MINI wasted no time introducing a new version of the Paceman a few days following the debut of the new Countryman. There have rumors of MINI Paceman getting axed, mainly because it’s a pointless thing, but MINI decided to let it live for another year and improved it lightly to give it a fighting chance. They obviously thought it’s not worth putting more effort into this car.

Unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show, the 2015 MINI Paceman features slightly revised styling with details like new radiator grille by which you can tell Cooper, Cooper S and JCW models apart. In addition to that, you also get new Piano Black or Chrome Line exterior packages, new design wheels, as well as new colors including Jungle Green metallic and Midnight Grey metallic.

Inside the cabin the main upgrades include anthracite-coloured displays and dials, and chrome touches around the ventilation controls. And that’s about it.

As for the technicalities, the biggest changes is a slight power boost for the MINI Cooper S Paceman which now makes 190 PS, getting marginally faster to 100 km/h. The only way to make the Paceman exciting is by choosing the John Cooper Works version, which with 218 PS accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. All MINI Paceman models can be combined with a six-speed automatic transmission instead of the standard six-speed manual, and they can be ordered with ALL4 all-wheel-drive system.