A MINI MARVEL

Lively and bold, the Countryman is a delight – but opt for the high-end version if you can

EVERY time I drive a MINI, the first words I hear from friends are: ‘I wouldn’t buy one of those because of the Union Jack pattern on the taillights’.

Well, for starters, and just to be pedantic, it’s the ‘Union Jack’ only when it is flown on ships; in all other circumstances, it simply is the Union flag.

That little lesson out of the way, I’m here to bring you good news. In the new MINI Countryman, there are selectable LED light patterns, so you can dispense with your post-colonial niggles, and make the rear of the car look whatever way you want.

I drove the Classic version — and the more powerful John Cooper Works model, of which more anon — in the Cotswolds in England earlier this week, and the first thing that struck me was the revamped interior. The gleaming jewel is the new LED infotainment screen, the first fully round screen in any car — as distinct from a rectangular display in a circular housing.

The image goes all the way to the edges, and it is a throwback to MINIs of old, with all the relevant information you need, including your speed, now on the centrally located display, leaving the space in front of the compact steering wheel more or less bare. In fact, the fascia is remarkably uncluttered, and covered in an attractive fabric, blue in this model, red and black in the JCW.

THE problem is that this takes a little getting used to, and also a little time to boot up. The technician loading my driving route, one that involved lots of waypoints that had to be linked, was apologetic, but it did take longer than I would have expected for it to settle in for the job at hand.

The cabin is roomy for passenger and driver, and the boot is a very decent size at 460 litres, but for adults, this really is a four-seater, not five. A child might be happy in the middle of the back row, but anyone taller and wider would feel a little compressed.

This C model delivers 168hp from a 1.5-litre, threecylinder, petrol and mild hybrid power plant, and that gives a 0-100kph time of 8.3 seconds, which is lively enough. The roads on which I was driving mostly were in bucolic countryside, passing through villages and towns with dreamy stone cottages, but not without their issues.

Many of the surfaces were uneven, and there were more potholes than I ever remember encountering anywhere in England in the past.

The car was a little uncomfortable on some stretches, feeling oddly skittish at times. There was nothing alarming to report, just the fact it became apparent that the legendary go-kart feel of the MINI drive was a bit too go-karty at times.

A fully electric version also is available, with prices there starting from €49,195 and WLTP range of 462km.

Later in the day, the skittishness proved to be far less obvious in the John Cooper Works version, which is a beast that delivered some of the best fun I’ve had behind a wheel for ages. This is a 2.0-litre petrol car, with a whopping 296hp on tap, and all-wheel drive, and it hits the ton from a standing start in 5.4 seconds.

Honestly, it’s a hoot, a scorcher that slaps a great big smile on your face that never leaves. The grip, even on those uneven surfaces, feels like the wheels have been coated in Pritt stick, and even the sharpest corner wouldn’t induce anything beyond a very mildly elevated heart rate.

In black, with a red roof, red side detailing and red wing mirrors, it looks terrific, and the only barrier I possibly can see to buying one is the price, which starts at €68,855. There’s nothing mini about that.

No matter which variant you choose — and there is a slew of trim levels in the petrol and electric ranges — the new MINI Countryman is a delight to look at, beefy and bold and with especially nice wheels. You can opt for a colour contrast roof, and choose from a range of colours that includes a couple new to the brand.

I do have slight reservations about the handling in the entry-level models. I totally get what they were aiming for in terms of sportiness, but even a prize fighter occasionally needs to pull his or her punches. For that reason, I definitely would be going for a 4WD version, especially if most of your driving, as mine was this week, is on rural roads.