It’s always great to get a different perspective when you’re running a car over a longer period of time, so we thought it would be good for editor Paul Barker to put the five-door Mini through its paces as a family vehicle.

The extra doors on the Mini boosts boot and rear passenger seat space, but it’s not something I’ve had to call into action too often, other than stuffing some bags in the back for a long weekend.

The Mini was surprisingly capable of transporting a family of four, including a pushchair, once the boot floor had been dropped to its lowest position.

However, this isn’t the first time Mini has had a five-door available for customers, as the Countryman offers many of the same benefits as the hatch (apart from the trademark Mini looks due to the extra bulk).

So how do the two compare and would a company car driver be better off with the larger Countryman with only £1000 between the P11D price?

The Countryman’s 350-litre boot surpasses the hatch’s 278 litres, so there’s a clear trade off there. But the smaller size of the hatch helps to deliver a lower CO2 at 95g/km, which makes it more BIK tax-friendly, compared with the 111g/km on the Countryman. When taking into account the full running costs however, there’s only 3p in it, and for that extra money per mile, you only get 72 litres of extra space, so drivers with small families might be surprised about how practical the smaller hatch can be.