2017 Mini Cooper S Countryman Review | An Icon On The Outside With A Thoughtfully Modern Twist
With shiny red duco and a bold white contrasting roof, the Mini you see before you lives up to the stereotype - except for one thing, the size of it. This is the biggest car ever to wear a Mini badge.
That’s because the Mini Countryman has grown in size to be a better fit for modern families. It’s still small for an SUV but big for a Mini. More importantly though, with the iconic Cooper S badge on its tailgate, the Countryman is a lot of fun to drive.
Is that a happy compromise? Mini devotees may recoil in shock, but for a growing group of buyers that want individuality combined with practicality in a package that still suits narrow city streets the Mini Countryman covers all bases with fun-to-drive dynamics thrown in as well.
Vehicle Style: Small SUV
Price: $46,500 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans:141kW/280Nm 2.0-litre turbo petrol | 8sp automatic
Fuel Economy Claimed: 6.5 l/100km | Tested: 8.8 l/100km
OVERVIEW
With a four-model range, the Countryman lineup should suit most tastes. There’s entry-grade Cooper and Cooper D variants with petrol and diesel engines respectively, or the Cooper S tested here, priced from $46,500 plus on-road costs, with a more powerful turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, eight-speed automatic, and front wheel drive.
Those that have a need for all-wheel drive will need to look to the Cooper SD as the only variant in the range with all-paw traction, but after a week behind the wheel of the Cooper S it's hard to see why you’d need to, unless your home base is in the middle of the Snowy Mountains.