Countryman!

[Shmee]

No threads about the Countryman, does that mean nobody has one? Wanted to read some feedback but there doesn't seem to be anywhere about really!

I test drove one and love it and found a good slightly used one that I'm hoping I'll get a deposit down on very very soon. I like the quirky looks, I love the incredible practicality of the interior and everything about it just seems wonderful!

I'm looking for a highly loaded Countryman Cooper S ALL4, manual, and think it will be a fantastic car both for short town hops but also the occasional longer drive of a couple of hundred miles.

I also drove an Audi A1; fun but not practical, and a BMW X1x23d; practical but not fun. The Countryman S seems to fit right in the gap!

[Oggs]

I brought one to the last Sunday Service which was the CooperS 4wd 4 seater.



Was good to drive had a bit of roll on some corners need the sport button on to really have a play.
Didn't like the centre rail with the sunglasses holder which is gimmicky.
The sat nav/ bluetooth and the parking sensors were
If I were to buy one it would be the CooperD 5 seater and not leather esp if you put the rear seats down to carry stuff.

[Shmee]

Interesting, I'm definitely shooting for a 5 seater, I don't like the whole 4 seat thing; for me I find the idea of the centre-rail quite fun and like it a lot.

Also not so much a fan of the Cooper D; lagging performance really. My main car is an Aston Martin Vantage Roadster so I need the 2nd car to be something that I'll be keen to drive even when the Aston Martin key is in the other hand!

I'm curious why not leather though? It's certainly on my list of requirements (and I don't think there are any Cooper S's out there without it!). Do bad marks get left on the seats when folded down or something?

Thanks

[jackg]

We just picked up our fully loaded cooper s All4.
Good things, Harmon Kardon hi-fi is brilliant...better than Range Rover!, good space for 5, quite fun to drive but a bit gutless, did I mention the hi-fi?

Bad, ride is horrible it crashes over bumps and skips across the road. That's the run flats I suspect., 30mpg not brilliant, RR does 26!

£30K for a mini is a lot so hopefully depreciation won't be too bad whebn we get the Evoque in Jan

[RKDE]

Not a fan of them really, I will ho;d judgement till I drive one for a while, first impressions though is the interior is very cheaply done for a car of such a value, I feel it has the worst interior finish of all the cars and also think this model will have the fastest depreciation as its not such a desirable model, however if they do a road rally version then the price may hold... Time is the only thing to tell

[mike9009]

Hi

I had a brief (15 mile) test drive of one. It was the 2WD Cooper D. My lasting memory of the test drive was how poor the car rode. Every crack/ pot hole (and we have a lot of them!!) jarred the whole car. Even on a relatively smooth bit of tarmac the ride was terrible. I did like everything else, the performance/ interior packaging/ technology etc, but I couldn't live with the ride. it maybe the runflats, but I had these on a Cooper S - and it wasn't that bad.

As such, I won't be buying. Also the stop-start system did not work (??) - the salesperson claimed this was because the temperature was too low? (This may well be true!)

Just my thoughts....

Mike

[Shmee]

mike9009 said:

Hi

I had a brief (15 mile) test drive of one. It was the 2WD Cooper D. My lasting memory of the test drive was how poor the car rode. Every crack/ pot hole (and we have a lot of them!!) jarred the whole car. Even on a relatively smooth bit of tarmac the ride was terrible. I did like everything else, the performance/ interior packaging/ technology etc, but I couldn't live with the ride. it maybe the runflats, but I had these on a Cooper S - and it wasn't that bad.

As such, I won't be buying. Also the stop-start system did not work (??) - the salesperson claimed this was because the temperature was too low? (This may well be true!)

Just my thoughts....

Mike

I thought the ride was pretty good, but I guess a lot of that comes down to what you compare it to. I imagine the runflats are awful and it would be a lot better without them.

Start-Stop on BMW/Mini does not work below 3C for efficiency reasons. It also doesn't work for the first little bit while the engine is still warming up.

[mike9009]

Ah, so sales person telling the truth. She just didn't seem convinced about the stop-start system.

I have had various strongly sprung motors in the past - cooper s, vx220, smart roadster -but it just didn't feel right in the countryman. Might have been getting out of my alfa156 and into the countryman that didn't feel right? Maybe I should try again, or maybe I am getting old and need a wafty barge instead???

Mike

[espresso]

I looked at getting one as a school run / local trip car, mainly because I miss my old JCW so much.
I have three kids though, so the Countryman is the only option in the MINI stable.

My thinking was to use my 911 as my main drive and the XC90 for long family trips.
The Volvo is a V8 though, so hideously economical around town. The Countryman could plug that gap.

Sadly though, in my opinion, it just isn't enough good enough.
Much as it pains me to say it, the Skoda Yeti is more fun, and cheaper.

I know, I know - shoot me!

[Shmee]

espresso said:

I looked at getting one as a school run / local trip car, mainly because I miss my old JCW so much.
I have three kids though, so the Countryman is the only option in the MINI stable.

My thinking was to use my 911 as my main drive and the XC90 for long family trips.
The Volvo is a V8 though, so hideously economical around town. The Countryman could plug that gap.

