Details are also different between variants, so there's been a lot going on in BMW's Mini design department.
The engineers have been busy too, and there's a brace of new diesel engines which both emit just 99g/km of CO2.
Before they went on sale here this month I had the chance to run a couple of them through their paces near BMW's home city of Munich.
As designer Carola Weyer said, it is Mini 'growing up'. Especially on the inside. "We calmed down much of the interior, taking out a lot of the silver look. Moved away from the flash."
'Calming' the dashboard area allowed the designers to play a little with the seating materials and colours. There are more options, including a diamond pattern inspired by that used on Burlington socks. Stop sniggering at that thought -- it works.
So too does the internet radio option, which offers a special app on the iPhone to allow owners pick up their favourite 'net listening. In Ireland you need to work out how using this would affect your data download allowance, but in Germany that's not an issue.
The external design modifications include new LED rear lights. As well as looking good, they only use 30 percent of the power of the traditional lights.
Technical additions include the option of adaptive headlights, which change their profile according to whether the car is driving on slow roads or fast highways. Changes have also been made to the hidden parts of the front end in order to have the car meet the next level of pedestrian impact protection, even though this is not yet required.
But probably the most important change is the diesel engine, a new 1.6 completely developed by BMW. It replaces the unit previously provided by PSA Peugeot-Citroen, and is based on the all-aluminium design of the 2.0 diesel used in the 1-Series and 3-Series BMW in several guises.
Apart from the smaller capacity, significant engineering went into adapting it for transverse FWD application. On the figures, the 90hp basic version has similar power and torque characteristics as the older engine, but the 112hp unit used in the Cooper version has a substantial 30Nm extra torque, bringing it to 270Nm. Both engines have improved efficiency, each dropping 5g/km of CO2 to bring them to 99g/km.
The Mini Cooper S petrol engine has also been given more power, yet drops a tax band here to B, even in the convertible variant.
So how does the drive in the new diesels stack up? Very well indeed, on this introduction. The new engine is very refined, even when driving the cabrio with the top down. This is in part due to the inherent quietness of BMW current diesel designs, along with some extra soundproofing of the engine compartment. This is also designed to help the engine warm up more quickly, with consequent good returns in the economy and wear-and-tear departments.
There's little new to comment on about the ride and handling of the Mini, which is as always an underpinning element of the fun for which the model is renowned. In the cabrio the potential for scuttle shake seems well managed.
The new Countryman variant has come in alongside the revised versions of the current range. And they're not finished yet: more Mini niches are ready to be filled, including a coupe. But that's, as they say, for another story.
