Mini Countryman review

This is TopGear.com, so let's start with the hot one. The Countryman JCW is a crossover whose increased dimensions mean it inevitably feels heftier on the move, all the while entertaining notions of being a plus-size hot hatch. Fortunately, it has the chops to avoid falling over itself, or indeed falling between those two stools.

But the chances are you’ll more often than not settle for a semi-committed six-tenths lope rather than trying to stir the ghost of the late, great Paddy Hopkirk. If you have a dog in the boot, or your kids in the rear seats, they’ll thank you for it.

Hit me with the details.

The new car uses the UKL2 platform that underpins a variety of ‘smaller’ BMW products, including the latest X2. The new Countryman has an increased track width and longer wheelbase, and Mini also claims a reduced centre of gravity. A strut brace boosts rigidity and stabiliser mounts on the axles improve response. It also wears bigger tyres than before, with 19 and 20in alloys – rich in the use of secondary/recycled material – available on the JCW and 17s or 18s available on the lower spec Countryman C.

As we’ve found before, this 2.0-litre turbo four-pot engine (B48 in internal parlance) isn’t especially sonorous. It has reworked pistons, a revised intake, and new connecting rods, but it’s also been dialled back a bit in the Countryman JCW: its power output of 296bhp is 8bhp less than on the previous car, and it’s less torquey, too, at 295lb ft versus 331 lb ft. It’s three-tenths slower to 62mph than before, taking 5.4 seconds.

Doesn’t exactly scream ‘progress’ does it?

You don’t notice the deficit, to be honest, and rarely will you want to go much faster. This is a fluid, firm-riding four-wheel drive machine, one that stops, goes and handles with alacrity if not class-leading poise, managing its mass (it weighs 1,735kg) competently.

On our initial test route on a well-surfaced dry and twisty road in Portugal, the JCW’s all-wheel drive set-up and adaptive suspension proved unflappable. On our crumbling road network in the UK it was slightly less refined, the ride at times a little more jarring than we’d have liked, but then that’s the usual story. Oh, and compared to the official 35.3mpg, we saw 33.5mpg around 100 miles later. Not bad going.

Any modes to play with?

Oh yes. Choose the ‘go-kart mode’ (of course it’s called that) and throttle response sharpens, there’s more heft in the steering, and the traction control threshold reduces. There’s also some sonic enhancement, but no fakery, however clever, can atone for the engine’s lack of character. Note also that the new Countryman uses a seven-speed dual clutch automatic rather than the previous model’s eight-speed set-up. We were happy enough to let it do its own thing rather than using the paddleshift.

Advanced assistance systems arrive now, too, including Level 2 semi-autonomous driving. You have to spring for the Driving Assistant Professional package if you want that. Lane assist, speed limit warning… it’s all here and relatively easy to turn off, which is a feature in itself these days.

In summary then, the Countryman JCW is an accomplished, grown-up drive rather than a bona fide hot hatch in disguise. The Cupra Formentor VZ3, for one, is objectively more fun.

Have you driven the Countryman C?

Ah yes, the entry-level Countryman is powered by a little 1.5-litre turbo three-cylinder that makes just over 150bhp, although there's a bit of mild hybrid assist to up the total system power to 168bhp. This is the only Countryman that doesn't drive all four wheels (it's FWD only) and the 0-62mph sprint should take 8.3 seconds. 

The gearbox is the same seven-speed dual clutch auto as in other Countrymen, but in the C you can only have it with self-shifting paddles if you go for the top-spec Sport trim. We’d want those paddles too, because with a teeny engine and a gearbox focused on efficiency, the base Countryman can feel a little slow and sluggish. It’s not exactly the sweetest sounding three-cylinder engine either, although at least the C doesn’t suffer from too much road or wind noise. 

It still handles keenly and corners flat – although there isn’t a huge amount of steering feel and the brakes can be a little snatchy – but it’s also more comfortable than the JCW and rides better on UK roads thanks to its smaller wheels. The base-spec 17in alloys may look a little meek, but extra tyre sidewall really isn’t to be sniffed at.