Motoring Article

MINI Countryman

by Lincs RevCounter on
MINI Countryman - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

The MINI Countryman, the biggest and most versatile member of the MINI model family, has an updated design, additions to the equipment range and new innovative technology. The latest version optimises space, versatility, functionality and ride comfort.

The MINI Countryman Plug-In Hybrid ALL4 (combined fuel consumption: 2.0 - 1.7 l/100 km; combined power consumption: 14.0 - 13.1 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 45 - 40 g/km) combines efficiency and hybrid-specific all-wheel drive with the option of pure electric driving.

In addition to plug-in hybrid drive, the new MINI Countryman is also available with two petrol engines and one diesel engine featuring the latest MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology. The engines have seen extensive development and cover an output ranging from 100kW/136hp to 140 kW/178 hp. They already meet the emissions standard Euro 6d, which will not be binding until 2021. All three engines can be combined with the all-wheel drive system ALL4 on request.

The new MINI Countryman: Highlights

  • -Distinctive front design with newly designed radiator grille.
  • -LED headlamps and LED fog lights now as standard.
  • -LED rear lights in new design.
  • -New body finishes, new Piano Black Exterior option.
  • -New light alloy wheels.
  • -Latest generation of engines, all Euro 6d emissions standard compliant.
  • -New digital dash display with 5-inch colour screen as standard.
  • -Newly designed central instrument in Piano Black High Gloss available as an optional extra.
  • -New range of leather trims and interior surfaces.
  • -New version of the MINI Yours Interior Style.
  • -Extended range of Original MINI Accessories.

Exterior Design

The new MINI Countryman is instantly recognisable as the brand's largest model: the MINI-typical three-part vehicle-body structure paired with a model-specific roof line. The car's upright stature and increased ground clearance are indicate its generous interior space and robust character. The optional MINI ALL4 exterior look and roof rails, provided as standard, further underline the versatility of the new MINI Countryman, whilst the aerodynamically optimised exterior features on the Sport models add an extra touch of power. MINI Countryman - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

The car's front section has a precisely modified design with the new structure of the bumper covering, now entirely in body finish, ensuring a clear-cut and high-quality appearance. The redesigned radiator grille has the signature hexagonal contours and is surrounded by a slim, one-piece chrome frame. Its air intake is subdivided by three horizontal struts in the MINI Cooper Countryman and MINI Cooper D Countryman. The radiator grille of the new MINI Cooper S Countryman is characterised by a hexagonal grid pattern with a red "S" and a single chrome strut.

LED headlamps

The redesign of the front section adds LED headlamps to the standard trim in the new MINI Countryman. The distinctive, slightly asymmetrically rounded contours of the headlamps are accentuated by a continuous band of light that takes on the function of both daytime driving light and turn indicator. The turning light included in the functional range of the LED headlamps provides intensive illumination of the side areas of the road when changing direction. The standard trim of the new MINI Countryman also includes LED fog lights, with a light band in the upper semicircle of each fog light serving as a parking light.

Adaptive LED headlamps with variable light distribution and matrix function for high beam are available as a newly added option. In addition to the turning light, they also provide bend lighting, automatically adapting their effect to the traffic situation and weather conditions. In urban traffic and when visibility is limited due to the weather conditions, the side area of the road is illuminated more intensely by adding the dimmed turning light. When driving on motorways it is possible to selectively increase the range of the high beam.

The adaptive LED headlamps in the new MINI Countryman now feature an automatic selective dip function for the high beam. For this purpose, the high beam is subdivided into four segments that can be activated and deactivated independently of each other and adapted to the situation on the road at speeds of over 43 mph. As soon as the front camera of the new MINI Countryman detects an oncoming vehicle or one driving ahead, the space that vehicle occupies is only illuminated at low beam brightness, while the other high beams continue to illuminate the rest of the road. As such, the matrix high beam is able to increase the range of vision while at the same time avoiding any dazzle effect on other road users.

Redesigned rear apron and vertically designed LED lights

With its redesigned bumper trim, the rear apron also contributes to the contemporary look of the new MINI Countryman. MINI Countryman - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

The upright rear lights with a chrome frame nod to the origins of the British brand and all lighting functions now feature high-quality LED technology as standard.

Two new body finishes

The range of body finishes opens up new possibilities for an individual look, including the newly added colours White Silver metallic and Sage Green metallic. Depending on the model variant, the roof and mirror caps of the new MINI Countryman can be finished in black, white or silver as an alternative to the body colour.

