2019 Mini Oxford Edition is the cheapest way to get a Mini, but only for college students, grads

Mini makes a play for young car buyers with its latest

2019 Hardtop

model, the Oxford Edition. It’s more on par with a new trim level, but it’s a highly compelling one as it’s the cheapest version of the Mini available, and it comes with even more standard features than the regular base Mini. The catch is you have to either be in college, or recently graduated, to get it.

Specifically, you have to be a full- or part-time student enrolled in a 2-year, 4-year or graduate school program at an accredited college or university. You’re also eligible if you’ve graduated from one of those programs within 12 months of

buying the car

. If this describes you, you can have a turbo-charged three-cylinder two-door Mini

Hardtop

for $20,600, or the four-door for $21,600. That’s a $2,150 discount over a normal base trim Mini called Classic.

Even better, the Oxford Edition is equipped much better than the Classic, with larger 17-inch wheels, heated seats and a panoramic sunroof as standard. There are even a couple more colors to pick from adding British Racing Green and Starlight Blue to the Classic’s selection of red, white, black and silver. An automatic transmission is also standard, which is usually a $1,250 option on the Classic, but a manual transmission is still available. Mini says that all the features amount to a $6,900 value, though it’s difficult to gauge that since features such as the sunroof aren’t available on the Classic, but it’s a standard feature on the roughly $26,000 Mini Signature.

All-in-all, the Mini Oxford Edition is a great deal for a young buyer with a desire for a Mini. And that’s easy to understand, since

we’ve enjoyed the ones we’ve driven

.

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