At £14,535, this is not far away from being the cheapest new MINI you can buy today. The only way of spending less would be to opt for the equivalent three-door model, and I can see why you might do that.
For the extra £600, however, you get not only two extra doors but a car that's two and a half inches longer. That means more practicality, though not much mind you.
Yes, you get 278 litres of luggage space with the rear seats in place, as opposed to just 211 in the three-door (or 941 litres versus 731 if you fold the rear seats down). But there's a little more than that in the Ford Fiesta, which is both shorter and, in many cases, quite a lot cheaper.
The back of the MINI Hatchback is also very cramped for larger passengers, to the point where I don't think it's realistic to carry four six-foot adults any more than a couple of miles from their starting point.
Still, the MINI brand's success has not been built on an ability to carry people or objects. A more compelling reason to buy MINIs is the styling, though here I'm at one with the various commentators who feel that using the same basic design for larger cars than the three-door hatch doesn't always work. To my mind, the five-door is too clumsy to be visually pleasing.
The same doesn't apply to the interior. All MINI Hatchback models look broadly similar on the inside, and this works greatly to the benefit of the cheaper ones. Very few sub-£15,000 cars look as inventive or feel as well put-together from the driver's seat as this one.
The One has always been the most basic trim for the MINI, and nowadays it comes with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine producing a maximum of 101bhp. This is not a high figure for a car with a kerb weight of nearly 1,200kg, and you have to rev it quite hard to get the best out of it.
However, it sounds quite charming (as three-cylinder units generally do) and it is powerful enough for those buyers who use their MINI mostly as a town car and only rarely venture into the countryside.
If you are of a sportier persuasion and can't afford a more powerful derivative, the engine's lack of urgency won't necessarily prevent you from covering the ground quickly. Most MINIs - except those with a high centre of gravity - handle well, and this one is no exception.
In a test which included some reasonably vigorous driving, the only times I ran out of grip in the five-door One were when I encountered snow. On dry or damp tarmac, it felt exceptionally secure.
It helps that the major controls are so delightful to use. The gear change, though comparatively disappointing, isn't bad, while the steering, accelerator, brake and clutch actions are all top-notch, and once again remarkable in a car you can have for under £15,000. The ride quality is excellent on smooth roads, though unnecessarily jiggly on rougher ones.
In general, this is a very pleasing little car, though its appeal depends to some extent on you not trying to carry many passengers or much luggage.