The new Piano Black Exterior option, available for all variants of the car, is a de-chroming high-gloss black finish on the headlamp surrounds, rear lights, radiator grille and side scuttles, door handles and the model lettering on the luggage compartment lid. Additional identification features in high-gloss black are available from the range of Original MINI Accessories, including the MINI logo and the "Cooper S" and "ALL4" inscriptions in Piano Black. Matching exterior mirror caps and side scuttles with a grey-black flag pattern in Night Jack are also available for retrofit.

Depending on the model variant, the new MINI Countryman is fitted as standard with light alloy wheels in either 16 or 17-inch, with light alloy wheels in sizes up to 19 inches available as optional extras and as part of the Original MINI Accessories programme. 17-inch light alloy wheels in Channel Spoke Black are new to the range of ex-works options, as are 19-inch light alloy wheels in the design variant Turnstile Spoke 2-tone.

Interior

The new MINI Countryman has a versatile interior with three fully-fledged rear seats which fold down with a 40:20:40 split, expanding transport capacity and storage from 450 litres up to 1390 litres.

Selective customisation of the interior to reflect the customer's personal style has become even more attractive with the addition of new options and a further developed product range. Chester Indigo Blue and Chester Malt Brown have been added to the selection of seat upholstery options and the Colour Line for the lower section of the instrument panel and door trim, previously available as a single option, is now an integral part of the leather trim designed to match the relevant colour scheme. MINI Countryman - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

The MINI Cooper S Countryman and MINI Cooper Plug-In Hybrid ALL4 models now come with Piano Black interior surfaces for the cockpit and door bezels as standard. These are combined with accentuation strips in the variant British Oak. A new version of the highly exclusive MINI Yours interior surfaces is optionally available. The optional MINI Yours Interior Style Shaded Silver combines an illuminated cockpit bezel in the variant Shaded Silver with door bezels in Dark Silver and accentuation strips in Hazy Grey.

Engines

An extensively developed engine portfolio allows the new MINI Countryman to achieve an even more favourable balance between driving fun and fuel consumption. In addition to optimisation of CO2 levels, other aspects of the emissions performance have been consistently improved by including particulate filters for petrol engines and SCR with AdBlue injection for diesel engines. This means that all model variants of the new MINI Countryman now meet the particularly rigorous Euro 6d emission standard.

MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology is used in the 3-cylinder petrol engines of the new MINI Cooper Countryman and in the 4-cylinder petrol engine of the new MINI Cooper S Countryman. It now includes an exhaust manifold integrated in the cylinder head along with turbo charging, in highly effective cooling of the exhaust gases and the turbocharging system. At the same time, crankcase cooling can be reduced when demand is low in the partial load range by means of a new split cooling valve. In addition, petrol engine direct injection operates at a maximum pressure that has been increased from 200 to 350 bar.

Like the petrol engines, the diesel engines also have a new starter generator with optimised efficiency. In the 4-cylinder engines of the new MINI Cooper D Countryman, MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology consists of a turbocharging system featuring exhaust gas recirculation and common rail direct injection. The two-stage turbocharging system previously used exclusively in the most powerful diesel engine now also optimises the response of the 4-cylinder engine in the MINI Cooper D Countryman, with the injectors feeding fuel to the combustion chambers at a pressure of up to 2500 bar.

ALL4

The ALL4 all-wheel drive system provides a noticeable boost in terms of traction, driving stability and agility. As an alternative to the brand's hallmark front-wheel power transmission, this system is optionally available for four model variants of the new MINI Countryman. With its fast and precise electronic control, the system ensures need-based distribution of power between the front and rear wheels in all road surface and weather conditions.

The new MINI Cooper Countryman Plug-In Hybrid ALL4 is fitted with a hybrid-specific all-wheel drive system as standard. The system manages a precisely controlled interaction between the 3-cylinder petrol engine transmitting its power to the front wheels with an electric synchronous motor that acts on the rear wheels. Together, the two power units produce a system output of 162 kW/220 hp. The latest eDrive technology available for BMW Group plug-in hybrid models also includes a high-voltage lithium-ion battery with a gross energy content of 9.6 kWh, giving the new MINI Cooper Countryman Plug-In Hybrid ALL4 a maximum electrically powered range of 55 to 61 kilometres.

8-speed Steptronic transmission

The new MINI Cooper Countryman Plug-In Hybrid ALL4 comes with a 6-speed Steptronic transmission as standard. The MINI Cooper Countryman ALL4 and the MINI Cooper D Countryman ALL4 now feature an 8-speed Steptronic transmission as standard, as does the MINI Cooper SD Countryman ALL4. It is also optionally available for the MINI Cooper D Countryman. For all other model variants, a 7-speed Steptronic transmission with double clutch is optionally available to replace the standard 6-speed manual transmission. MINI Countryman - Lincolnshire Magazine - LincsMag.com

The most powerful petrol and diesel engines can also transmit their drive torque to a 7-speed Steptronic sports transmission with double clutch or an 8-speed Steptronic sports transmission. This enables particularly rapid speed changes and increased shifting dynamics.

