Mini Cooper S Countryman All4 - Short Review
We just got ourselves a new Mini, the Mini Cooper S Countryman All4.
While I never was a particular Mini fan and we actually got this car as some sort of city family mover, the Countryman is slightly different. Not really a beauty but if you look closer at it, you will start to like how it looks. My wife actually likes it's looks more than the one of our former Cooper S JCW.
First, the new Countryman is not really a Mini anymore. There is nothing "mini" about this car.
The design is not really beautiful but it is actually in the spirit of the Mini brand, which is a good thing. I would call the Countryman the Mini SUV but I'm not sure that the designers or even the manufacturer likes this.
The Mini Countryman is huge, you need to see it in person. The designers actually did a great thing by keeping the Mini design in a, in my opinion, crossover SUV.
Very big is the interior of the Mini Countryman, you can easily and most comfortably fit four adults into this car, no problem at all. There is even a third rear seat option, which may not be comfortable for three adults but a small kid would snuggly fit in between two adults.
There isn't a large trunk but you can order a large (optional) compartment below the trunk bottom. If you don't need the rear seats, you can fold them back and the result is a huge trunk for almost everything you wish to transport.
For the driver, the seating position is very SUV-like and especially women should feel very comfortable with the additional safety feel of a "higher" car.
Our car is equipped with the optional sport chassis and while it lowers the car by approximately one centimeter, it really improved the handling of this "mini"-SUV. The Countryman is still high enough for those harsh winters with lots of snow on the streets.
Since it is our city family commuter, I ordered it with automatic transmission. The 6-speed auto tranny works well, I also highly recommend ordering the so called "Sport" button, which improves throttle response and shifting times. It makes the Countryman much more enjoyable.
Speaking of enjoyable: The steering feel is very Mini-like and not SUV-like at all. Huge and positive surprise. Those who never owned a Mini, will love the direct steering feel, it really is fun. This may also have to do with the light weight of the Countryman, it weights only as much as a 997 Carrera S but still almost 200 kg more than the ordinary Mini.
The AWD doesn't add too much to the additional weight but apparently the new body/chassis and size does.
While the weight isn't excessive for a small crossover SUV, it is way too much for the 184 hp turbo charged engine. This engine feels great and very spontaneous in the regular Mini Cooper S but pretty much helpless in the Countryman. The additional 200 kg take it's tribute and while the high torque of the turbo engine is fun in the lower and mid rev range, the Cooper S Countryman All4 is no sports car. 0-100 kph in 8.3 seconds...it sounds fast but in reality, it is pretty lame and unfortunately it feels that way. When you fully accelerate, the engine feels stressed and the car feels heavy. So while the engine is fun to drive at lower and mid ranged rev figures, especially in the city, it becomes very very annoying on the Autobahn, especially at speeds over 160 kph.
Another problem seems to be throttle response: Even with the "Sport" button pressed, from standstill, the Mini Cooper S Countryman All4 sucks. No matter how you do it (kickdown, thrrottle fully pressed, 3/4 pressed), from standstill, the Cooper S Countryman All4 shows a one second lag until it actually takes off. Very annoying. Throttle response is just fine when driving, especially with the "Sport" button active but from standstill, it is just not acceptable.
Maybe Mini wanted to protect the drivetrain from the huge torque at lower rev figures, I don't know why but from standstill, the Mini Cooper S Countryman All4 sucks. I will complaint about this at my Mini dealer but I'm not sure Mini will change anything. There seems to be a reason for the lag. A real shame, tainting the otherwise almost perfect fun experience with this car.
The brakes however are great and apparently good enough for this heavy Mini, ride comfort (sport chassis) is acceptable and slightly more comfortable than on our former Mini Cooper S.
Fuel consumption is another slightly annoying thing: While this isn't really much, it is still surprising for such a small car. 13.5 liters / 100 km...the automatic tranny could be blamed but this is really a lot. I have to confess that I love to drive fast and I usually don't care about fuel consumption but 13.5 liters / 100 km for a Mini ? I don't know.
Initially, we were considering the SD Diesel model with over 140 hp but it is one second slower from 0-100 kph, even slower in the higher speed range and I'm not really a Diesel fan. However, a friend who tested the Diesel version with auto tranny, had a Diesel consumption of merely 9 liters / 100 km. Huge difference.
What can I say ? I have mixed feelings about the Mini Cooper S Countryman All4. While it is a really nice crossover SUV with lots of interior space and the very same Mini steering feel people love so much on Mini cars, the engine just doesn't cut it. At 200 kg more weight, the Countryman would have deserved more powerful engines.
Mini should have offered at least 220 hp on the Cooper S Countryman All4, to cope a little bit for the additional weight. The weak engine, the huge torque is only fun in the lower and mid rev range, takes away a lot of the fun from this car.
Verdict: The Mini Cooper S Countryman S All4 is a wonderful addition to the Mini family, a true Mini SUV (if something likes this is even possible) with lots of interior space, the ideal second car for a small family or the ideal car for your kid(s), if you want to play it safe. For grown-ups and sports car buffs like me, Mini needs to add a decent engine and a much better throttle response from standstill.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S Countryman All4