What's the news?
We said it was coming when we brought you that sneak peek at the first-ever plug-in hybrid MINI the other day, but here is confirmation of the all-new Countryman crossover - that makes it the fifth body style introduced for the third-generation MINI, albeit this is only the second iteration of the Countryman.
Exterior
The current Clubman six-door estate held the title of 'Biggest MINI Ever' for a brief while, but this Countryman has wrested it back by dint of being relatively colossal for a MINI. That's because it is fully 200mm longer than its predecessor (which, before the MkII Clubman arrived, was the largest MINI... are you keeping up?), as well as 30mm wider and with a wheelbase stretched by 75mm. You'll notice that while it has some of the same hallmarks of the old car - like that dropped roofline aft of the C-pillar and a set of roof rails - it's quite a bit different to its precursor, courtesy of a chunky black front bumper, squared-off headlight clusters and really big rear lamp clusters. New colours for the body include Island Blue metallic and Chestnut (this is very, very brown), and take a note of the arrow-shaped side indicator housings; more on those later.
Interior
All that exterior growth means MINI is claiming this new Countryman is a 'fully-fledged' five-seater, rather than a '4+1' masquerading as a full-sized machine. But hold your horses, as there are another two seats available on the Picnic Bench, which folds down from the tailgate. Nifty. Anyway, returning to the regular seating, the back chairs can all slide forwards and backwards by up to 130mm, their backrests split 40:20:40 and behind them is a boot that starts at 450 litres and rises to 1,309 litres - in that instance, it's fully 220 litres more capacious than the old Countryman.
The new Countryman will come with an automated tailgate as an option, too, which can even be opened and closed in contactless fashion, while the high-quality interior features a strong horizontal design that's specific to the Countryman. Expect the usual massive array of personalisation options and 'additional-extra' toys, with the new stuff mainly centring on an 8.8-inch display in the MINI's centre dash ring that's now a touchscreen for the first time. MINI Connected infotainment and plenty of driver assist safety features round out the techy items.
Mechanicals
Let's get the four-wheel drive stuff out of the way first: the latest generation of MINI's ALL4 system is available on all models, but as an option. Otherwise, your Countryman is as front-wheel drive as any other MINI. The marque says this all-wheel drive technology is more compact and internally efficient than before.
We'll cover the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model, called the Cooper S E Countryman ALL4, in a separate news article but as its name attests, the part-electric off-roading MINI is pretty powerful. In fact, MINI has decided to keep this drivetrain - borrowed from the BMW 225xe Active Tourer - exactly as is, meaning with 224hp it out-punches all the conventionally powered Countryman models at launch; and its 385Nm is only out-torqued by the Cooper SD's 2.0-litre diesel unit (400Nm). So, until a JCW Countryman arrives, if you want maximum performance you're going to need the hybrid. Oh, and those arrow-shaped side repeaters we mentioned above? That's where the plug-in charging point is hidden in the PHEV.
Otherwise, it's familiar fare from the sister MINI ranges. Things kick off with the same 1.5-litre three-cylinder TwinPower Turbo petrol engine found in the PHEV, albeit without the electrification, giving us the 136hp/220Nm Cooper Countryman. The other three are all four-cylinder, 2.0-litre engines: there's a 192hp/280Nm petrol unit in the Cooper S Countryman; a 150hp/330Nm diesel in the Cooper D Countryman; and that aforementioned 190hp/400Nm brute in the Cooper SD Countryman.
Standard transmission is handled in the main by a six-speed manual, although there's a six-speed Steptronic auto offered on the Cooper and an eight-speed Steptronic as an option for the Cooper S and D models. The SD Countryman gets the eight-ratio unit as standard. MINI hasn't given a full range rundown on the performance or eco-stats, but does cite one or two figures to give an indication of the Countryman's prowess. The Cooper S Countryman ALL4 with the Steptronic gearbox, for instance, can do 0-100km/h in as little as 7.2 seconds, trimming nine tenths off the equivalent predecessor's time, while (PHEV aside) the Cooper D takes the green credentials with fuel consumption as low as 4.3 litres/100km (65.7mpg) and CO2 emissions as minimal as 113g/km, depending on what size alloy wheels it runs upon.
Anything else?
Remember the Open Timer on the Convertible MINI, which measures how long you've had your scalp exposed to the elements while driving? Well, the Countryman has the Country Timer, and we bet you can guess what that means. You can't? Allow us to enlighten you: it's a clock that charts 'driving fun over demanding terrain'. Saints preserve us.
Expect all this jollity to go on sale here in Ireland in February next year, following a world debut at the Los Angeles Show in November. Bear in mind that MINI sold more than 540,000 of these things worldwide first time around and you can bet your bottom dollar that number will be eclipsed by the Countryman MkII.
We drive the new MINI Countryman in January so keep an eye on the Car Reviews page for the test drive. Meanwhile, here's a video of the new Countryman.
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Irish pricing (on-the-road)
MINI Cooper Countryman: €33,580
MINI Cooper ALL4 Countryman: €36,380
MINI Cooper D Countryman: €36,140
MINI Cooper D ALL4 Countryman: €38,940
MINI Cooper S Countryman: €38,850
MINI Cooper S ALL4 Countryman: €43,400
MINI Cooper SD Countryman: €41,860
MINI Cooper SD ALL4 Countryman: €44,270