Mini Countryman is a big deal
New Countryman has given up any pretence of being small. It’s just a fun family SUV now, Damien O’Carroll reports.
espite protests from a certain group of purists that anything not tiny, cramped and uncomfortable is not a ‘proper’ Mini, the biggest new-generation model of them all, the Countryman SUV, has proven surprisingly popular. Popular among those who don’t care if it’s a proper Mini, because it’s a good one instead.
That is to say: a usable, practical Mini that looked good (okay, that is subjective, I realise), drove well and was still recognisably cute and fun: everything the less-practical hatch represented.
It has been so successful in this part of the world that it constantly battles it out with the three-door hatch to be the biggest selling Mini in the New Zealand market.
But while the current Countryman is a good Mini, it’s not a great one and it does have serious flaws.
Rear seat legroom isn’t as good as it should be, interior quality is patchy in places and it does look oddly proportioned.
But now there’s a new Countryman on the block and it has remedied those issues. How? By drastically improving the quality of the interior for a start. But also by – wait for it – becoming even bigger.
BMW has added an extra 200mm in length to the new Countryman, with 75mm of that in the wheelbase, meaning that the rear legroom problem is no longer a problem at all. In fact, several six-foot-plus individuals (including myself) sat in the back of the Cooper S All4 we drove on the launch with no complaints whatsoever. Luggage space is also up by 220 litres (rear seats down) over the previous model.
As well as improving the interior space, the size increase has helped with the Countryman’s external appearance. The extra length brings far better proportions to the small crossover, making it more like a tall Mini five-door, albeit with a tougher, squarer edge to it.
It’s not all great on the outside. We could do without the grumpy grille and the unnecessary chrome rings around the headlights.
Don’t think for a minute that Mini has toned down the retrogimmicky cheesiness on the inside just because the quality has been raised.
The large central circular screen that overstayed its welcome several generations of Mini ago still has pride of place, while the chromed toggle switches for everything, selectable mood lighting and stupid ignition switch are all still there as well.
The Cooper S (the only variant we were allowed to drive on the launch) is powered by the same 2.0-litre 141kW/280Nm fourcylinder petrol turbo engine as the Mini hatch and is a superbly eager and powerful little unit.
Smooth and refined when treated gently, it quickly becomes an angry, rorty little snarler – complete with wastegate chuffs and staccato machine gun rattles from the exhaust when pushed harder.
While it is bigger and taller than the hatch, the new Countryman still manages to convincingly channel that chuckable amiability of its smaller sibling on a winding road.
While the Countryman is sharp and responsive on the road, this does come at a small cost, namely the ride.
While not bad for a Mini, the firmer ride of they Countryman may put off some buyers coming from other brands of small SUV/ crossover. But that’s the Mini spirit for you.
But the Countryman sold as a small SUV/crossover, so can it is actually go off-road? Yes, it actually can, in All4 guise at least.
While the Countryman lacks anything in the way of a low ratio transmission or even electronic off-road modes, it is still more than capable of tackling the seriously muddy off-road track set up for us in the grounds of the historic Hedsor House, on the outskirts of London.
Not too deep, but extremely slushy, the track wasn’t a problem for the Countryman, but you wouldn’t want to go too much further off-road than that. Although for what the average Countryman buyer will require, it is more than capable enough.
BMW NZ is yet to finalise local pricing of the Countryman, but we would expect to see a small increase over the current model, mainly because the new Countryman is the first Mini to be offered here with an automatic transmission only.
The current model is $43,200 to $54,200.
The Countryman will come in two guises to start with: Cooper and Cooper S, with the latter having the option of Mini’s All4 4WD system.
While the Cooper S is powered by the 2.0-litre engine, the Cooper gets the excellent little 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that produces 100kW of power and 220Nm of torque.
Diesel variants are being considered for NZ, but nothing is decided at this stage.
What we will be getting later on this year, however, is the slightly improbable 170kW/350Nm John Cooper Works version of the Countryman, as well as the Cooper S E plug-in hybrid that shares its drivetrain with the BMW 225xe Active Tourer.
While many may decry the idea of a bigger Mini, the enlargement of the Countryman has freed up its ability to be more of a practical SUV/crossover.
It’s stopped worrying about being a ‘Mini’ for those who will never accept it as one anyway.
Usefully sized with actual rear legroom, the new Countryman is everything the last one was just a bit too scared to be.