Escape to the Country (Man) Part II
Discussion
Haven’t seen anything on the U25 Countryman and while it’s not very pistonheads thought I’d document how we are getting on with it as it’s a fairly new shape.
Winding the clock back before we begin. With the arrival of Mini-Exocet and my wife changing jobs, which meant handing the keys back to the a leased XC40 T5 Recharge in October 2023 we were in the marker for a stop gap.
Prior to the Volvo she’d enjoyed a couple of mini hatches a couple of emails saw us order from factory a F60 Countryman Cooper Exclusive. It was an attractive spec car in sage green with malt brown leather interior. It fulfilled the role of a family car well, although with Mini-Exocet getting bigger her feet were starting to reach the back of front seats and the boot wasn’t quite big enough for all the required paraphernalia. The 1.5 engine was also fairly sluggish, lots of noise but no real action which was noticeable on overtakes.
Fast forward to the middle of November this year and I have a look at the settlement figure and realise, somewhat surprisingly we are in a nearly positive equity position. I don’t think anything more of it but receive an email from the supplying dealer asking if there’s anything they can do. A couple of emails back and fourth and they’ve got a U25 Countryman Cooper S All4 exclusive just leaving the factory. Mrs Exocet liked the look of the spec, we organised a test drove at our local dealer.
Initial thoughts; much bigger (the irony of calling it a mini) build quality is excellent, lots of tech (I’m not sure on it but home command wasn’t phased) and most importantly plenty of room for mini-exocet.
Signed on the dotted line with a cost to change of £500 - a complete no brainer. Finished in midnight black II, with ink blue interior with 19” kaleido spoke alloys and silvery/bronze trim it looks smart.
Winding the clock back before we begin. With the arrival of Mini-Exocet and my wife changing jobs, which meant handing the keys back to the a leased XC40 T5 Recharge in October 2023 we were in the marker for a stop gap.
Prior to the Volvo she’d enjoyed a couple of mini hatches a couple of emails saw us order from factory a F60 Countryman Cooper Exclusive. It was an attractive spec car in sage green with malt brown leather interior. It fulfilled the role of a family car well, although with Mini-Exocet getting bigger her feet were starting to reach the back of front seats and the boot wasn’t quite big enough for all the required paraphernalia. The 1.5 engine was also fairly sluggish, lots of noise but no real action which was noticeable on overtakes.
Fast forward to the middle of November this year and I have a look at the settlement figure and realise, somewhat surprisingly we are in a nearly positive equity position. I don’t think anything more of it but receive an email from the supplying dealer asking if there’s anything they can do. A couple of emails back and fourth and they’ve got a U25 Countryman Cooper S All4 exclusive just leaving the factory. Mrs Exocet liked the look of the spec, we organised a test drove at our local dealer.
Initial thoughts; much bigger (the irony of calling it a mini) build quality is excellent, lots of tech (I’m not sure on it but home command wasn’t phased) and most importantly plenty of room for mini-exocet.
Signed on the dotted line with a cost to change of £500 - a complete no brainer. Finished in midnight black II, with ink blue interior with 19” kaleido spoke alloys and silvery/bronze trim it looks smart.
Edited by Exocet_90 on Sunday 17th November 13:10
Picked the car up on the 31st October and Mrs Exocet has covered just over a 1,000 miles, a couple of work trips and a funeral, earning its name as a Countryman.
Longest journey was 5 hours, decent MPG and only complaint so far has been the that the seat bolster aren’t changeable. Most functions can be controlled by the voice command of “hey mini” which seems to work most of the time.
I’ve driven the car a couple of times, circa 75 miles. It drives nicely, it’s got quite a bit of presence (unsurprisingly), the “experiences” are a bit gimmicky but in go-kart you forget the size of the car and it’s very similar to the F40 M135i that’s also in the Exocet fleet.
One thing, surprisingly, the car didn’t come with was rear half tints. This is in the level 2 pack I believe. I’ve got global tints coming out on Friday to do the rear windows.
Longest journey was 5 hours, decent MPG and only complaint so far has been the that the seat bolster aren’t changeable. Most functions can be controlled by the voice command of “hey mini” which seems to work most of the time.
