Mini Countryman 143bhp 2L diesal auto 2011
Discussion
For what it is worth my wife picked her's up (62 plate) just before xmas and have been thinking about it a bit since I had something to compare it too - so thought I would share my views!
We have a black SD auto 2wd with just about all the options inc media/nav lounge leather, sunroofs etc; I am using it to commute most days. We had a courtesy Cooper D manual All 4 for a couple of days while the dealer sorted a few bits out we noted on collection (just cosmetic - excellent service appart from a bit of a shoddy wash by Sytner Sunningdale who were brilliant throughout the sales process too).
My wife utterly loves her car; has no interest in cars at all but with a sprog on the way she will need something at least while she is off work. She loves the car, finds it easy to drive and loves the visability etc.
I actualy have quite enjoy it - at least having something relatively small after years in bigger things latterly an F11 520. I find the ride really good but the car does roll about a bit at higher speeds though always feels grippy. It feels nippy and while nowhere near as fun to drive as the regular MINI hatch it certainly has character, and the interior is a nice place to spend the motorway miles.
Build quality is great, it feels really solid. There are a few hard plastics inside; mainly the lower bit of the dash/by the gearbox but much is excellent. No creaks or rattles other than stuff I have put in the car!
Negatives;
Fuel consumption it terrible for a modern 2.0tdi; i used to get 50mpg+ easily on a cruise to work and I from a 520d with the same motor, a lot more weight but I struggle to get the Countryman to get over 42-44mpg hypermiling it on the same drive. Arround town is really poor.
I think the gearbox is the issue and it is rather slow witted and WILL NOT change up as early as I want despite thrashing at the paddels. It is also quite a noisy car; petrols quieter.
Other negative; media system needs an iphone usb and a 3.5mm jack to work with a phone; we can't get it to work with our iphones using this (don't want to pay however much for MINI branded cable) so just using bluetooth or 3.5mm jack + a fag lighter charger and no issues. Bluetooth audio quality is not that great but fine for podcasts. We have the Harmon Kardon hifi - not sure how bad the standard unit is but this is adequate; probably because the rest of the car is a bit noisy at speed.
Comparison Cooper SD Auto 2wd to Cooper D manual all 4;
- much better fuel consumption,
- lovely little manual gearbox, though gear lever very uncomfortable
- notably slower on slip roads/higher speeds HOWEVER a fair bit quieter (no sunroof though!) and cruised along fine once up to speed.
- Found the all4 had a lot more grip and definatley felt less top heavy than the 2wd with less roll. It didn't feel much heavier and i think handled better - though it was a courtesy car so was driving with a little more exuberance than our own car!
- Cooper had standard lights and ours xenons; standard were not very good; better than my old 520 standard lights but not much so wouldnt want to live with them. Definatly find a chilli pack car with xenons!
- Finaly; our car has lounge leather which looks and feels lovely BUT the lounge seats I find not that supportive; the standard sports seats were so much better all round in terms of back, shoulder, leg and side support
- oh yeah the cooper didn't have a central arm rest which i found an annoying ommission - i mean who charges you for an arm rest in this day and age!!
Personaly if i were doing low miles/urban driving I would go for a cooper s petrol manual (if latter possible) or maybe a nice spec cooper D/Petrol and with All4 for the extra grip and reassurance; but for the motorway use you might want the extra power and better economy of an Cooper D/SD 2wd.
anyway - you or anybody else probably didn't want all that but it feels good to share!!
We have a black SD auto 2wd with just about all the options inc media/nav lounge leather, sunroofs etc; I am using it to commute most days. We had a courtesy Cooper D manual All 4 for a couple of days while the dealer sorted a few bits out we noted on collection (just cosmetic - excellent service appart from a bit of a shoddy wash by Sytner Sunningdale who were brilliant throughout the sales process too).
My wife utterly loves her car; has no interest in cars at all but with a sprog on the way she will need something at least while she is off work. She loves the car, finds it easy to drive and loves the visability etc.
I actualy have quite enjoy it - at least having something relatively small after years in bigger things latterly an F11 520. I find the ride really good but the car does roll about a bit at higher speeds though always feels grippy. It feels nippy and while nowhere near as fun to drive as the regular MINI hatch it certainly has character, and the interior is a nice place to spend the motorway miles.
Build quality is great, it feels really solid. There are a few hard plastics inside; mainly the lower bit of the dash/by the gearbox but much is excellent. No creaks or rattles other than stuff I have put in the car!
