2020 Mini Countryman review: Whee bit different

Singapore

A COUNTRY song might be three chords and the truth, but the Countryman has always been about the number four. It was the first Mini to be longer than four metres, come with four doors and offer four-wheel drive.

In short, the Countryman is the maxi Mini, the model that plausibly straddles the fashionable world of the brand's fanatics and the more prosaic existence that those of us with children inhabit. You can't mistake one for anything but a Mini, and yet it's big enough to fit five comfortably and carry 450 litres of stuff in the boot (1,390 litres if you jettison three people).

It's now a little past three years into the current Countryman's life cycle, which means it's facelift time. But one has to say, if you can tell what is different about the car, you must be a Mini nerd of the highest order.

Yet, that's entirely the sort of devotion this lifestyle brand on wheels is able to command, so it's possible (or even likely) that a Mini-mad person could take one glance at the new Countryman and spot exactly where the cosmetic surgeons did their work.

For the benefit of the rest of us, there's a new front grille that's less fussy looking, especially on the Cooper S, which is the faster of two versions that Mini launched here on November 30. New, more chiselled bumpers with silver inserts are other giveaways, as are the fetching 19-inch alloy wheels on the Cooper S. Also standard on the Cooper S (and optional on the more basic Cooper) is black exterior trim that lends the Countryman a surprisingly effective touch of sportiness.

But if there's one dead simple way to tell the facelifted Countryman from the previous one, it's the rear lamps, which now have the Union Jack design found on the other current Minis. Or you could peek inside and look for the other big change: a switch from analogue instruments to a semi-digital cockpit display.

I'm not sure I can see the point of that, really, because the five-inch colour screen doesn't actually relay all that much info that wasn't there before. Still, everyone seems to want everything digital these days, so who am I to grumble?

Mind you, digital stuff does work well in the Countryman in general. It now has wireless Apple CarPlay, so if you have an iPhone you can simply climb aboard, fire up the Mini and blast your Spotify playlist over the speakers pretty much right away. The car's phone cradle also has inductive charging, because cables are so 2019.

A companion app lets you stay connected with your Mini, too. You can use it to send a navigation destination from your phone to the car, see whether you forgot to lock the doors and so on.

For all that, the Countryman's juiciest pleasures are analogue. The test car's upholstery has the irresistible name of Chester Nut Brown, for example, and its patterned stitches are as lovely to look at as that sounds.

Then there's the way the Countryman drives, at least in Cooper S form. It actually has a new engine that is 14 horsepower down on the previous model, but it farts out less of the nasty stuff at the tailpipes because it meets Euro 6d requirements. Regardless, the Cooper S isn't a dozy car by any means. It actually bounds into action at a jab of the accelerator, with an engaging soundtrack from the engine for accompaniment.

The handling is similarly engaging, which is surprising because the Countryman isn't all that precise around corners. Yet, while it isn't super grippy on the tarmac either, the Mini seems to sparkle when driven with some zest. There's just something enormously appealing about the way it willingly launches itself at a bend and tries hard to cling on. If it could actually go, "Whee!" you get the sense that it would.

Ultimately, the Countryman may be a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a much higher centre of gravity than its nimble hatchback siblings, but it shares their ability to bring out the giggles in a keen driver.

Whether the slower Cooper Countryman can do the same is anyone's guess, since it has just 136hp under the bonnet. But at least it costs S$19,000 less, so it's an option for anyone who finds the Countryman vivacious mainly because of its looks.

It's not hard to find an SUV with more power, tauter handling or more space (though perhaps not all three at once) than the Mini Countryman, but it's doubtful that you'll come across one with this much personality. Strum three chords to that idea, and you've got the makings of some country music.

Mini Cooper S Countryman

Engine 1,998cc, turbo in-line four Power 178hp at 4,750 to 5,500rpm Torque 280Nm at 1,350 to 4,200rpm Gearbox 7-speed twin-clutch automatic 0-100km/h 7.4 seconds Top Speed 223km/h Fuel Efficiency 5.9L/100km Agent Eurokars Mini Price S$183,888 with COE Available Now