Mini goes massive and daring with the brand new Countryman
- The largest Mini so far – the Countryman is all grown up in each sense
- John Cooper Works model delivers pace, sportiness and a few design firsts
Big information! The Mini is just not so mini anymore.
The new Countryman is ready to hit Britain’s roads inside months and would be the largest household automobile within the model’s line up.
The new mannequin actually does really feel maxi slightly than mini. Longer than a Nissan Qashqai, it is a compact SUV crossover that utilises each inch of versatile area.
This is the third era of the Countryman because the identify was revived in 2010, and follows sizzling on the heels of the daring new Cooper.
How does the most important Mini so far fare as a household SUV? Ray Massey’s been driving the brand new Countryman – the model’s daring compact automobile
The first of the automobiles we have pushed on the world launch occasion is the John Cooper Works pocket-rocket model with all-wheel drive.
With costs for the JCW kicking off at £40,425, it is fairly some huge cash for a sporty household runaround.
And there’s £5,200 in extras in our check automobile. Just the preliminary panoramic sunroof and privateness glass racks up £2,500 on high of the listing value.
Overall, the Countryman vary begins from £29,335 for the most affordable trim with a petroleum engine.
If you need to transfer throughout into electrical driving then you definitely’re £42,080 for the Countryman E, and a hefty £47,180 for the the range-topping electrical SE All4.
Riding on 20-inch wheels (a £600 additional as 19 inch is the usual), the Countryman John Cooper Works All4 definitely delivers enjoyable go-kart fashion driving thrills – as I discovered taking it round serpentine roads within the mountains close to Lisbon.
The John Cooper Works model begins at £40,425 which is lots for a household runaround however does the sporty drive make it price it?
Overall, the Countryman vary begins from £29,335 for the most affordable trim with a petroleum engine
Longer than the Nissan Qashqai, the brand new Countryman is a giant automobile from the model well-known for small automobiles
It’s quick on the straights due to the turbocharged, 300 horsepower, 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and seven-speed automated gearbox, with guide paddles for additional involvement.
Accelerating from 0 to 62mph takes 5.4 seconds, and the roaring out of the quad exhaust pipes as we carved my method by twisting valleys put a thrill into this household automobile.
Sports suspension comes as normal, decreasing the experience top and enhancing the dealing with, whereas the excessive efficiency braking system (with calipers in Chili Red) offers you all of the stopping energy you want.
Wider tyres noticeably helped improve the driving expertise and grip – tyre diameter has been elevated by 30mm and width to 245mm.
A revolutionary inside
But it is contained in the automobile that is most revolutionary.
This automobile has the primary round central digital show touchscreen in any Mini. And at 9.4 inches, it is dimension is in step with the remainder of the automobile.
Harking again to the unique Mini, there are additionally toggle switches beneath the show which is able to please the lovers of frequent sense buttons.
You can toggle by a alternative of eight totally different faces or ‘expertise modes’ to arrange your most well-liked ‘driving atmosphere’ – specifically designed backgrounds and sounds.
A projector on the again of the round show can bathe the dashboard in atmospheric color schemes and patterns related to the chosen setting.
By far the ‘Go-Kart’ setting is probably the most enjoyable – it highlights your pace and revs.
It additionally delivers a very sporty driving expertise by boosting the engine sounds within the cabin.
It’s supplemented with racing-inspired tones.
Other settings embody: Core, Green, Personal, Vibrant, a classically retro Timeless, Trail (if you happen to enterprise mildly off-road) and Balance.
While you are cruising alongside a small however useful head up show helps maintain your eyes on the highway forward as does the voice-activated assistant. Just say ‘Hey Mini’ and it’ll make it easier to with navigation, calling and leisure.
The sat-nav is the place some tweaks are wanted to the infotainment system: it is fairly a cluttered, and at instances complicated, arrange.
Passengers, in addition to having fun with the totally different ‘expertise modes’, will respect the leisure flexibility.
The rear row of seats might be adjusted in size by as much as 13 centimetres.
And with the rear seat folded down, the obtainable lugging area within the hatchback boot expands from 460 litres to 1,530 litres, permitting bulkier gadgets to be transported.
The inside of the Countryman is revolutionary with many ‘expertise modes’ to select from that change the atmosphere of the cabin – from color to sound
The massive new hit is the 9.4-inch round infotainment touchscreen – the primary of any Mini to have this
Safety first
It’s very protected – simply as you’d need from a household automobile.
