20 January 2010 - 11:00
Not so Mini now
The long-anticipated Mini SUV is here, and it is called the Countryman.
Revealed today ahead of its September launch in the UK, the Countryman looks like... well, a slightly bigger Mini.
See more Mini Countryman pics
It's the first Mini to get four doors, and the first to get four-wheel drive, albeit an option: standard Countrymen (which, surely, must be the plural) remain front-wheel drive.
The ‘ALL4' all-wheel-drive system - only available on the Cooper S and Cooper D - normally splits torque 50-50 between front and rear wheels, but can bung it all to the rears if things get slippery.
Even so, the Countryman seems to be resolutely road-focused: you can, armed with a sufficiently deep wallet, spec your Mini SUV with lowered sports suspension, 19-inch alloys and the range-topping 134kW 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine from the Cooper S.
The Countryman comes with four seats as standard, though the two individual rear chairs can be replaced with a three-seat bench at no cost. Running the length of the interior is a centre rail that Mini calls the, er, Center Rail, to which you can clip an array of moveable storage boxes, allowing you to misplace your mobile phone for days at a time.
The Countryman also gets a hefty raft of green measures including stop-start technology and brake energy regeneration.
No word on local pricing yet, but expect it to be mildly prohibitive.
So you've read the spiel and had a good look through the pictures. Go on then: what do you think of the biggest Mini ever?
Want to comment on this?
I have a feeling this car will be just as pointless as the BMW X6. What are the Germans doing to this brand???
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Countryman? What a misnomer. Grossly overpriced, thirsty, no spare. You won't see them in the bush; in fact they will rarely be seen outside their real home, Sth Yarra or Double Bay. This is purely a fashion statement for the CUBs (cashed up bogans).
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JonOrme.com commented on this article
at 02:34 am on 21 January 2010
This super-sized Mini was perhaps always on the cards. I initially really like it, plus it's got 4 doors, on both sides of the car! I just emigrated to Australia from the UK and had to sell my Cooper Clubman, with its mental suicide door that secretly no one liked. Having been hanging out in South Yarra, for a while, I think it won't be long until we see Countrymans swanning around to be 'seen' on Chapel Street. Maybe this is the Mini equivalent of the Range Rover Sport, which means its very Cheshire-esque back in the UK and more of a status symbol for people bored of their BMW X5 or X3. Having said that I still think it looks suitably funky and original. More please Mini!
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