I’ve driven the car a couple of times, circa 75 miles. It drives nicely, it’s got quite a bit of presence (unsurprisingly), the “experiences” are a bit gimmicky but in go-kart you forget the size of the car and it’s very similar to the F40 M135i that’s also in the Exocet fleet.
One thing, surprisingly, the car didn’t come with was rear half tints. This is in the level 2 pack I believe. I’ve got global tints coming out on Friday to do the rear windows.
Our neighbour had one of these as a courtesy car for most of last week. I just couldn’t get over the sheer size of the thing - like you said they’re not very “mini” anymore, are they? It was almost as big as their Evoque!
It’s certainly not my cup of tea but I hope it serves you well!
It’s certainly not my cup of tea but I hope it serves you well!
A low tyre pressure warning light illuminated on the frankly ridiculous circle iPad like display, this happened to coincide with a trip to the barbers so I was dutifully dispatched by Mrs Exocet. It took four petrol stations to find one with serviceable air, I can feel myself becoming more Victor Meldrew on a daily basis.
This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
Edited by Exocet_90 on Monday 25th November 18:30
My daughter and son in law collected their third new one of these yesterday. They always do a 3 year pcp.They’ve had various Mini models over the past 12 years. They do a mix of mainly local and occasional longer trips, including a regular trip to Glasgow from York to my son in law’s grandma.
Given that their cars never get older than three years before changing, I can’t ever remember any issues with any of them. Grannie’s 92 and prefers her grandson’s Mini to her daughter’s Range Rover!
Given that their cars never get older than three years before changing, I can’t ever remember any issues with any of them. Grannie’s 92 and prefers her grandson’s Mini to her daughter’s Range Rover!
This is our second countryman, but I think possibly the 5/6th mini product we’ve had. The product offering, build quality and customer service has kept Mrs Exocet interested.
This U25 definitely feels bigger than the last one both physically and from a driving perspective. Only had a short dual carriage way blast so far in “go-kart” - the mass disappears and the cars keen to make some progress, the artificial engine noise and the change in displays and lights is a nice touch. Don’t know whether it can truly wear a pistonheads sticker on the rear screen yet
This U25 definitely feels bigger than the last one both physically and from a driving perspective. Only had a short dual carriage way blast so far in “go-kart” - the mass disappears and the cars keen to make some progress, the artificial engine noise and the change in displays and lights is a nice touch. Don’t know whether it can truly wear a pistonheads sticker on the rear screen yet
Exocet_90 said:
A low tyre pressure warning light illuminated on the frankly ridiculous circle iPad like display, this happened to coincide with a trip to the barbers so I was dutifully dispatched by Mrs Exocet. It took four petrol stations to find one with serviceable air, I can feel myself becoming more Victor Meldrew on a daily basis.
This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
Where the Mini? I can only see a Discovery.This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
Edited by Exocet_90 on Monday 25th November 18:30
I have always thought that the country man has been the ugly duckling in the family. However, this latest generation looks so sharp from the outside, they really have done a magnificent job.
I appreciate the circular touchscreen is not to everyone’s taste, doesn’t bother me at all, but overall this car is a massive improvement. Please keep updating us, I’d love to know how these cars are in the real world. My wife and I got very close to buying a John Cooper clubman (300 HP) but ended up with a BMWI3S, which doesn’t sound like a logical alternative, but has worked perfectly for us
I appreciate the circular touchscreen is not to everyone’s taste, doesn’t bother me at all, but overall this car is a massive improvement. Please keep updating us, I’d love to know how these cars are in the real world. My wife and I got very close to buying a John Cooper clubman (300 HP) but ended up with a BMWI3S, which doesn’t sound like a logical alternative, but has worked perfectly for us
Richbo said:
Exocet_90 said:
A low tyre pressure warning light illuminated on the frankly ridiculous circle iPad like display, this happened to coincide with a trip to the barbers so I was dutifully dispatched by Mrs Exocet. It took four petrol stations to find one with serviceable air, I can feel myself becoming more Victor Meldrew on a daily basis.