There’s added reassurance from superior help methods which options 12 ultrasonic sensors and 4 surround-view cameras.
In the Driving Assistant Professional choice package deal, these allow a level of self-driving help from partially automated Level 2 driving.
The ‘assistant’ can detect gaps within the visitors when altering lanes or heading in the direction of an exit, and brings the automobile to the optimum pace for the assisted lane change.
Mini says: ‘For the primary time, drivers within the Mini Countryman can take their arms off the steering wheel on highway-like routes at speeds of as much as 60 km/h (37mph), offered they proceed to maintain an in depth eye on visitors and stay able to intervene at any time.’
The rear tail lights can illuminate in a alternative of patterns – from the UK’s Union Flag to a sequence impressed by Tetris
Mini have dedicated to creating this Countryman stand out from different compact SUVs and it definitely appears the half
It’s a handsome automobile.
In one other first the brand used on the brand new MINI JCW Countryman is within the traditional black, crimson, and white racing color scheme.
The entrance ‘face’ incorporates a newly designed octagonal grille in high-gloss black and a three-colour JCW brand. The contrasting roof is in motorsport-inspired Chili Red.
The crimson and black inside color scheme on the dashboard, alongside the door panels and on the JCW sports activities seats are a nod to MINI’s racing heritage.
And the dashboard is created from two-tone recycled polyester.
The rear tail lights may even illuminate in a alternative of patterns – from the UK’s Union Flag to a sequence impressed by Tetris.
This petrol-powered model was an important drive, however how does it evaluate to the electrical model? You’ll have to attend and see
I additionally drove the brand new all-electric model of the Countryman.
Although element and photos are already out, the driving impressions for that mannequin are embargoed till early subsequent month so a direct comparability is just not doable simply but.
The petrol-powered Countryman All4 John Cooper Works is definitely a zippy choice with zest. Great to drive.
But would I select it over a zero-emissions all-electric model?
Well, you may simply have to attend and see. That’s for one more day.
What’s within the identify? John Cooper Works
John Cooper, the person behind the identify that adorns sporty Minis right now
To youthful motorists, the identify John Cooper could also be not resonate as strongly as with motor sport fans of a sure classic.
But, introduced as much as the current day, it lives on to rejoice the pioneering motor sport glory days of the early authentic Mini within the swinging Sixties.
The authentic Mini Cooper appeared in 1961, when Formula One crew proprietor John Cooper bored out the usual Mini’s engine and fitted it with twin carburettors, disc brakes and a close-ratio gearbox.
But 60 years in the past, on 21 January 1964, the British pocket rocket achieved actually legendary standing when a Mini Cooper S pushed by the late Patrick ‘Paddy’ Hopkirk and co-driver Henry Liddon gained the Monte Carlo Rally for the primary time. The automobile proved a success on motor rallies, with the shopping for public, and with a era of younger kids shopping for die-cast Corgi toy variations of the successful Mini Cooper.
More wins – and controversy – adopted. Hopkirk’s Finnish team-mates Timo Mäkinen and Rauno Aaltonen added two extra Monte Carlo victories – in 1965 and 1967 – to the British car-maker’s trophy assortment.
But in 1966 when the ‘Three Musketeers’ – Mäkinen, Aaltonen and Hopkirk – crossed the road in that order to attain a clear sweep of the highest three positions, French race commissioners disqualify the trio, alleging disgracefully that the Minis’ lights didn’t conform with official laws. Amid widespread complaints of a ‘repair’, the French judges awarded the victory as an alternative to a Citroen.
This legendary racing explains why, when BMW launched the brand new twenty first century Mini in 2001, it additionally revived the Cooper badge.
Separately, the John Cooper Works firm was based, by John’s son Michael Cooper and with BMW’s blessing, as a tuning outfit for the brand new Mini. It meant the usual Mini guarantee was nonetheless legitimate. BMW purchased John Cooper Works In 2008 when it additionally launched the primary factory-built ‘JCW’ model of the automobile.
Last 12 months marked the sixtieth anniversary of the primary manufacturing Mini Cooper S and the seventy fifth anniversary of the Cooper Car firm.
John Cooper was awarded an OBE for his companies to British motorsport in 1990.
He died in December 2000, aged 77, however lives on because the identify behind sporty Mini fashions to the present day.
