Thursday 12th February 2015

Mini Countryman JCW | Unsung Hero

Dan's not a fan of the five-door; Chris makes a bold case for the hot Countryman as an alternative

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So we've just tested the new five-door Mini Cooper S. BMW's ads for this newcomer have really been bugging me, though, as its five-door layout is hailed as being "new for us too." Of course it very much isn't new. Mini has forgotten that's it's had a model with five doors on sale since 2010: the Countryman

Ah yes, the C'man. I recall this being very much the unloved runt of the Mini litter when it was launched. People hated its pug-ugly looks; those who said BMW's Mini was already too large to be a Mini were utterly incensed by the XXL packaging; and being built in Austria (by Magna Steyr) it wasn't even a "proper Mini."

But the market has proved the doubters wrong. About half of all Minis sold worldwide are Countrymans, so they've clearly got buyer appeal. Why, the big Min has even got motorsport cred, forming the basis of a successful rally car, Paris-Dakar racer and 900hp podium-placed Pike's Peak beast.

I must admit, I was one of the Countryman's most vociferous clobberers. I also remember seeing a John Cooper Works version for the first time in 2012 and thinking, what the hell had these two concepts got to do with each other? It seemed all wrong, and looked ghastly with its Richard Grant Accessories-style body kit. And it was fiendishly expensive: its £28,595 launch price was almost £2,500 more than a five-door Golf GTI.

But then... let's give the Countryman JCW credit for being the first all-wheel drive JCW, and the first JCW to have an automatic gearbox option. The ALL4 4x4 system even has fun dialled into it, with the ability to despatch all the torque to the rear to sharpen up the handling. Which is already pretty good, given the 10mm lower ride height, stiffer springs and dampers, bigger anti-roll bars and lightweight 18-inch wheels. It's a feisty drive in a straight line, too, thanks to its 218hp motor and overboost function (delivering 221lb ft of torque). 0-62mph in 7.0 seconds and a top speed of 140mph are healthy figures for a hot 4x4.

I reckon the Countryman JCW makes a leftfield alternative to that new five-door Mini. For the same price as a new Cooper S five-door, you could have a second-hand John Cooper Works Countryman ALL4.

The entry point for a JCW in the classifieds is £20,400, which gives you a two-year old 16K mile example.

This JCW with just 6K miles on it looks great value at £20,995, while if you can put up with the stripey paint scheme, £23,895 buys you a 64-plate 2014 JCW with barely more than delivery mileage (just 1,500 miles).

Given the predicted continued strength of the B-class SUV segment, and the dearth of performance variants within it, I reckon the Countryman JCW is in zeitgeist central.

[Agoogy]

Great lets all start supporting the confused niches then. I want a jacked up SUV, thats then been lowered please....dear oh dear...

[tomv1to]

These just seem like a complete polar opposite of what a Mini should be.

Having said that these and the Juke Nismo RS serve as amusing different mini SUV's so if I were ever in the market for a single car that could do absoloutly everything I'd definately test one out.

I'm also very intrigued to see if Abarth will be allowed to do anything on the upcoming 500X.

[Motorrad]

Pug ugly and a car I wouldn't want to own however good a drive. The anti-mini.

Someone has to though I suppose.

[ash9988777]

sorry, i think they forgot to review the car? I am now fully up to speed on the price and spec but come on, this dosnt tell me anything about the car? up your game guys!

[GTEYE]

Vile. In a different way from the latest MINI hatchbacks, but still vile.

I don't care that it might be a semi decent drive, if it looks this awful, it's a definite no.

Makes me sad, what are BMW trying to do? MINI is becoming a ghastly joke.

Edited by GTEYE on Thursday 12th February 08:46

[Howroyd]

I admire this car for being different, for being the almost antisocially loud number in the school drive precession. It takes an otherwise bland recipe, and adds some spice. I applaud companies like Mini building cars like this, for without them, we would only have a handful of interesting cars within the grasp of Mr J. Bloggs

[Nickbrapp]

I like it, but I like the paceman even more. If they didn't have the speedo in the middle i would own either.

People that bleat on about minis being bigger now, what new car isn't compared to its predicesor? The a3 saloon is the same size as the b5 a4 etc.

Would you prefer mini ended up in the bin like rover and mg, it's called moving with the times.

[Blackpuddin]

Vomitous and visually offensive.

[soad]

The good thing is - it's no more fking ugly than the standard version.

[BenNC2]

Nickbrapp said:

what new car isn't compared to its predicesor?

The mk4 MX5 is the only one that comes to mind

[GTEYE]

Nickbrapp said:

I like it, but I like the paceman even more. If they didn't have the speedo in the middle i would own either.

People that bleat on about minis being bigger now, what new car isn't compared to its predicesor? The a3 saloon is the same size as the b5 a4 etc.

Would you prefer mini ended up in the bin like rover and mg, it's called moving with the times.

I don't have a problem with the concept or the size. But I do have a problem with the wilfully inelegant execution. That's what's unforgiveable.

[telecat]

Put the 2 litre in an ALL4 and it could be a blast!!

[struttob]

Just remember though, when people point at you in traffic, it may be worth checking where their other hand is, chances are it will be covering their mouth as they snigger in disbelief at how ugly it is, not a "cor look at that cracking motor!" moment.

Bob

PS sorry I just don't get the whole Mini thing !

[TNH]

I really do like the BMW Mini hatchbacks (5dr excluded) but these really are ghastly to my eyes. What feels slightly contradictory is that I wouldn't be too annoyed if someone gave me a Paceman.

[mikey k]

Interesting the PH massive disagreeing with the general public on these.
I contemplated one to replace the other halves 2.5T Forester but neither of us could get past the interior and exterior styling

[stephen300o]

"This JCW with just 6K miles on it looks great value at £20,995,"

................

[SuperchargedVR6]

Howroyd said:

I admire this car for being different, for being the almost antisocially loud number in the school drive precession. It takes an otherwise bland recipe, and adds some spice. I applaud companies like Mini building cars like this, for without them, we would only have a handful of interesting cars within the grasp of Mr J. Bloggs

Spice? Erm no, what BMW have done is take a perfectly good Victoria Sponge recipe (that being Mini One of course) and added chopped onion and boiled eggs to it.

[Kentish]

Pointless car IMHO

Why not keep the Mini....... err ......Mini?

It's got too big and ugly.

The rear lights on the new more traditional Mini Hatch are enormous; they get bigger with each generation.

Bigger isn't always better BMW; keep it small and svelte please!

[Pooh]

I had a standard one as a hire car, what a total piece of junk, the interior is ugly, terrible to use and seemingly built out of old egg-boxes, it was no fun to drive, ugly and only had two seats in the back. I was actually looking forward to driving it because I had never driven a BMW Mini before but I was shocked at how bad it was, especially the interior build quality.

[jl34]

thats nothing but a big wart on the road. Issogonis would turn in his grave.

AWFUL!