MINI COUNTRYMAN JCW ALL4
This is the third generation Countryman, the model in the (now not so) New Mini lineup that tested the definition of ‘mini’ to the point of destruction. Well, if you thought the previous two iterations were packing a little excess timber, get a load of this one.
It’s a resounding 130mm longer than the outgoing model and 60mm taller, a growth spurt that moves the Countryman out of crossover territory and closer to a full-size SUV. At 4.43m, it’s not far off the length of an original Range Rover, a fact that would likely have Sir Alec Issigonis rotating in his grave.
The big news is the arrival of the first fully electric Countryman, in E and SE All4 versions. Both are powered by the same 65kWh battery pack, making 201 or 309bhp and delivering a range of 287 or 269 miles.
Hedging its bets slightly against the wholesale shift to electrification, three combustion-engined Countrymans (Countrymen?) are available. The C uses a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder turbo that makes 168bhp, with the 215bhp four-pot turbo 2.0-litre S All4 next in line. Then there’s the John Cooper Works, powered by the same unit but with 296bhp. Mini claims 34–36mpg WLTP, while CO2emissions are 177–188g/km.
Despite the Countryman’s increase in stature, we expect Mini – in all its forms – to keep faith with the original’s inherently joyful persona. The JCW, as we’re focusing on here, wilfully invokes the memory of the man who helped turn the earliest Mini into such a remorseless giant slayer, to this day one of the most amusing cars you’ll ever see racing at Goodwood. Or anywhere else for that matter.
The Countryman JCW obviously has a very different job to do, and the world is a wildly different place now, so it’s best not to get hung up on suspicions of mission creep. That said, the Countryman has its hands full in its efforts to manage traditional Mini design cues on this plus-size template. The front end is as unapologetically in-yer-face as most other things in the wider BMW Group product portfolio, while the rear vertical light clusters are configurable and back away slightly from the questionable Union Jack motif.
But it’s inside where the new Countryman stakes its claim for class leadership. Mastering the complexities of connectivity and digitalisation has wrong-footed some of the big names, but Mini’s design team has nailed it. The Countryman is wildly clever, imaginative, and crucially given the technology it deploys, simple to use.
And we
