There was quite a hubbub when the once small and agile Mini went all big and butch for the first time. Ray Leathern wonders how a twin-scroll turbocharged John Cooper Works version of the Countryman will be received?
When the company decided to launch a more practical car, called the Countryman, in 2010, Mini cleverly shrouded the whole affair with marketing subterfuge and celebrated it as Mini’s biggest vehicle ever. They embraced the fact that it had four doors, it was four metres long, it had four seats and four-wheel drive. When you stand aside, you can’t help but admit to yourself that the four-door Countryman was always going to be the next logical evolution for the much-loved Mini.
Never mind that the ‘three-door’ Clubman that preceded it, which had a door that opened rearwards into oncoming traffic and was a dismal sales faux-pas that Mini would rather we all forget. You see, Mini tried to make a small car with added practicality, and it failed. So lax Mini buyers only have themselves to blame for the existence of the Countryman.
Ahem, anyway, the Countryman actually has five doors as far as I can count, but excusing the sensible arithmetic, since its introduction it has actually been a far more compelling sales proposition for Mini loyalists. I can only say this because a middle-aged lady who lives in my neighbourhood, owned a Clubman for years. I always saw it down the road, parked outside her drive. A year or so ago, however, I noticed she replaced it with a Countryman.
Mini admit that the Countryman is a niche offering, speaking of their loyal customers, getting on in years, but yet demanding more practicality. They say the niche comes from an existing customer need they’ve identified. So, rather than just putting it on sale and hoping for the best, they seem confident people want it.
It is a gamble and a tough ask when, like the Porsche 911, your whole portfolio was once built on the strength of one, iconic model, the Cooper hatch. Since the return of Mini, the company has sold 2-million cars. 1 800 of those have been Countrymans in South Africa. Not too shabby Nigel.
Mini has now introduced the Mini Countryman in John Cooper Works iteration to knock the Cooper Countryman S off the top of the list. On the surface of it, it is rather a curious decision to go this route, when you keep in mind Mini’s original motivation was to fill a demand for a more practical car, not necessarily a sporty one. Now they are festooning their best mommy-wagon with some turbocharged, ‘Hot Wheels’ readiness. It at least shows a sense of humour and a fun attitude I guess.
On the exterior, the Countryman wasn’t exactly what you’d call a looker to begin with, but the John Cooper Works add-ons do make an admirable go of livening up the mood. It’s still a chubby car, like it’s suffering the after effects of an over-indulgent festive season. Or is it one of those monsters from my favourite computer games as a child, ‘Bubble Bobble’? It has presence, sure, depending on how you specify the car, but you need to get the mixture just right in this new world of fully customisable showroom cars.
The Countryman John Cooper Works runs on bigger alloy wheels when compared to a regular Countyman and the car as a whole has an increased ground clearance in the hope of making it more practical. Speaking of practicality, the Countryman has a 350-litre or 1 117-litre boot with the seats up or down.
It still retains the option called, ‘Mini Connected’, which is a system that integrates your iPhone to the Countryman so you can tweet, facebook and listen to web radio while on the move. I don’t have such a phone, but I do think it is a brilliant system and the trend setter in mobile connectivity in vehicles. Mini will also sell you a brilliant piece of interior design called the ‘Mini Centre-Rail.’
The John Cooper Works Countryman obviously gets more power and torque, as is befitting the illustrious name adorning the body work. This matches well with the extra traction of the All4 all-wheel drive that comes as standard on the Works model. Power from the 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbo is now 160 kW and the torque is 280 Nm with an overboost function when you really leather your foot on the throttle.
This 6-speed automatic is the first auto ‘box option in the Countryman range and shares the line-up with a 6-speed manual that is a little more engaging to use. The car shows a lot of turbo lag up at the reef, but while I threw the Countryman around a wet gymkhana course, I was able to appreciate the quality handling and grip from the All4 system. Fuel consumption is rated at 7.4 L/100 km, while CO2 emissions are 172 g/km for the manual and 184 g/km for the automatic.
With the model range now complete, from the Cooper Countryman to the Cooper S Countryman, both of which can be fitted with All4 all-wheel drive (exactly the same system as the X-drive from a BMW X1), the Countryman John Cooper Works sits on top and starts from R433 644.
If you’re into this car, I recommend the All4 John Cooper Works Countryman with the manual gearbox. It is probably the closest thing to Mini’s now non-factory run WRC car, or Stephane Peterhansel’s Mini Countryman Rally Raid car that took him to victory at the 2013 Dakar Rally.
| Pricing (incl. VAT) | |
| Mini Countryman John Cooper Works M/T | R433 644 |
| Mini Countryman John Cooper Works A/T | R450 341 |
