Performance, practicality and a distinct personality? What's not to like about this Mini?

Hamilton Spectator

14-05-2025

What's the goal of the all-new 2025 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman? To be a practical Sport Utility Vehicle with a healthy dose of performance and enthusiast attitude. Does it succeed? Does this car have what it takes?
In their classic 1970s sitcom, 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' Lou Grant (played by Ed Asner) said to Mary Richards (played by Mary Tyler Moore), 'You know what, you've got spunk. I hate spunk!' This Mini Countryman JCW has spunk. Whoever is behind the wheel should love this.
Hop in, fire up the boisterous, turbocharged engine, then you start cycling through the drive modes! Mini refers to them as Experience Modes. This process will take a while. Why? Because there are eight of them: Go-Kart, Core, Green, Vivid, Timeless, Personal, Balance and Trail. Each time you toggle between an Experience mode, you hear that mode's audio music cue, except for Go-Kart mode, when you hear an enthusiastic 'Yahoo!' cheer. The round central display screen changes dramatically for each, and some of the car's drive settings change, too.
Go-Kart mode amps up performance and handling, tells you how many Gs you're generating and how much horsepower and torque you're using. Green is eco mode. Personal lets you customize the settings to your liking. Balance combines comfort and performance. Trail adjusts the traction control for off-road driving. Vivid and Timeless focus on changing the driving environment.
It was a beautiful, sunny day when I first explored these modes. I had the sunroof open as I was doing this. I had to laugh when I switched to Balance mode. Someone decided that Balance means that you have to close the sunroof and sunshade. OK. Whatever you say boss.
I spent most of my time driving in Core, the default mode, and Green. In Green mode, the transmission disengages when you lift your foot off the gas, and you can seemingly coast forever, reducing fuel consumption. Go-Kart mode, as you would expect, amps everything up to the max, including the adaptive suspension. I'm not sure how often you would use this mode in everyday driving; it would be fun to use, should you ever find yourself at an autocross.
The 23.8-cm round, centre-mounted, OLED, high-resolution infotainment touchscreen is a Mini thing, which is form versus function. A square or rectangular screen would be so much more useful. The Android Auto display on this round screen is only twice the size of my phone's screen. The curved screens on the BMW X1 SUV are more than 53 cm wide.
As you are likely aware, BMW owns Mini and the Countryman is built on the same platform as the BMW X1. They share the same turbocharged, four-cylinder engine; dual-clutch, seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
Under the hood of the JCW Countryman is a spunky 2.0-litre engine that cranks out 312 horsepower and 295 lbs.-ft. of torque. That's enough power to launch this 1,723-kg subcompact crossover SUV from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.4 seconds, with a top speed of 250 km/h.
Its overall design makes it one of the most aerodynamically efficient SUVs in its class.
This is the maxi-est Mini Countryman ever made. This third gen. Countryman is more than a foot longer than the first generation Countryman, launched 15 years ago. It is two inches wider, four inches taller and more than 329 kg heavier.
As a result, this Mini's cargo capacity has grown significantly. With the rear seats in place, it is up from 467 litres to 707l, or 16 cubic feet to 25 cu. ft. With the rear seats folded, it's up from 1,195l to 1,591l (42 cu. ft. to 56 cu. ft. That really adds to this little SUV's versatility.
The 2025 Countryman is available in three variations: the base Countryman S ALL4 starts at $45,990; this JCW Countryman ALL4 starts at $56,990; and the first-ever all-electric Countryman SE ALL4, starts at $59,990.
Mini says it loves it when customers personalize their vehicles. You can customize your JCW Countryman in one of 10 exterior colours. Then, you can make your roof and mirror caps either body colour, black or red. And to finish it off, you can add black or red stripes on the bonnet, aka hood. Options on my Countryman included the Legend Grey exterior paint ($600), red roof and red mirror caps (no charge), and 20-inch John Cooper Works Flag Spoke two-tone wheels ($800). (19-inch wheels are standard.)
The 2025 Mini JCW Countryman is a blast to drive. It's a practical, bring-the-whole-family-and-the-dog-along-for-the-ride SUV. It has a real focus on the driver, and plenty of power, and all-wheel drive, which add to its practicality and performance.
If you're in the market for a luxury SUV with spunk, this may be it.
Type:
Five-door, five passenger, all-wheel drive sport utility vehicle
Engine:
Turbocharged, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine, generating 312 horsepower and 295 pounds-feet of torque (motive force)
Transmission:
Seven-Speed Sport Automatic Dual Clutch
Fuel:
10.2 litres/100 km in the city; 7.9 l/100 km on the highway; 9.2l/100 km combined
Cargo:
707 litres or 25 cubic feet behind second row; 1,591l or 56 cu. ft. behind first row
Price:
$56,990, excl. freight, fees, taxes.