IT’S sporty, it’s quirky and it’s the first MINI ever to have just two seats.

The new MINI Coupe is the fifth member of the ever-expanding MINI family and it’s by far the most radical.

A lack of four seats might mean it’s not for the family man but there are a lot of MINI enthusiasts who will prefer the more sporty lines of the Coupe.

With a windscreen that’s far more steeply raked than the hatch and a roofline that’s 29 millimetres lower, the Coupe not only looks more dynamic but has less wind resistance.

The overall length of the two cars is the same but because there is less cockpit the Coupe wins hands down when it comes to ease of reversing.

And just because the Coupe is lower it doesn’t mean you struggle for headroom because there are two oval recesses in the headlining to give that extra space.

Losing the rear seats means the luggage space beneath the hatch is deeper, giving you a very respectable 280-litre space for large items such as suitcases, although the steep angle of the rear screen does mean you lose out on luggage space height.

From the front seat the overall layout of the car is the same as the rest of the MINI family with the traditional oversized speedometer in the centre of the dash, and the navigation system maps set in the middle of it.

With such a large dial it’s not always easy to note your speed with a quick glance but the MINI gets over this by having a useful digital speed readout immediately in front of the driver.

Firm, sporty seats hold you in place on tight corners and because it’s based on the Cooper S the Cooper SD has very firm yet reassuringly compliant suspension.

Like all MINIs this re-interpretation of the classic MINI design has that legendary go-kart handling that makes the marque superb fun to drive, with road holding which ensures that even the most mediocre of drivers can impress.