Negatives;
Fuel consumption it terrible for a modern 2.0tdi; i used to get 50mpg+ easily on a cruise to work and I from a 520d with the same motor, a lot more weight but I struggle to get the Countryman to get over 42-44mpg hypermiling it on the same drive. Arround town is really poor.
I think the gearbox is the issue and it is rather slow witted and WILL NOT change up as early as I want despite thrashing at the paddels. It is also quite a noisy car; petrols quieter.
Other negative; media system needs an iphone usb and a 3.5mm jack to work with a phone; we can't get it to work with our iphones using this (don't want to pay however much for MINI branded cable) so just using bluetooth or 3.5mm jack + a fag lighter charger and no issues. Bluetooth audio quality is not that great but fine for podcasts. We have the Harmon Kardon hifi - not sure how bad the standard unit is but this is adequate; probably because the rest of the car is a bit noisy at speed.
Comparison Cooper SD Auto 2wd to Cooper D manual all 4;
- much better fuel consumption,
- lovely little manual gearbox, though gear lever very uncomfortable
- notably slower on slip roads/higher speeds HOWEVER a fair bit quieter (no sunroof though!) and cruised along fine once up to speed.
- Found the all4 had a lot more grip and definatley felt less top heavy than the 2wd with less roll. It didn't feel much heavier and i think handled better - though it was a courtesy car so was driving with a little more exuberance than our own car!
- Cooper had standard lights and ours xenons; standard were not very good; better than my old 520 standard lights but not much so wouldnt want to live with them. Definatly find a chilli pack car with xenons!
- Finaly; our car has lounge leather which looks and feels lovely BUT the lounge seats I find not that supportive; the standard sports seats were so much better all round in terms of back, shoulder, leg and side support
- oh yeah the cooper didn't have a central arm rest which i found an annoying ommission - i mean who charges you for an arm rest in this day and age!!
Personaly if i were doing low miles/urban driving I would go for a cooper s petrol manual (if latter possible) or maybe a nice spec cooper D/Petrol and with All4 for the extra grip and reassurance; but for the motorway use you might want the extra power and better economy of an Cooper D/SD 2wd.
anyway - you or anybody else probably didn't want all that but it feels good to share!!
Edited by GXMAMG on Monday 2nd February 15:58
Just to show appreciation for your thoughts above, had a look at these this week (for the wife) and liked how much more roomy they are, and the driving position compared to the hatch. Taking a Cooper S for a drive on saturday, a little worried it will feel a bit flat considering the S badging.
Yeah they are no hot hatch, but I think a premium niche/lifestyle product with enough power to be comfortable. The mini salesman at parklane said they don't fight for sales from the hatch or golfs or a3s but really from evoques and the x1 or used x3s maybe q3s or odder things like the Citroen ds s or (his words) the cactus!
Loads of room in the back! Also the height is great - I do medium commute and was getting fed up of sitting in traffic being blinded by xenons on 4x4s behind me; now they are just below and you get an ok view from the countryman.
My choice would have been a Golf GTD but given I was getting the chance to have an amg as well it really wasn't up to me to argue!
Would say: avoid black as they seem to pick up dirt on the back and big sides and ours is constantly looking filthy!
Loads of room in the back! Also the height is great - I do medium commute and was getting fed up of sitting in traffic being blinded by xenons on 4x4s behind me; now they are just below and you get an ok view from the countryman.
My choice would have been a Golf GTD but given I was getting the chance to have an amg as well it really wasn't up to me to argue!
Would say: avoid black as they seem to pick up dirt on the back and big sides and ours is constantly looking filthy!
Edited by GXMAMG on Thursday 5th February 21:42
Comparing manual vs auto MPG, I found the manual did 50mpg and the auto 43mpg (both R56 Cooper petrol, 120bhp. the manual was on 15" tyres and the auto 16" which accounts for about 2mpg but definitely gives better turn in grip) mainly urban commuting. So the auto is about 10% more thirsty; not a big issue as I do two to three thousand miles a year. Wish they'd do a Crazy Pierre version and stuff a V6 in there.
Well I took one out yesterday as planned, a petrol cooper s. I must admit I was a little underwhelmed,I didn't expect a 'hot hatch' but it was still a bit lacking. The suspension was obviously firm to keep body roll in check but coupled with the 18s it was a pretty harsh ride, especially in the back. Lker the seating position and the direct steering (seemed to be quite quick racked) but the steering didn't have a great deal of feel. Have previously driven a f56 3 door and have convinced ourselves that the 5 door hatch will be big enough for our needs!
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