2015 Mini Cooper Hardtop Four Door: Up Close

Announced in June, the all-new Mini Cooper Hardtop 4 Door makes its U.S. public debut at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. Mini stretched the hardtop two-door’s wheelbase to make room for the two additional doors, but it rides on the same chassis as the redesigned 2014 Mini Hardtop; a good one by our account. Mini USA’s Patrick McKenna walked us around the new four-door and explained how this new car fits into the expanding Mini lineup.

Related: More 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show Coverage

“Customers’ first reaction is generally the hardtop two-door is too small,” McKenna said. The additional doors address that problem head-on and give those buyers a new reason to revisit the Mini dealership. What I found most interesting after poking around the four-door is that there’s still plenty of distinction between this and the larger Mini Countryman SUV, the only other four-door Mini.

Back in the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, headroom is surprisingly sufficient — more than the GTI — thanks to the four-door’s roofline that tapers less at the rear than the two-door. Comfort levels were livable once shoehorned into the four-door’s backseat, but at 6 feet tall, I wouldn’t want to spend too much time back there.

Cars.com photos by Evan Sears