I love Minis, writes Trish Whelan. They're fun, and they're funky. But my, how the latest version of the iconic Mini has grown from a bulldog to a mastiff!
With the Countryman it's a case of All Fours. The car is four metres long (the largest Mini ever), has four doors (with a large tailgate), four separate seats, and ALL4 4WD for soft off-roading which allows you park in a field for a sporting event, or even drive on the beach because of its larger wheels and extra ground clearance. This is the first time for Mini, owned by BMW, to offer a 4WD car in its 51 year history.
The Countryman crossover is also the fourth member of the Mini family following the hatch, convertible and Clubman.
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It will appeal to those who already love the brand but who want extra space in their car. Around 80 percent of sales come from customer new to the Mini brand.
My review car was the Cooper D ALL4 1598cc version of the Countryman, in Band B for annual road tax.
This biggest ever Mini still has that bulldog stance, but the bulldog has grown to a mastiff in size. The front is more upright while the flared wheel arches show the car's robust nature. It's a very tall car, with roof rails; some 398mm longer than the Mini hatch. And wider. While the car's size gives it a more unfriendly look than that of your ordinary Mini, some exterior colours were more user-friendly than others.
Mine looked absolutely super in a light white exterior, black roof, and with contrasting carbon black leather in the interior. It was priced at €28,980, with another €9445 for the interior leather spec. Options added another €3,580. These were in the Chili Pack of 17-inch 5-star double spoke alloys, a sports steering wheel, front sports seats, dark silver trim on the dash, front foglights, automatic air conditioning and an on-board computer. Runflat tyres were extra. The total cost of my test car came to €36,039 which makes this quite an expensive car.
Your driving position is so high that you have a marvellous view of the countryside. All four on board have great head and leg room, to even stretch in comfort. My car had two individual leather seats behind.
For the first time ever, a Mini has four wide-opening doors which make it easy to get in and out of.
All the switches and stuff is pure Mini. But maybe, it's time for some things to change. Here I'm talking about the trademark and simply enormous speedometer situated in the middle of the dash which I believe has outlived its purpose. It takes too long to look across to determine what speed you are doing. It's way too large and really just for show as your current speed is shown in big digital numbers on the trip computer anyway.
A mini centre rail runs from front to rear instead of a flat conventional centre console and this opens up new options for storage boxes, cupholders, mobile phones or whatever. You'll find a decently sized glovebox to store things. You use the joystick to select your menu items located in front of the handbrake.
The big tailgate opens wide offering easy access to the big boot space and you'd be surprised at what you can fit in! We actually won a photo competition at the car's launch thanks to a friendly shepherd who lifted one of his sheep up into the boot, and it seemed perfectly content with the arrangement. That day, we had driven the Countryman over a modest 4x4 course on the front field at Russborough House near Poulaphuca in Co Wicklow which included lots of bumpy hills. But it did demonstrate that the car is well capable of some rough stuff.
Boot space is good with 190 litres more luggage space than the hatch with the seats up and 1,170 with the rear seats folded flat. However, there was no spare wheel below the boot floor, just a sealant fix.
Out on the road with the Countryman don't expect the usual peppy drive that you'd expect from a Mini. Nevertheless, it's still an enjoyable drive with the six-speed gearbox well matched to the engine.
The car does the 0-100km/h dash in 12.9 seconds which isn't all that quick. Following my lengthy time with the car, the trip computer registered 6.1 L/100kms which is not as frugal as the official 4.9 figure.
Being such a tall car, expect some cross wind problems on open stretches of road.
The Countryman was awarded a maximum five stars in Euro NCAP crash tests, with maximum points for occupant protection in a side-on collision, and optimum safety also for infant protection. It has as standard, six airbags, three-point seatbelts and ISOFIX child seat anchors in the rear; Dynamic Stability Control including ABS, EBD, Cornering Brake Control, Brake Assist and Hill Assist, and a runflat indicator. My car also had Bluetooth connectivity and remote audio controls.
The Countryman range includes three petrol and two diesel models as well as the two ALL4 AWD models - this review car and the Cooper S ALL4. Petrols are the 1.6 powertrains.
Countryman comes with 16-inch wheels on One and Cooper, and in 11 exterior colours and eight interior trims.
As with some other cars with large doors, do watch out for the pointed edges of the high doors when getting in or out. It can be quite a painful encounter as I discovered!
Demand for crossovers has grown hugely in recent years as drivers want a normal saloon-like driving experience with a soft off-road ability, and bigger interior room. Countryman fits that bill.