Seven model variants:

MINI Cooper Countryman: 100 kW/136 hp, 0 - 100 km/h in 9.7 seconds (9.7 seconds), top speed: 205 km/h (205 km/h), fuel consumption: 5.9 - 5.6 litres/100 km (5.6 - 5.3 litres/100 km), CO2 emissions: 135 - 129 g/km (129 - 120 g/km).

MINI Cooper Countryman ALL4: 100 kW/136 hp, 0 - 100 km/h in 10.1 seconds, top speed: 202 km/h, fuel consumption: 6.1 - 5.9 litres/100 km, CO2 emissions: 140 - 134 g/km.

MINI Cooper S Countryman: 131 kW/178 hp, 0 - 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, top speed: 225 km/h (225 km/h), fuel consumption: 6.5 - 6.3 litres/100 km (6.0 - 5.7 litres/100 km), CO2 emissions: 148 - 144 g/km (136 - 130 g/km).

MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4: 131 kW/178 hp, 0 - 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds, top speed: 222 km/h, fuel consumption: 6.5 - 6.2 litres/100 km, CO2 emissions: 149 - 142 g/km.

MINI Cooper Countryman Plug-In Hybrid ALL4: 162 kW/220 hp, 0 - 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds, top speed: 196 km/h, fuel consumption: 2.0 - 1.7 litres/100 km, power consumption: 14.0 - 13.1 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions: 45 - 40 g/km.

MINI Cooper D Countryman: 110 kW/150 hp, 0 - 100 km/h in 9.1 seconds (9.1 seconds), top speed: 214 km/h (213 km/h), fuel consumption: 4.4 - 4.2 litres/100 km (4.4 - 4.2 litres/100 km), CO2 emissions: 116 - 110 g/km (117 - 111 g/km).

MINI Cooper D Countryman ALL4: 110 kW/150 hp, 0 - 100 km/h in 9.0 seconds, top speed: 211 km/h, fuel consumption: 4.8 - 4.6 litres/100 km, CO2 emissions: 127 - 121 g/km. New equipment features, including digital dash.

The interior of the new MINI Countryman now has an extended range of standard and optional equipment.

First launched in the new MINI Electric, the digital dash is now introduced in the new MINI Countryman as standard. Sitting behind the steering wheel, the Black Panel display has a 5.0 inch diameter. The range of audio and navigation systems has also been restructured. The Navigation and Navigation Plus packs each include an 8.8-inch colour screen with touchscreen function located in the central instrument. The circular control unit in the new MINI Countryman has a refined surface look, with the audio control panel, hazard light buttons and driver assistance systems now integrated more harmoniously. The central instrument gets an even more premium feel with touch-sensitive bookmark buttons and high-gloss Piano Black surfaces.

The standard audio system now offers streaming via Bluetooth connection and a hands-free telephone system with USB interface. The Radio MINI Visual Boost and the digital instrument display form part of the standard Navigation pack, while the Navigation Plus pack has a range of additional infotainment functions in addition to the route guidance system, as well as wireless charging for compatible mobile phones and a second USB socket. The new MINI Countryman: always online and up-to-date.

The new MINI Countryman is equipped with a SIM card that is permanently fitted in the car. This enables use of Intelligent Emergency Call with automatic detection of vehicle location and accident severity, as well as MINI TeleServices. The Navigation pack includes a wide range of MINI Connected digital services. This provides access to the Real Time Traffic Information service as well as the internet platform MINI Online and preparation for Apple CarPlay. MINI Connected can be used to send navigation destinations from the smartphone to the vehicle. The mobile phone connection also means that the vehicle's navigation map is updated automatically. With Navigation Plus, the new MINI Countryman is always online, with seamless integration of the voice assistant Amazon Alexa.

Individual style for retrofitting: MINI Original Accessories

High-quality retrofit options from the MINI Original Accessories programme enable functionality, convenience, driving fun and individual style to be adapted even more precisely to personal preferences in the new MINI Countryman. The selection ranges from a rear bicycle rack, a roof box, a moulded luggage compartment mat and all-weather floor mats to individual MINI LED door projectors from the MINI Yours Customised programme and John Cooper Works products designed for extreme driving fun.

The new MINI Countryman is priced from £23,500 RRP and available to order now.