Sadly though, in my opinion, it just isn't enough good enough.
Much as it pains me to say it, the Skoda Yeti is more fun, and cheaper.

I know, I know - shoot me!

If you were here, I'd shoot you!!

I think I need to line up a test drive that isn't in central London to see what it's like out on pot-holy roads and a bit higher speed.

Having now driven even more cars, including a Golf, the Countryman still tops my list.

[skeeterm5]

Mrs Skeeter has a cooper d countryman and she loves it. Went for the 4 seat configuration which is really kind of cool.

Not sure I agree with poster about ride quality, it is one of the most comfortable cars I have been in for a long time. But she didnt spec RFT and the cooper doesnt have the harder suspension of the S.

Not seen many around so she still gets lots of "what is it?" type questions. Over 1700 miles it shows an average of 49mpg which seems pretty good.

S

[Chr1sch]

espresso said:

I looked at getting one as a school run / local trip car, mainly because I miss my old JCW so much.
I have three kids though, so the Countryman is the only option in the MINI stable.

My thinking was to use my 911 as my main drive and the XC90 for long family trips.
The Volvo is a V8 though, so hideously economical around town. The Countryman could plug that gap.

Sadly though, in my opinion, it just isn't enough good enough.
Much as it pains me to say it, the Skoda Yeti is more fun, and cheaper.

I know, I know - shoot me!

It depresses me (being a Mini fan n all) that I totally agree with you, in addition I also agree that the interior quality isnt good enough......

[Shmee]

My salesman has offered me a cancelled build slot; I had been wanting to wait a month or two and then find a used one as new orders are 4 months but he has quoted "early April" for delivery so 2 months which would be perfect.

Questions to be asked are on hifi upgrades, Harmon Kardon or not as it's £740 - I do like my music but I don't think there's a mid-way option. And the other question is the price to pay, for my spec (without Harmon Kardon) it's £27,600 list price but my preferred broker has offered me it for £26,700 for a 4 month lead time. Is it wrong to expect the dealership to go to £27k after all that is only £600 or 2.2% off? What sort of deposit should I be paying? £500, £1000, more?

I think I'll stick with the run flats and deal with the harsh ride; I get too many punctures in London to not have them really (5 in the last year, stupid lazy builders).

Mini Countryman Cooper S ALL4
Media Pack
Chilli Pack
Light White
Black Roof/Mirrors
3-rear Seats
Carbon Black Gravity Leather
Polar Beige Colour Line
Heated Front Seats
Flat Load Boot Floor
Chrome Line Interior
18" Turbofan Alloys - Silver
Rain Sensor inc Auto Headlights
5yr Service Deal

[kchika]

Nice spec. I have a four-month old R56 S Hatch, so I thought I'd chime in.

DO NOT get gravity leather. I repeat, DO NOT. I have punch leather on mine (same thing, just a different name on countryman) and it sags like hell. I've taken some pictures to send to MINI HQ, hoping to get it replaced under warranty. If you want to see them I can post them up here. Pay for the extra and go for lounge leather instead!

I don't have HK so can't comment on that. Your car spotting videos are absolutely fab BTW!

[Shmee]

Unfortunately it seems you can't have Lounge Leather with the 5 seat configuration - absolutely bonkers if you ask me! So it's either Gravity Leather with 5 seats or Lounge Leather with 4. I am only planning on insuring the car to 7 or 8,000 miles a year so it isn't going to get heavy use and I would quite like that 5th seat so might have to stick with Gravity.

What are your thoughts on the standard hifi in the car? Is it 'decent enough'?

Cheers for the words about the YouTube vids, glad you enjoy them!

[RKDE]

If you can upgrade the hifi it will sound better in that huge box

[kchika]

My car was a pre-reg so I wasn't able to choose the spec. I've test driven one with HK, now I'm not an audiophile but it's certainly nicer than the standard audio. However, even if I was to choose my own spec I wouldn't get it because, for me at least, it's simply not worth the £740 premium.

Instead I'd put the money into an anthracite headlining (£140) and the heated front screen (£475). The former gives that extra bit of sportiness to the interior (especially when you have black leather). The latter comes very useful on frosty mornings: I get in the car, put it on for a minute or two and off I go... while watching other drivers scrape off the frost/ice/snow on their windscreen in the freezing cold.

[Shmee]

Interesting, I think I decided that you would only want the Anthracite Headlining if you had a sunroof. Without the glass roof it looks a bit dark with a plain black lining and I think the standard silver one will brighten the interior a bit. I'm not too interested in a sunroof because it's a fortune and if I want sunshine I'll be in the convertible.

It's a tough choice with hifis because sometimes the standard ones are appalling (note BMW 1 series) but sometimes they can be perfectly decent. I'll try to wander into the dealership on the weekend in the hope there is a car with the standard one I can plug my iPod into and give it a whirl.

Heated front screen, again it's £500 but I haven't had problems with screens needing clearing before and I use so much GPS equipment that it's more a hindrance than a benefit. It's funny how specifics differ for different people, but all opinions appreciated

[Shmee]

Just tabled an offer; got a quote through a broker I've used before of about £900 off; asked my dealership to as near as match it as possible so just waiting to hear back from him. Delivery is estimated "early April".

[kchika]

Did you go for HK in the end?