Latest generation of Minis well rounded

Headlights are fixed to the body in the new Minis.

The next-generation Mini retains the car's signature design but has grown in size by roughly the length of a box of matches to meet future crash safety requirements.

The Mini Cooper is 60mm longer and the Mini Cooper S 61mm longer. The extra length is at the front to provide improved impact protection for pedestrians. Mini says it absorbed the longer front end into the overall dimensions by giving it more rounded contours at the rear, which maintained its wheel-at-each-corner proportions.

The round, clear-glass headlights are now fixed to the body and have been turned slightly to the outside to maintain the geometry of the car from the front.

The indicators, previously isolated on the front bumper, are housed within the main headlight units.

The radiator grille is made up of a closed, self-contained element without the former dividing line made by the upper edge of the bumper. This design is reminiscent of the air intake scoop on the classic Mini.

The Mini Cooper S has a stronger front end - the bonnet curves up about 20mm more to provide extra space for the turbocharged engine and also to meet pedestrian impact regulations.

The shoulder line is 18mm higher than on the former model, which Mini says visually accentuates the car's powerful stance. It also gets an integrated spoiler in the roof to boost downforce at speed.

The new Mini will be unveiled for the first time at next month's Paris motor show.

It will go on sale in New Zealand next March, joining the 1500 or so examples of the first-generation model sold here since 2002.

It gets an all-new body, new interior, revised suspension for improved handling and ride, reworked six-speed gearboxes, and more powerful 1.6-litre four-cylinder engines with better fuel economy.

The Mini Cooper produces 88kW (120bhp) at 6000rpm and 160Nm of torque at 4250rpm. It sprints from zero to 100km/h in just over 9 seconds and on to a top speed of 205km/h.

The Mini Cooper S uses an intercooled and turbocharged version of the same engine to produce 128kW (175bhp) at 5500rpm and 240Nm between 1600-5000rpm.

An overboost function under throttle pushes torque to 260Nm between 1700-45000rpm. The Cooper S sprints to 100km/h in around 7 seconds and on to a top speed of 226km/h (140mph).

The carmaker says the fuel consumption of both models has improved dramatically, thanks largely to the use of the BMW Group's variable valve control system, Valvetronic, and a 10kg lighter kerb weight of both cars.

Fuel consumption in the European Union test cycle is down by about 12.5 per cent, it says. The Mini Cooper consumes 5.8litres/100km (48.7mpg) against 6.9litres/100km (40.9) for the present car. The Cooper S drinks 6.9litres/100km against 8.6litres/100km (32.8mpg).