Mini Countryman Cooper

Build quality is a term beloved of automotive journalists. The problem is it's a broad term, easily applied to everything from the thunk of a German door shutting to the flimsiness of a French front wing. There you go - I've gone and done it again. Fallen into the usual stereotyping of nationalities' automotive products. Which brings me to my Mini...

An unexciting exterior:Countryman

Has a Mini ever left the factory with no options or upgrades? Parked down my street is a rare example of a bog standard Mini One: solid red paint with black plastic wing mirrors and steel wheels. The owner is a wise man – he got a great car for £12k – but it goes against the whole brand ethos. Picking your bells and whistles is a part of the Mini...

Breaking the Countryman duck

Hadn't driven the Countryman before, so arranged a swap with keeper Mark Fagelson. It's a curious beast: all standing on tiptoes, familiar Mini motifs stretched into alien shapes, not all of them pleasant. I tried to cast aside much of the hate campaign, I really did. But it was still difficult to approach the Countryman with total neutrality. Part...

to our new Mini Countryman in 2011 year

hen my new long-term test car turned up on the Fagelson household’s doorstep I had yet to see a Mini Countryman at close quarters. Yes, I’d viewed the early press shots with curiosity, and even briefly caught sight of one on the road, but I really didn’t know what to expect. In photographs it's difficult to judge the scale of the thing: would it be...

prices and revised 9-5 range :Saab 9-5 Sportwagon (2011)

Saab has seemingly rushed through a series of upgrades to the 9-5 range just 11 months after going on sale. The UK launch was marred by indifferent reviews in many quarters and the company hopes the latest revisions will give the new 9-5 more of an edge. Saab also today announced UK pricing for its new 9-5 Sportwagon estate, and a range of revisions...

first official pictures-Toyota Yaris (2011)

Toyota has issued these first pictures of its new Yaris supermini. It's the third-generation Toyota Yaris and seems to mix some of the Vauxhall Corsa creases with the proportions of a Renault Clio. It's a pert, very Euro piece of design, neatly incorporating the latest Toyota motifs - and you can judge for yourself when it goes on sale here in summer...