There are cars that make your heart race. When the test drive date is set, anticipation builds. MINI is one of them. It’s a cheeky little car.
The partner for this review is the MINI Countryman S All4 Favorite. The Countryman is the largest in the MINI lineup. When I drove the first-generation Countryman, I remarked, “It’s a mini car, but in size, it’s large.” The third-generation model is even longer than the second-generation by a whopping 150mm. With its growing width and height, it’s as if it’s shot up like a growing child. However, with a body length of 4,445mm, it’s just about 20mm longer than the Kia Niro.
The radiator grille is framed in a thick border, forming an octagonal shape. On either side, headlamps finished in straight lines sit. The larger build, the changed appearance, the altered impression. The headlamps and rear lamps showcase three different styles, creating three distinct expressions through the light emitted from the front and rear lamps.
The 240mm QLED monitor is the most distinctive and essential part of the third-generation MINI. It allows you to access all driving information and operate most functions through a touch screen. The large monitor takes center stage in the interior. What’s surprising is how thin it is, almost like glass. In the scorching heat of August, I spent three or four hours under the sun, yet the monitor did not heat up. Only a slight warm sensation was noticeable. I can’t tell whether to applaud MINI for this or Samsung Display, which developed it together. One thing is clear: this setup is possible precisely because it’s a MINI.
You worry so much when you leave for vacation, thinking about what would happen without you, but the world continues to spin perfectly on its own — sometimes even better than before. This thought crosses my mind when I see the absence of a dashboard. They removed the dashboard and placed a head-up display instead.
The steering wheel brings a smile. It’s a three-spoke handle, with one spoke molded in fabric pointing downwards. The material seems like something you could use as a belt, yet it’s got a nice tight tension to it. This is an amusing attempt from a cheeky character. Yes, this is also fun; it makes sense. The dashboard surface features a textile made from 100% recycled polyester with built-in lighting. The dashboard emits light in dark situations, creating a warm atmosphere.
The shift lever, which controls the 7-speed dual-clutch (although referred to as double-clutch, dual-clutch is more accurate to avoid confusion with the manual driving technique of ‘double clutching’), has been replaced with a toggle switch, and the ignition switch can be rotated in either direction to start or stop the engine. Below it, there’s a small storage compartment about the size of a small handbag.
The rear seats can slide back and forth and adjust the reclining angle. If you fold down the rear seats to lie flat, your ankles might stick out the back. You could take a sigh of relief while opening the trunk. The trunk space expands from a basic 505 liters to a maximum of 1,530 liters.
The Countryman features an 8-way selectable ‘MINI Experience Mode’. This function offers different concepts for driving modes, screen graphics and interface, ambient projection on the dashboard, driving sounds, and functional sounds.
Among these, the most enjoyable is the ‘Go-Kart’ mode. With a slightly rugged and direct acceleration, you can savor the unique sensations of MINI. It captures the feelings of the go-kart experience that many have loved and found challenging. Of course, in other driving modes, you encounter a smoother, quieter, and gentler experience — to the extent that one might say, “This little guy has grown up.” The catch is that if it becomes too mature, it ceases to be a MINI. Nonetheless, the Go-Kart mode allows you to savor the unique DNA of MINI.
The 2.0L inline-4 gasoline twin-turbo engine delivers 204 horsepower and 30.6kg·m of torque. The power is regulated by a 7-speed Steptronic dual-clutch transmission. Additionally, it comes equipped with the intelligent all-wheel drive system ‘ALL4’, which is based on front-wheel drive.
With a curb weight of 1,680kg, the weight-to-power ratio is 8.2kg per horsepower. The manufacturer claims the 0-100km/h acceleration time for this vehicle is 7.4 seconds. I mounted a GPS measuring device and recorded the fastest 0-100km/h acceleration time as 8.48 seconds.
The official combined fuel efficiency is 10.8km/L, which isn’t great, but during an active economy drive along the 55km stretch from Paju to Seoul, I recorded a real-world fuel efficiency of 17.5km/L.
The sales prices are as follows: the new MINI Countryman S ALL4 Classic trim is 49.9 million won, the Favorite trim is 57 million won, and the new MINI JCW Countryman ALL4 is 67 million won.
O Jong-hoon yes@autodiary.kr