(Mon 28 Jun 10)

The 2001 model year MINIs will go on sale in September this year, and the big news is the introduction of a new turbo diesel engine. Producing 90bhp in the One D and 112bhp in the Cooper D, it gives combined fuel economy of 74.3mpg in each case (though the One D is almost certain to be less thirsty in real life), and official CO2 emissions of 99g/km means that the cars are exempt from annual VED tax payments.

That's for the hatchback. The same engines are also available in the Clubman estate (72.4mpg and 103g/km), and MINI is offering the 112bhp version in the Convertible (70.6mpg, 105g/km).

All new MINIs will have revised interior and exterior styling, and with the exception of the entry-level First they will all be fitted with DAB digital radio as standard. The optional MINI Connected system offers Apple iPhone owners a variety of functions including Google Local Search, Google Send To Car, RSS news feeds, text messaging, video playback and the opportunity to listen to any web-based radio station in the world.

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