It is the first MINI with 2 rear passenger doors, making it the world’s first 5-door MINI.
The firm has taken a Nissan Qashqai-style crossover route for the new MINI, with high-rise ride height and chunky body styling. Most variants will be front-wheel drive, but there will also be a 4-wheel drive version, called MINI ALL4.
Inside, it will come in 4-seat guise, but there will be a 5-seat version with a bench rear seat as a no-cost option. This brings the practicality to the MINI range many owners have long been asking car dealers for.
The seats thus either split individually on the 4-seater, or in the traditional 60:40 way on the 5-seater. The backrests are tiltable and the hatchback boot is an impressive size.
MINI is claiming 350 litres with the seats up – that’s bigger than a Ford Fiesta. It extends to 1170 litres with the seats folded.
There’s also a distinctive centre rail, as seen on premium 4-seaters such as the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide.
Engines are familiar, but updated. The base 1.6 diesel produces 90hp, while the addition of direct injection and a twin-scroll turbo with fully variable management takes the Cooper S Countryman up to 184hp.
An ALL4 turbo MINI sounds pretty good fun to us – the firm claims up to 100 percent of power can be sent rearwards! In normal driving conditions, up to around half the drive is shifted backwards.
BMW says we will see it in the metal at the car’s official Geneva Motor Show world launch.
The surprise German reveal of the car seems to have taken UK markets by surprise – you’ll have to come back to Car Dealer Magazine to find out UK specific information. Apparently, it might not even be called Countryman…
For now, though, share your thoughts here on the all-new MINI Countryman crossover.
By Richard Aucock
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