This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
Where the Mini? I can only see a Discovery.This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
Edited by Exocet_90 on Monday 25th November 18:30
mcpoot said:
Richbo said:
Exocet_90 said:
A low tyre pressure warning light illuminated on the frankly ridiculous circle iPad like display, this happened to coincide with a trip to the barbers so I was dutifully dispatched by Mrs Exocet. It took four petrol stations to find one with serviceable air, I can feel myself becoming more Victor Meldrew on a daily basis.
This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
Where the Mini? I can only see a Discovery.This resulted in a cross town journey just before the schools finished - the 2.0 MHEV does sound a little diesel like inside during the low speed nature of this drive. One thing I did like was the "eco" mode which manages the stop/start function very well and anticipates it much better than my BMW.
I find the screen quite distracting - you can dim it though, and I'm sure if this was "my" car I'd probably quite quickly get used to it. I'm also not a massive of fan of the Peugeot style head up display, in terms of design. The clarity is however exceptionally good and it is handy to have the speed directly in front of you. Maybe its just to much of an evolution/change for me from what I'm used too.
In other news to report this week, Global Tints came out on Friday. While not everyones cup of tea there was just too much clear glass on it - so this should hopefully keep the four legged member of the family cooler in the summer and belongings a little more secure when Mrs Exocet is away from base.
Next weekend will be on an opportunity to stretch it legs out of the Country and to the big smoke for the annual trip to Christmas lights at Kew.
Edited by Exocet_90 on Monday 25th November 18:30
Seeing that pic is just astonishing they still call it a Mini really.
(I am sure it's a good car, has brand influence etc)
I can confirm it is indeed bloody enormous, makes my M135i feel tiny. It is however, finding itself to be amazingly practical. The retriever was happy in the boot for nearly 5 hours up to Cheshire, Child Exocet is no longer kicking the chair in front and Mrs Exocet is happy with the comfort, ride and economy.
While the tints aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, IMO the rear looks much better, she wasn’t a looker with so much plain glass. Although it now has the profile, IMO, of a Tonka toy version of a Landrover 110/130 (minus the spare wheel on the boot!)
Will write a proper update with some photos on Sunday once I’ve had the chance to do a cross country dash with a mix of A and B roads and some motorway work with it.
While the tints aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, IMO the rear looks much better, she wasn’t a looker with so much plain glass. Although it now has the profile, IMO, of a Tonka toy version of a Landrover 110/130 (minus the spare wheel on the boot!)
Will write a proper update with some photos on Sunday once I’ve had the chance to do a cross country dash with a mix of A and B roads and some motorway work with it.
Edited by Exocet_90 on Wednesday 27th November 21:44
Over over under steer said:
I have always thought that the country man has been the ugly duckling in the family. However, this latest generation looks so sharp from the outside, they really have done a magnificent job.
I appreciate the circular touchscreen is not to everyone’s taste, doesn’t bother me at all, but overall this car is a massive improvement. Please keep updating us, I’d love to know how these cars are in the real world. My wife and I got very close to buying a John Cooper clubman (300 HP) but ended up with a BMWI3S, which doesn’t sound like a logical alternative, but has worked perfectly for us
Always quite fancied a go in an I3S - so far ahead of its time IMO. The U25 Countryman is such a departure from previous shapes, it's fairly cohesive in design. Will keep on posting!I appreciate the circular touchscreen is not to everyone’s taste, doesn’t bother me at all, but overall this car is a massive improvement. Please keep updating us, I’d love to know how these cars are in the real world. My wife and I got very close to buying a John Cooper clubman (300 HP) but ended up with a BMWI3S, which doesn’t sound like a logical alternative, but has worked perfectly for us
Neil1323bolts said:
It does look ridiculously big, almost like a 7 seater, I’ve yet to see one out and about but it doesn’t look far of the size of our cayenne! I know it’s only a brand name now but come on , mini ?
It's long and the black with OEM spec tints does lead its self to looking fairly van-like. It sits about 2inches higher than the previous gen but in width I think it is around the the same. There is less 'curvature' on the body which means some more interior space and a little less visibility of where the corners are.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff