The seventh member of the MINI family has arrived, writes Philip Shoulder.

Dubbed a Sports Activity Coupé, the Paceman is a sportier interpretation of MINI’s Countryman crossover.

The Paceman’s coupé-style stretched side profile features long doors, while blacked-out pillars create a ‘floating’ roof concept, as already seen on the MINI Coupé.

A more steeply raked roof slopes towards the rear of the car, ending at the integrated spoiler. Horizontal arranged rear lights and a Paceman nameplate are other key features.

While the familiar large round central speedo remains, new touches include a black surround and decorative inner rings in either high-gloss black or chrome and redesigned air vent surrounds.

Buttons for the windows, which have been toggle switches below the speedo on every MINI to date, have moved to the door trim panel.

The rear bench seat has been replaced with two individual chairs featuring built-in armrests and the Paceman uses a two-section version of the MINI Centre Rail storage and attachment system.

Folding down the rear seats expands the rear load-carrying capacity from 330 litres to a maximum of 1,080 litres. Petrol and diesel powertrains are offered; the most efficient being the 1.6-litre 112bhp turbocharged oil-burner found in the Cooper D, which musters 64.2mpg and emits 115g/km emissions.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Cooper S, which uses its 184 bhp 1.6 turbocharged petrol engine to propel it to 62mph in 7.5 seconds.

The Paceman comes with either two-wheel or all-wheel drive; MINI’s ALL4 system being available on the Cooper D, SD and Cooper S Paceman models.

Lowered sports comes as standard with regular suspension and ride height available as a no-cost option.

All come with a six-speed manual gearbox, or the optional six-speed automatic with Steptronic function for manual control.

Prices for the MINI Cooper Paceman start at £18,970 on the road.