Runabout Race car

Mini's most major machine gets the mega treatment. The John Cooper Works Countryman (JCW) ALL4 is not just the only internal combustion engine (ICE) JCW on sale in India; it is also the most powerful ICE car Mini has ever made. We find out how it is to drive

- Story: Abhisu Poddar Photography: Sanjay Raikar

JOHN COOPER WORKS.

THREE WORDS that are enough to set any hot-hatch connoisseur's heart on fire. As a lover of all cars small and fierce, Mini has forever been one of those brands that stirs me emotionally - you don't buy a Mini because it is the fastest car, you buy it because no other car can move you as much. Something about its dainty, cubic silhouette, adorable looks, rich pedigree, and the feral heart and handling makes it stand out every time—and the John Cooper Works (JCW) treatment just dials the aggression up to 11.

Mini India's portfolio has been quite dry lately, with the model lineup being limited to just the Cooper hatchback (S and E) and the Countryman E SUV, with no John Cooper Works editions for either cars in sight... until now. Out of the blue, Mini decided to bring in the Countryman John Cooper Works ALL4 to Indian shores, and one sunny Tuesday morning we found ourselves circling around the car at the Buddh International Circuit, waiting for our turn at the seat of the most powerful internal-combustion Mini ever made.

Purists will never miss the opportunity to brandish their pitchforks over how the newer generation of Minis have betrayed Sir Alec Issigonis' kart-size philosophy, and nothing bolsters their case like the Countryman. Codenamed U25, the third-generation Mini Countryman shares BMW's UKL2 platform with the BMW X1—meaning that the “SUV” measures 4,447-mm long, 1,843-mm wide, and 1,645-mm high, with a wheelbase of 2,692-mm. To put that into perspective, it's just a smidge smaller than the Volkswagen Tiguan!