OVER halfway in and 4,000 miles up, I’ve worked out what I like most about my long-term MINI Cooper 1.5 five-door. So I thought I’d share my thoughts.

I’ve said it before with my last Clubman and I’m saying it again with this Cooper five-door; the Professional Sat-Nav fitted to my car has to be the best on the market. It is easy to operate, has given me simple ‘set and forget’ routes, the Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) helps calculate routes more precisely and has sensibly suggested detours that have got me out of traffic jam scrapes.

I’m also pleasantly surprised at the level of detail of the buildings on the mapping in major towns.

Although the sat-nav isn’t perfect, as it got very confused on a recent family trip to Centre Parcs where I was forced to stop and ask for directions – which was embarrassing. However, in the MINI’s defence, I reckon a mapping update would have sorted it.

We’re in the thick of winter and even when covered with a layer of road grime or salt, I’ve never been anything other than impressed with the performance of the LED headlights and Daytime running lights (£670 option). The headlights in particular, have been really confidence-inspiring on the darkest country roads, where the clear white light they give helps you maintain a safe and reasonable speed.

Over 4,000 miles on the clock has equalled a lot of time in the Cooper’s interior. Good thing I find the cloth/leather trimmed seats are both comfortable and supportive.

I like listening to a lot of music in my cars and the Harmon Kardon Sound System (part of the £2,710 MINI Tech Pack fitted to our car, which also includes the Professional sat-nav, MINI Connected XL and a rear view camera) does not disappoint – giving a clear, powerful sound. I’ve found this sound system can shrink long drives. The DAB radio also means I can listen to my favourite digital stations too.

I had experience of a head-up display in my last Clubman and was a fan, but this factory-fitted version (also part of the Tech Pack I’ve previously mentioned) is even better, making it easy to see speed and navigation details, without taking your eyes off the road. I also like the theatre of the way it rises from the top of the dashboard when starting up.

Outside, originally I wasn’t a fan of the British Racing Green paint, but I have to say it hides the road grime impressively well, along with the black 17-inch Cosmos Spoke wheels. The wheels in particular look glossy when clean and match the black roof perfectly. What a shame that at this time of year, they go opaque with filth so quickly!

So this is over £20,000 of MINI Cooper, not cheap, but I feel that even with the pricey Tech Pack fitted, there’s everything a business user would need to keep connected when out in the field. Even the economy is improving, the best we’ve seen is over 326 miles to a tank and I’m hoping to better this in the next report!