Mini grows again

Second generation Countryman SUV gains some girth, but loses all-wheel drive

THE MINI Countryman, also known as the ‘ big Mini’, was launched in its all-new second generation form in South Africa last week. And guess what… it’s grown even bigger.

The high-riding five-door hatch is now 20cm longer, 3cm wider, 13mm higher and gets an extra 7.5cm between its axles so there’s more space for up to five passengers and 450 litres’ worth of luggage inside. Without getting into exact dimensions, picture a BMW X1, Mercedes GLA or Audi Q2 and you’ve pretty much got the gist of the new Countryman’s size, and some of its main rivals.

With a ground clearance of 165mm, it also rides a tad higher than the outgoing version, and that’s great for families who might partake in spots of weekend adventuring. But, bear in mind this ride height ranks relatively lowly in comparison to other crossover-type vehicles, and there’s no spare wheel (only runflat tyres) so by adven- turing we mean more Midland meander than Okavango swamps. Also, for this generation, there’s no longer an option for all-wheel drive in our market, so with front- wheel drive only this car’s limited to rough gravel and untarred bush lodge driveways as far as offroad ability goes.

I drove both engine derivatives - which I’ll talk about in a minute - at the KZN-based media launch, and was actually more impressed with how it felt on some of the area’s loose stone logging roads than I was on smooth tar. And that says a lot for a brand that still prides itself on the overplayed ‘go kart-like handling’ cliché. Continues on Page 3