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Adult Mini young at heart

23.10.11

HERE'S a fun fact: The MINI badge on the back of the new Countryman crossover is nearly a foot wide.

I know, I measured it myself.

Really, that's the review I had sort of expected to be writing; here we go again with yet another case of brand dilution in the name of broadening the sales base. A larger Mini? How preposterously oxymoronic! You might as well design a less-efficient Prius or a heavier Lotus.

After all, it says it right there on the Countryman's (enormous) badge: MINI. Minis are - or should be - small, grippy, pugnacious little terriers on the road that immediately have you thinking "go-kart" as soon as you show them a series of corners. They're quick, and light, and as much fun to drive as more powerful machinery; a sort of espressocondensed version of driving pleasure.

So is the Countryman a watering-down of this ethos, turning that zippy espresso into a more broadly appealing Americano? More weight, more height, less fun, right?

Wrong. Why? Well, here are some more fun facts: the Countryman S has 181 horsepower, weighs just 3,200 pounds in all-wheel drive ALL4 configuration and comes standard with a sixspeed manual transmission. As it turns out, this little cuteute is more hoots than the mailroom at Hogwarts.

DESIGN

A hallmark of Mini design has always been a recognizable "face." Take one glance at the mischievous grin of a Cooper S, and you immediately know you've got a willing partner for backroads hijinks.

By comparison, the more oblong headlights and down-turned grille of the Countryman seem more stern and serious. I had to stare at the front end of the little trucklet for a while until I could make out what the designers were up to, but finally I twigged on to it.

That down-turned grille isn't a sad face, it's a Mini moustache! The Countryman S is Mr. Mini, a Cooper S all grown-up and ready for responsibility.

But it's not all business quite yet. Witness the flaredout fenders and big wheels pushed to each corner, giving the Countryman S an aggressive stance. A body-lowering sports suspension ($990) is available on all models, and my tester was also equipped with jet-black composite wheels ($690) that looked great against the white paint.

Source: North Shore News

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