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 of the problem lies in the curious package on offer. This car is 4097mm long – on a par with your typical supermini – so its boot is just 350 litres. Which makes life difficult for photographer Fagelson with his myriad boxes, rigs, bags and lengths of scaffolding. They call it the first four-seater Mini, and they're right: space is plentiful in the back seats, but the flipside is that the boot is slightly pathetic. Wouldn't you just buy a Golf estate or Panda 4x4, depending on your priorities of passengering and mud-slinging?
CAR’s long-term test Mini Countryman is an All4 equipped diesel Cooper and seems over-specced with 4wd. The basic FWD Mini hatches only struggle for traction in JCW form, so why should this chunky derv model need all-corner drive? Marketing waffle, I suspect (unless you live in hilly/snowy climes, accepted).
Still, you could level much of the above at the Mini 4x4's competitors. I drove CAR's Skoda Yeti more than most and came to love it. How so? The 300-litre boot felt more accommodating despite the figures and the Skoda's cabin was more premium too – I'm increasingly finding the Countryman's cockpit places cool over can-do. It's an ergonomic mess: you never look at the massive central speedo, whose ‘epicyclic’ needle helpfully obscures your speed and minor buttons are scattered everywhere.
The Countryman's not a complete disaster zone. Once you set off, you quickly realise they've kept the Mini zest intact. The steering is pointy and keen, making the Countryman an athletic partner, and while the ride is fidgety on urban bumps, it settles down nicely at higher speeds when you've snuck that trad Mini gearbox up to sixth. I suspect in petrol guise, or wanton Cooper S spec, the Countryman would drive phenomenally, whereas the diesel feels sporty but never quite delivers the thrills suggested by the chassis.
It's a curious beast, our Countryman. Wannabe hot hatch, yet with a 1.6 diesel that struggles to feel pacey with all that extra heft. The more practical Mini whose boot will struggle to match the load capacity of many small estates. And a poser's interior where the mask is just beginning to slip. I love most of the new Mini generation , but reckon the Countryman might not have quite hit the spot.
<source> carmagazine.co.uk
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