MINI COUNTRYMAN (2010-2016)

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By Jonathan Crouch

Models Covered

5dr SUV (1.6 petrol/2.0 diesel [One/ Cooper / Cooper S/ Cooper SD/ JCW])

Introduction

With decent room for four and a good boot, the first generation MINI Countryman opened the possibility of MINI ownership up to buyers who found the smaller models in the range too impractical. It especially targeted buyers thinking of Qashqai-class SUV-style Crossover models, bringing them more performance, sharper handling and all the cute retro design cues that have underpinned this brand’s success. Let’s check this model out as a used car buy.

The History

Back in the late Sixties, Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the original British Mini, was faced with a rather difficult task. His little city runabout was a huge success, driven and loved by everyone from Peter Sellers to the Beatles, but beyond it, there was little for family owners to move on to. What was needed was a five-door, four-metre-long sister model that still kept much of the Mini’s cleverness. And the result was the Austin Maxi. Forty years on, BMW, by then the owner of the MINI marque, found itself faced with a similar issue. Their new turn of the century MINI Hatch was a hit but it couldn’t offer five proper doors or decent space for rear passengers or luggage. Hence the need for this model, a MINI that could - the Countryman.

At the time of the original version’s 2010 launch, never had anything badged ‘MINI’ ventured to such a size – or boasted anything like this car’s level of five-door practicality. Fully 37cms longer, 10cm wider and 15cm taller than a standard three-door version, this was easily the biggest model the brand had ever built. Its name is borrowed from the old Austin designation for estate cars in times past, models with quaint wood adornment on their rear ends. But this was no Countryman for old men, appealing instead to the youthful, vibrant Crossover market, full of Qashqai-class cars that mixed design ideas from ordinary family hatchbacks and 4x4s to produce practical on-road transport with a dash of off-road ruggedness thrown in. The MK1 model Countryman was mildly updated in 2015, then replaced early in 2017 by a larger second generation version.

What To Look For

Generally, the MINI Countryman owners we came across in our buyers’ survey were pretty satisfied but inevitably, we did come across a few issues. There are various reports of dashboard creaks over bumps, so look out for that on your testdrive, along with the annoying buzzing sound from the doors that one owner we found had to endure. There have been reports of heavy clutch wear on ‘ALL4’ 4WD models, though that’s not such an issue on post-2012 models, which had a more durable clutch assembly.

The outside chrome trim apparently has a tendency to peel on the belt line and there have been reports of surface rust taking hold on some components, specifically the water pump and the wheel nuts. Plus corrosion has been reported on the optional two-tone alloy wheels. Finally, we came across a couple of owners who reported that the interior reading lights had a mind of their own, switching on when the car was locked.

On The Road

This car’s price and size suggest it to be a more grown-up thing than any ordinary MINI, safer, more spacious and able to cover longer distances. So does driving a Countryman feel like driving a MINI? First impressions are that it does. You get remarkably quick steering which immediately gives the car a keener feeling than you’d get in the kind of rival Golf-sized hatch or Crossover model you could buy for similar money.

Few other small Crossovers would dare come equipped with as much as 184bhp, the output offered in the pokey 1.6-litre petrol Cooper S version which can sprint to sixty in as little as 7.6s on the way to 134mph. This variant, along with the mainstream diesel option, a 112bhp BMW-sourced 1.6, can be had with either front wheel drive or MNI’s ‘ALL4’ 4WD system. This is one of those smart systems able to automatically vary the power distribution between the front and rear axles according to the grip available. Usually, the torque will be split 50/50 front-to-rear, but should conditions get slippery, up to 100% of the power will be automatically directly towards the most appropriate axle. No fiddly knobs or buttons to press: the car will decide what to do and how to do it all on its own.

Most Countryman owners of course, won’t want to have to afford niceties like powerful engines, auto gearboxes and 4WD. And for them, BMW provided another batch of 1.6s, an entry-level 98bhp petrol unit, also available to Cooper buyers with 122bhp, plus an 90bhp diesel. Don’t expect any performance fireworks from these, but most will feel a rest to sixty time of between 12 to 13s on the way to a maximum of around 107mph is quite as fast as they will want to go in a car of this kind.

Overall

Here is a MINI – but not as you might know it. But then, if it was conventionally sized, this Countryman wouldn’t be able to keep existing MINI people loyal when they out-grew their city runabouts and shopping rockets. Nor would it tempt in buyers new to the brand. Customers liking the vibrant SUV-inspired Crossover concept, but wanting it with a little more tarmac sparkle.

This Countryman has done both these things, though at the cost of British style and build. It’s as suited to the urban jungle as a Land Rover is to the Amazon. It’s a car created for the times we live in. And a Country you could be proud of.