New Mini Countryman review – For the tech-savvy enthusiast

The new Mini Countryman is a powerful and stylish package that’s sure to appeal to the tech-savvy consumer.

I spent a week behind the wheel of the mid-range S model, which was more than enough to sell me on the concept with its quirky design and upmarket presence.

Styling like no other

Compared to the Cooper hatchback, the Countryman has much more muscular proportions that help to give it a commanding presence out on the road.

I particularly liked the subtle gold accents on the grille surround and the front and rear bumper, bringing some flair to the grey-and-black two-tone colour scheme on our review model.

Adding to this are the Mini’s signature light designs, with circular LED daytime running lights for the front and the iconic Union Jack theme for the taillamps – all of which come together to create a very distinct profile.

On the S model, you’ll also get a red emblem on the black grille and All4 badges behind the rear doors to distinguish it from the base C grade.

The interior is where the Countryman really sets itself apart, however, as you’ll be greeted by a colourful arrangement with white leather seats, and recycled textile trim from orange to blue when moving from the rear to the front row.

The same blue textile can be found on a storage box in the centre console, and there are ambient lighting effects that change depending on your driving mode.

Another cool addition is the heated steering wheel, which is rather chunky with moulded inserts in the inside rim for you to rest your thumbs on.

Of course, the centre piece of any modern Mini is the central display, taking the form of a circular 9.4-inch OLED that functions as both the primary driver monitor and the infotainment screen.

The overall theme of the Mini’s interior reminded me a lot of the upmarket coffee shops you’d see in a trendy part of Cape Town or Sandton, which is something I quite liked.

On a more practical note, storage space is pretty good for what is still ostensibly a small car relative to other SUVs, as you have two decent cupholders, a storage box, a lower tray, a wireless charging pad, and a reasonable glove box.

The seats were decently comfortable if a little on the hard side, as it started to ache ever so slightly after spending more than an hour behind the wheel.

They do have electronic adjustability with memory settings which is great for multiple users, as well as a massage function which was greatly appreciated while sitting in traffic on the way to work.

Most functions are accessed through the touchscreen, but there is a little bar on the console which houses the hazard lights and a few other switches.

Interestingly, the Mini doesn’t have a conventional push-start button, but rather a permanent little ignition turn key which was fun to use.

The other buttons on the shortcut bar are used to quickly pull up the car’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and jump between the three driving modes – Eco, Core (Normal), and Go-Kart (Sport).

I found the ADAS settings were simple to use, unobtrusive in practice, and impressive to watch, as the adaptive cruise control can detect cars in the right-hand lane and match your speed automatically to prevent accidental undertakes.

This brings us to the user experience, which is satisfactory for the most part.

The presentation of the touchscreen is immaculate, with a clear resolution and a responsive user interface (UI) that has next to no input lag, and important info like your speed and fuel range are displayed at all times.

The layout of all the various widgets and data is very similar to that of a smartwatch, and it’s very easy to use on a day-to-day basis.

The Countryman also comes with onboard navigation, which works phenomenally well with an augmented reality function that works in tandem with the car’s camera.

Whenever the route is coming up on a turn, part of the screen will display the front camera along with a virtual arrow straight out of a Need for Speed game showing you exactly when and where to take the exit.

Additionally, the S features a heads-up display, which reduces the amount of time you spend looking at the dashboard instead of straight ahead.

On the other hand, having one screen trying to pull off so many different things at once does render the UI rather cluttered, which makes it harder to discern certain things at a glance.

While key elements are always on the outside of the circle, the main display can only show one thing at a time, which makes it a bit clunky to adjust different settings.

For example, the dual-zone climate control has digital shortcuts for temperature changes, but you’ll have to pull up the full screen to adjust the fan speed and direction.

Something else to mention is that, while Bluetooth worked perfectly, I was unable to connect to Android Auto, even though the app was displayed right next to the one for Apple CarPlay on the home screen.

Tapping the icon was met with zero response every time I tried, and attempting to use a cable with one of the car’s several USB ports didn’t register either, so I just relied on regular Bluetooth the whole week with the onboard navigation doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Happily, I could still play music on the Harman Kardon stereo, which was about as excellent as you could expect.

Backing up the Countryman’s stellar presentation is a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which produces a generous 150kW and 280Nm.

Acceleration is punchy regardless of the speed you are already travelling, and there’s a suitably boisterous sound from the exhaust whenever you put your foot down.

It’s obviously not on par with the John Cooper Works hot crossover, but the S still delivers a very enjoyable driving experience when you get an open stretch of tarmac.

The seven-speed automatic gearbox is very subtle most of the time, and the All4 four-wheel-drive system leads to superb handling while taking a corner.

To touch on the driving modes, Eco was the least impactful of the three, as it was still very easy for the revs to climb without much pressure on the throttle and I didn’t see a huge benefit to fuel consumption despite using it for all of my commutes to and from the office.

Core is obviously the default you’ll be using most of the time, but Go-Kart is easily the standout of the three, with a noticeable impact on the gearbox and throttle response.

When accelerating, Go-Kart will let the revs climb much higher before changing up, but it will also prevent the car from changing down too quickly as well, which can make the drive a bit jittery if you try to use it in a town setting.

The automaker claims the crossover has an average fuel consumption of 6.5l/100km, but I ended the week on 9.1l/100km despite spending five days of the seven days in Eco mode with the Stop/Start function for congestion.

Verdict

The Mini Countryman S is a vogue mini-SUV that has plenty of charm with decent performance to go along with it.

That being said, its sticker of R795,074 is quite high for its niche design, so it’ll likely come down to whether or not you are a personal fan of the contemporary Mini brand if you think it’s worth its asking price, or if you’d rather go with something like the Countryman’s sister car – the BMW X1.

Then again, the whole appeal of the Mini is its alternative vibe, and based on my experience, you will get plenty of smiles per mile from of the Countryman’s sleek exterior, fun interior, and vigorous performance.

Mini Countryman S