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New MINI 5-door Hatch revealed – but will you fit through the back doors?

The 5-door MINI hatch arrives We’ve already had the more BMW-like new MINI arrive, and now, for the first time, we get a MINI 5-door hatch to try and extend the appeal of the MINI range to families. The 5-door MINI gets an extra 72mm in the wheelbase and a pair of doors at the back – which do look very tight for full-size people to use – and there’s also an extra 15mm of headroom, a bigger boot and seating for three in the back. In terms of design, there’s little to choose between the 5-door and the 3-door, but the new 5-door does look a bit like the off-spring of the new MINI and the Countryman; just a little dumpy.

Grab the sunscreen for those summer drives

You can get sunburned while driving a convertible, but driving with the top up can also result in sun damage to the skin. New research from the University of Washington suggests that people in the United States are more likely to develop skin cancer, such as melanoma and merkel-cell carcinoma, on the left side of their bodies, likely as a result of the fact that the left arm receives more ultraviolet rays while driving. Studies by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology show that, when skin cancer shows up on one side of the body, 52 percent of melanoma cases and 53 percent of merkel-cell carcinomas occur on the left.

Ford S-MAX Vignale Concept revealed

The Ford S-Max Vignale (pictured) arrives to top the S-Max range The arrival of the Ford Mondeo Vignale Concept last year made it clear Ford were ready to do a 21st century version of the ‘Ghia’ badge engineering to create a range-topping sub-brand with the Vignale badge with all the whistles and bells on it. Today’s arrival of the Ford S-MAX Vignale Concept reinforces that conclusion. Just like the Mondeo Vignale, the S-Max Vignale comes with plenty of upmarket materials and toys, like 21″ alloys, chrome mirror caps, Vignale Grill, embossed leather with quilting, tablet docking and a Milano Grigio paint job.