MANILA, Philippines—The MINI represents all that is good, fun and enjoyable about cars and motoring: carefree yet economical, compact yet highly competent, accomplished and polished. It’s a brand with some very carefully balanced values that appeal to both the most manic of canyon carvers, and to tree-huggers alike thanks to its small overall carbon-footprint. There’s so much good memories, goodwill, history, legacy, tradition and even relevance to the MINI, at the time of the original Issigonis creation in the 60’s oil crisis, is attached to the nameplate. Screwing up is just not an option. Timely nowadays considering gas prices are again at an all-time high, and the country itself is reaping its treasure trove of culture, tradition and natural beauty to tourists.
So what happens when its creators decide to make a 4-door, crossover SUV variant of one of the most iconic cars ever made? Cynics will quickly argue that it is simply parent BMW’s greed that dictated the Countryman. But after spending the better part of the afternoon, I am convinced MINI has a winner.
First the looks: the Countryman is one of those cars better seen in the flesh rather than in 2D. Pictures won’t capture the overall visual impact. At first glance, it looks like a caricature of a MINI hatchback 3-door: exaggerated, oversized, comical, cartoonish, even the adjective FAT comes to mind, and all the round, circular vents and instrumentation don’t exactly help its cause. But quickly enough, you warm to the new shape and size, the familiar MINI design cues bringing back warm, fond memories of the original. Round and circular doesn’t mean fat, it means anti-square! Definitely not a car for boring people!
Inside, aside from the tall driving position and the larger headroom, everything else is how MINI and God deemed for them to be: tach in the middle, feelsome 3-spoke steering wheel, the large multi-function display and speedometer in the center console, and all the cool Brittania subtlety of a Paul Smith suit.
It’s a strict four-seater, with four bucket seats and a large central spine which looks to be both a design element as well as a structural component going fore and aft of the cabin. It seems to hold most commonly sized mobile phones, a small digicam and an iPOD/MP3 player. Whatever it is, it helps define the mood. You’re definitely not going to think you’re anywhere else than inside a MINI!
Yet leg- and knee-room is excellent, and the driver is still blessed with one of the best ever seating positions in the business: low enough for that stable composure under duress, yet tall enough to see 5-7 cars ahead of you so you can kamikaze your way through traffic the way a MINI intends for you to do so.
Thankfully as well, driving the Countryman is exactly how a MINI should drive: fast, hyper-active, quick on its feet and very responsive. The tactility, progressiveness and linearity of the brake pedal and throttle are amazing, the steering is quick, responsive, accurate and very very communicative while filtering out just enough harshness to provide a stress-free, yet slightly on the edge driving experience. I stress the steering because not all cars have these characteristics in their steering feel. Only a handful of cars do so, and these cost many times more than a MINI. These MINI DNA are crucial in defining its overall sporty and playful feel, and thankfully MINI was able to keep these values when evolving from hatchback b-road performer to cross-over dirt-road stormer.
On smooth a-roads and highways, the MINI Countryman loses absolutely nothing to the hatchback and Clubman variants. On poorly surfaced, pothole-ridden and pock-marked roads, the advantage goes to the Countryman thanks to its taller ride height and longer suspension travel: on the hatch and Clubman, you can get thrown off the road thanks to bottoming out the low suspension but the Countryman demolishes the imperfections as it smoothens out the road just enough for all four driven 17’ wheels and Pirelli Cinturato all-season performance tires to maintain traction and propel you forward, faster than ever.
On a nice flowing dirt road, the hatch and Clubman will never see which way the Countryman went. It loses ground to its smaller and lower kin on b-roads and on the track where the tall ride-height and tires will lose their composure sooner but you don’t exactly take your cross-over SUV to the track anyway. At the beautiful walled city of Intramuros, lovers litter the battlements for a romantic scene. The MINI’s free spirit feels at home within the walls of the old city as much it is at home on the open road, exploring a new trail or discovering new destinations. The MINI would be a perfect car to take all the way to Pagudpud up north or CamSur down south as its tall ride height and b-road abilities make it a most suitable companion without worrying about rough roads.
The powertrain is still the same 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine with dohc and 16-vales, plus an intercooled twinscroll turbocharger producing 184hp and 240newton-meters of torque. Attached is either a 6-speed manual or the excellent 6-speed automatic with Steptronic sequential manual override control, actuated by either tugging on the gearshift lever on a parallel gate to the DRIVE position, or by steering wheel mounted buttons on either side of the airbag equipped steering hub. You can order the Countryman in either AWD ALL 4 trim or a more basic FWD version which should offer more manic acceleration thanks to less weight and drivetrain losses. Interestingly enough, the Countryman is the first MINI to be produced outside of England, assembled by Magna Steyr in Austria.
All the safety essentials are included as well such as multiple front and side airbags and a curtain airbag from the A-pillar all the way to the C-pillar are standard, helping the Countryman receive a 5-Star Euro NCAP crash rating. ABS-EBD brakes with brake assist and cornering brake control are standard plus dynamic stability and traction control. Do these devices make driving the Countryman less fun? Definitely not, in fact it adds a layer of safety for hooligan driving, which any MINI, fortunately or unfortunately, inspires its drivers to do so.
For 2011, MINI will be contesting the World Rally Championship with the MINI Countryman WRC, in partnership with PRODRIVE, a household name in motorsport around the world. Timely, as the new MINI WRC contender comes at a time when rule changes to the series fit the MINI Countryman to a T.
At a shade over P3 million for the Countryman S ALL 4 variant, and around P 2.8 million for the FWD Countryman S, it’s not cheap, and until you drive it, it’s hard to say it’s worth every penny. But it is, trust me on that one! Some critics say the Countryman looks fat. I say it looks pretty PHAT: Pretty hot and tempting.
Check out the MINI Countryman at this week’s Manila International Auto Show.