The New Mini Countryman

With improved practicality and quality, is the 2nd-gen Countryman as much fun to drive? We headed to the launch to find out.

- Martyn Collins

Possibly the most controversial car since BMW took control of the MINI brand and the first R50 hatches were launched back in 2001, the first-generation Countryman five-door appeared back in 2009.

Maybe it was the MINI design cues stretched over bloated sports activity vehicle (SAV) dimensions, or maybe it was because the iconic brand had no history here, but either way putting a winged MINI badge on this big car almost felt like a disrespectful dance on Alec Issigonis’s grave.

However, it didn’t stop the firstgeneration Countryman becoming a hit and the second best-selling MINI in the UK. The Countryman even took top sales spot from the hatch in the North American market. With its wide range of petrol, diesel and even high-performance John Cooper Works (JCW) versions finding favour, a total of 79,000 went home with buyers over the last seven years.

So now it’s the start of a New Year and for MINI, it’s the birth of a new Countryman. Modern MINI was lucky enough to get an early drive of the new SAV when we went to its International launch.

Like the Clubman before it, the only thing ‘mini’ about the Countryman is the badges as the dimensions have grown – this new MINI is 7.5cm longer and 3cm wider. In fact, the Countryman snatches the Clubman’s short-held title of ‘biggest MINI’, being so much bigger and wider that it has jumped a sector, now going up against rivals such as Audi’s quirky Q2 and the less premium but massively popular Nissan Qashqai.

According to MINI, the last Countryman had the highest loyalty rate in the range, with over 60% of buyers choosing another. So despite the extra width and length (most noticeable in the rear three-quarters of this car), key design features from the original R60 Countryman remain in order to avoid scaring off these key buyers, such as the floating roof and long bonnet.