuning kits from the likes of Hartge. 

Interior trim, such as the top of the gear stick and the rubber coating on the pedals, seems to wear very quickly and even low-mileage models can look a bit scruffy inside. All Mini petrol engines of this era use a timing chain, not a replaceable belt, so listen carefully for any rattling or ‘tinkling’ sounds that might indicate wear in the chain — chain failure means you’ll need a new engine. 

MINI 3-Door Hatch FAQs

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