The New MINI Countryman

All Grown Up

On a recent week-long video shoot in Cape Town, one of our review vehicles would be the new Mini Countryman. It would be the first time that I’d set eyes on the new car and I was pleasantly surprised.

Admittedly I wasn’t too thrilled to be driving the Countryman as we would be sampling a host of expensive sports cars, and I felt that I had been relegated to a lesser vehicle while my colleagues got to have all the fun – oh, how wrong I was!

Day 1

The new Countryman easily swallowed all our filming equipment and suitcases in a boot that boasts a loading capacity of 450 litres with the rear seats up, and over 1000 litres with them down. The new version is longer and wider than the previous incarnation and it shows in the roomy interior.

On our first day, the first video shoot featured a large German saloon with a massive twin-turbo V8 that would seemingly have overshadowed the Countryman, had it not been for the Mini’s nimble footing on the twisty mountain roads. The off-beat burble of its 1.5-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine ensured that the Mini wasn’t entirely out of place with the bigger-engined brute, and happily chugged along, trailing the larger sedan without losing ground, like the little locomotive that could.

Day 2

Day two saw us drive halfway across Cape Town to pick up our celebrity guest.

Although he was quite taken with the V8 monster from the day before, he seemed rather impressed with the styling on the Countryman.

White leather heated seats made the drive back rather enjoyable as the temperature dropped. Our guest also seemed very interested in the central command system based on BMW’s iDrive. The endless customizing options presented on the centrally mounted screen also fascinated him. The optional auto tailgate made loading and unloading equipment a breeze, and proved a useful feature on the third day of filming.

Day 3

We once again found ourselves along a scenic stretch of road where the ocean and mountains meet, and by this time I was growing attached to my little, low-to- the-ground SUV-rocket. We were met along the road by another large luxury sedan -  from Sweden, this time.

Even though the joining party was flush with tech and as luxurious as an ocean liner I was very happy to spend time in the Countryman, as I felt the interiors were almost on par - both vehicles were specced with light leather interiors, packed up to the wing-mirrors with tech, and both offer high levels of comfort.

I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple passes of the twisty coastal road, as the Countryman was thrown into a corner on more than one occasion. Sport mode with ‘maximum go-kart feel’ lived up to its promise, and on more than one occasion I saw a Swedish dot in my rearview mirror.

Day 4

Day four saw a chilly sunrise and the Mini making friends with an Italian supermodel-SUV. Not to be intimidated, the Countryman simply rolled open its panoramic sunroof, switched on those heated seats and set off for the mountains.

It was quite a sight to see these two vehicles playing together, rather like a Great Dane cavorting with a Schnauzer. Although outmatched in size and strength, the superior handling and nippy motor ensured that the larger lumbering beast couldn’t always keep up with the Countryman on the twisty bits.

On the straight sections, the Countryman’s 100kW simply couldn’t stay with the monster SUV, but once the corners came up the Mini was right back on its rear bumper. Once at the top of the pass and in the near-freezing conditions, the Countryman, much like a tough mountain goat, seemed very much at home.

Verdict

The new Countryman is bigger and more spacious than any of its predecessors, and as such, finds itself amongst stiff competition in the small SUV-segment. It does not carry itself as an SUV though, more like a multi-functional hatch. And while it doesn’t have the ground clearance of others in its class, it does offer more in the way of performance, technology and interior comforts. It does carry a fairly decent price tag but the options list might be a problem.

The Countryman has graduated from the junior table and now finds itself with the big boys. I think its fair to say that even though it carries itself as it does, it still wants to play with its food.

The Countryman is all grown up but doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s why I have no doubts that I had the most fun in Cape Town behind the wheel.

MINI Cooper Countryman auto: R442,052