Mini Countryman (R60) - Daily

[craigmann3636]

So, less than a week into the current lockdown here in Scotland, and I find myself devoid of anything to do - I can't wash the car because my hands will fall off, not to mention the driveway will be like an ice rink afterwards - so thought I'd have a go at writing here, something I have always wanted to do, but never got around to.
May I introduce to you, my 2015 Mini Countryman. It is a Cooper, so the 1.6 (N16), ALL4. Starting with factory spec:

Exterior -
Starlight Blue Metallic
17" 5 Star Triangle Spoke
Black Roof, Mirrors, and other trim
Black Headlight Inserts
LED DRL's

Interior -
Full leather
Heated Seats
Headlining in contrasting colour
Black Trim Inserts
Cruise Control
No Sat-Nav (I far prefer the massive speedo in the centre of the dash rather than the horrible, awkward media pack)

I am the second owner, acquiring in August 2018, when it had around 34,000 miles on the clock. It has, and will maintain, a full Mini service history. Currently, I have just hit 57,000. Since taking ownership, I have driven it all over the UK with mates and stuff crammed in, and it takes very well. Cosmetic wear wise, the car has held up incredibly well - okay, I am admittedly not colossal in size, so the seat wear has not suffered the same as it could've, but even still, the leather has minimal wear on the drivers seat, and virtually no wear on the passenger and rear seats. All plastics have aged very well too, again, no discolouration, all very fresh. The exterior is maintained on a near weekly basis, so the paint and exterior plastics are in great condition. However, the front has succumb to stone chips, not horrendous at all but more than I would expect, although I am very particular about my cars so it is maybe just me.
Until recently, maintenance has been fantastic, only requiring its services and MOT's. However, recently, it has been a sore, sore subject. I'd rather stand on a rusty nail than go over this but here we go. In the past 6 months, I have had a clutch fork failure. One day, whilst waiting for my younger brother to finish his theory test, in the middle of Aberdeen city centre, the clutch went to the floor - pulled it up with my foot and it went solid. So, here is all the work done in the past 6 months:
Clutch, Flywheels, Clutch fork
Timing Chain Tensioners
2X wheel bearings
Now if you know Mini's, you'll know taking the gearbox out is not a fun job. The timing chain tensioners, again, if you know Mini's are prone to fail - so this was done preventatively by a local specialist (Premier Motors) who also inspected the vehicle and remarked its fantastic condition. The gearbox removal was done by a local garage, Car Clinic, who me and my family use for most of the big jobs on our cars. I have always found them extremely honest and knowledgeable in terms of work and service provided. They have a garage in Bridge of Don and Altens, so if you need work done to your car in Aberdeen, I highly recommend(they are also a Land Rover/Range Rover specialist).


So, what do I think of it, in terms of aesthetics and driving dynamic. To begin with, aesthetically, there seems to be a general consensus that the car looks as elegant as a dog hunched over, having a s**t. Partially, I agree, although in my opinion the spec on this car lends itself to look relatively good, or as good as a Countryman can look. The silver trim along the bottom of the sills and bumpers, which comes with the ALL4 pack, certainly helps IMO - same goes for the alloys, I feel they are a great choice.

What about the driving dynamic? Now, you would think it is just another boring car - I can assure you, it is not. There is weight and feel to the steering, whilst also being fairly precise, and being a Mini, the handling, I think overall is very good. Whilst it does ride higher than a non-all4, it drives in no way different - it takes potholes and bumpy surfaces well, and even on more twisty roads, the body roll, whilst nothing to write home about, is surprisingly quite pleasing. The AL4 system is only activated when needed, but having recently had a good covering of snow, and finding empty car parks and untreated snowy, icy roads, a can confirm it works rather well indeed. What about the engine - well, it has a mere 122 BHP, and being NA, getting to 60 MPH, well, it takes a while, considering the car is not exactly a lightweight. However, that said, once you eventually suffer the 10+ seconds to 60, you will find that the power is just about enough to drop a gear and pass when needs must.

I am looking for things to do to the car to make it slightly more OEM+, so any suggestions, please, fire away - I would love to hear them!

[craigmann3636]

[craigmann3636]

[RS Grant]

Great colour, is that up the Cairn o’Mount? If so then I absolutely love the roads up that way and the entire loop across to Braemar/Glenshee.

[craigmann3636]

Thanks! The first one is up the Cairn'o Mount road, the rest are all up Ballater/Braemar way - some of the more steep inclines on the old military road do provide the car a bit of a challenge, but it's ace fun!

[CrippsCorner]

Best colour. Have been looking at these recently, though disappointed to see on paper the boot doesn't appear to be that big. Smaller than my partners current Jazz so don't think I'll be able to convince her on the upgrade

[craigmann3636]

CrippsCorner said:

Best colour. Have been looking at these recently

Admittedly the boot could be slightly bigger, however it is worth considering you can move the rear bench forward and backward to add slightly more room, and you can also make the rear bench sit slightly more upright too - or you can completely fold the rear bench, and it'll fit two full size Mountain Bikes in the back no problem!
I will likely be selling this year anyway for a 3 door hot hatch, as I really do not need 5 doors at the moment!

[microgod]

I'm currently running one of these - 2012 JCW model.

It has to be one of the best dailies out there. When I'm on my own its a great drive on the back roads but as you say it is also a practical car that can fit 4 adults in relative comfort. As for looks... I think its a fantastic looking thing, I like a small purposeful car and this ticks that box (slightly improved with the JCW kit) my favorite angle is the rear 3/4 the big flat back and bumper with two huge (fake) exhausts poking through . MINI have managed to ruin everything that made it great with the new model and I'm not sure there is much on the market that compares.

.... but I'm bias

[CJM36]

microgod said:

MINI have managed to ruin everything that made it great with the new model and I'm not sure there is much on the market that compares

Agreed! I am torn between selling this for something else, simply because it is pretty slow. That said, I'm not sure what else would compare. I have been looking at a variety of very different cars, a Countryman JCW, R56 Cooper S/JCW, Golf GTI, Polo GTI, Fiesta ST - the list goes on

[CJM36]

Been ages since I updated this.

Still have it. For now.
It’s clocked up a decent few miles, sitting at around 63k now, and hasn’t really missed a beat since. Mainly used for daily duties, and lugging around parts for the other cars, in addition to even seeing a few farm and muddy tracks. It’s 4 Wheel Drive system works relatively well in fairness.

It’ll definitely need a service before the years up, and it had an advisory for the front tyres on its recent MOT. I will buy new tyres but for now, I chucked the winter ones on.



It even got a wash for the first time in a long time.

[CJM36]

[CJM36]

[CJM36]