MINI Cooper Countryman

Despite being so small, the vehicle still manages to offer a lot, including a healthy dose of practicality, some off-road capability, and plenty of style. Taller, bigger, and with a more boldly-styled front end than your regular MINI Cooper, the Countryman is instantly recognizable, both as a MINI and as something out of the ordinary. Inside, the Countryman is more similar to its smaller siblings, with all of the retro design and odd ergonomics that brings. The rear seat has two individual seats and is not a full bench, and most adults will find it tight back there. The vehicle’s closest competitor would be the Volkswagen Tiguan, but the VW is easily one size bigger. The base model is the regular Cooper Countryman and it comes with a 121-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. Up one rung on the ladder is the sportier Countryman S model, which gets a turbocharged version of the base model’s engine and a 181-horsepower rating. The vehicles also come with front- or all-wheel drive configurations. All-wheel drive is safer but hurts fuel economy a little. Whichever wheels are doing the driving, it’s a bit of a shock how good the thing handles though you’ll never mistake it for a sports car like you may with the regular MINI Cooper. We also found the vehicle to be a bit down in power, even when driving the turbocharged Countryman S. Safety is a strong suit as the Countryman is equipped with a wide array of safety equipment, including a full complement of airbags, stability and traction control, corner brake control and anti-lock brakes all helping it to score top marks in independent crash testing. The MINI Cooper Countryman was all-new for 2011 so there haven’t been any major updates. The 2013 model year introduces a sporty John Cooper Works variant, however, and this gets a livelier version of the turbocharged 1.6-liter engine in the Countryman S, which is rated at 211 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque (up to 221 pound-feet of torque with Overboost). This particular John Cooper Works model is also the first to offer an available six-speed automatic gearbox as an alternative to the standard six-speed manual.