2024 MINI Countryman Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Like all MINIs, the Countryman doesn’t take itself too seriously. It wears classic MINI styling cues, has an erect wraparound windshield design, features a floating roof that looks like a bimini top, and loudly and proudly declares its British heritage with Union Jack taillights. You can dress a Countryman in numerous paint, roof, and mirror cap paint treatments, and select from multiple wheel designs.

In Canada, the 2024 Countryman ALL4 lineup includes Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper SE, and John Cooper Works model designations, each pertaining to the drivetrain. Coopers have an underpowered turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Cooper S and John Cooper Works versions use a turbocharged four-cylinder engine in two different states of tune. The Cooper SE is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle offering 29 kilometres of electric driving range with its electric motor before reverting to gas-electric hybrid operation and returning 8.0 L/100 km in combined driving.

Some models offer trims package. The Untamed Edition is worth a mention, which is available on the Cooper S and SE ALL4 variants. MINI also frequently rolls out special-edition versions with unique paint, wheel, interior, and equipment combinations.

Our test car arrived in US Cooper S specification with additional options. In Canada, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for a new car with similar equipment comes to $53,456, including the $2,245 destination charge and other fees.

In Canada, adding the $3,100 Premier+ 2.0 line to the Cooper S Countryman equips power folding mirrors, a universal garage door opener, MINI ALL4 exterior styling, an auto dimming interior mirror, Parking Assistant technology, a head-up display, MINI Connected XL app integration, and wireless charging. In the $6,300 Untamed Edition, you get this equipment plus unique 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels with run-flat tires, a Nappa leather steering wheel, a black roof and mirror caps, roof rails, and exterior trim, an anthracite roof liner, illuminated interior surfaces, and other features.

If nothing else, looking at and sitting in a 2024 MINI Countryman is a singular experience. And since most small SUVs are blandly interchangeable, the MINI’s jaunty styling and retro interior design are refreshingly unmistakable.

Since the Cooper is weak and slow and the Cooper SE supplies unremarkable electric range and only a slight gain in fuel efficiency, we think the Cooper S and, if speed is your need, the John Cooper Works are the Countryman models to consider.

The John Cooper Works Countryman isn’t messing around. It has a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder powertrain whipping up 301 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, and an eight-speed sport automatic transmission powering all four wheels. MINI claims a Countryman JCW zooms to 100 km/h in roughly 5 seconds.

So, if you want to go fast in addition to having fun, get the JCW.

For most people, the MINI Countryman Cooper S will be perfect. It also uses a turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder, but here the engine makes 189 hp and 206 lb-ft of torque. With the ALL4 all-wheel-drive (AWD) that comes standard in Canada, the Cooper S rocks an eight-speed sport automatic just like the JCW. (A front-wheel drive (FWD) version of the Countryman is offered in the US but is not sold in Canada.)

The Cooper S is quick enough, with MINI claiming it will scoot to 100 km/h in roughly 7.3 seconds. Peak torque arrives at just 1,350 rpm, so this version of the Countryman feels zippy and athletic during the daily drive.

Commuting, errand-running, and school shuttling is where the Countryman shines brightest. You won’t wish to venture too far off-road in this Mini, and though our Cooper S test car had an adaptive damping suspension, it wasn’t an engaging canyon carver.

Oh sure, it can put some serious distance on most small SUVs when the road ahead turns twisty, and you quickly learn its dynamic weak spots and acclimate to them to develop a rewarding driving rhythm. But for speedy driving you’ll want the JCW or to grab a road-hugging MINI Clubman Cooper S or JCW while you still can.

One reason you might want to get a small SUV is for better fuel economy, and our test vehicle carries a Natural Resources Canada fuel consumption rating of 9.1 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving. Unfortunately, we averaged 9.3 L/100 km on our mountainous testing loop, driving the Countryman in Mid and Sport modes. Perhaps the available Green mode would have improved upon that result.

Step into the Countryman, and you’ll find room for four adults and just enough of their luggage to accommodate a week-long road trip. You sit up straight in the MINI Countryman, on small but supportive and comfortable front seats, and the steering wheel is a delight to grip. Though the SUV contains seatbelts for five people, four will be happier inside the Countryman. We found enough legroom in the rear seat for lanky limbs and plenty of foot room for large feet, but squeezing a fifth person in appears impossible unless all three rear riders are children.

Outward visibility is excellent, and the MINI’s tidy dimensions make it easy to park. A surround-view camera and a rear cross-traffic alert system would help, but MINI doesn’t offer those technologies on the Countryman. Instead, you get parking sensors, a reversing camera, and an available automated parking assistance system that isn’t worth the trouble.

MINI provides reasonable interior storage given the Countryman’s size, but the test vehicle’s smartphone charging pad, located underneath the centre armrest, completely blocked access to the tray beneath it. Lift the armrest up and you’ll find a larger open storage area.

Cargo measurements are small even by class standards. MINI says the Countryman holds 498 litres of luggage behind the back seat, and that seems accurate. Two full-size suitcases fit side by side, if you lay them flat. Remove the cargo cover, and you can stack more luggage into the car.

A 40/20/40-split folding back seat design allows you to carry longer items without tossing either rear passenger out. Fold the seat down and the Countryman supplies 1.348 litres of cargo space. Keep in mind that the Cooper SE PHEV model’s measurements are slightly smaller.

A MINI Countryman isn’t a technology powerhouse, but what it does have is useful. In addition to a small digital instrumentation display perched on the steering column where MINI once located motorcycle-style gauges in a pod, our test vehicle had a head-up display (HUD) projecting information on a small screen. Though it is mounted only slightly higher than the digital instrumentation, we found the HUD useful.

In the middle of the dashboard, within a round housing that recalls the large, analog, centre-mounted speedometers of Mini models past, you’ll find an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Since BMW owns MINI, the infotainment system uses a version of its parent company’s iDrive technology, and includes five ways to interact with it.

First, there is the touchscreen. Second, MINI provides volume and tuning controls just below the screen. Third, there are controls on the steering wheel. Fourth, a control knob and buttons for the screen live on the centre console. Fifth, a voice-recognition system allows you to issue spoken commands.

That approach might sound like a recipe for confusion, but we find that we use all of these methods to interact with the MINI Connected infotainment system. Not only that, once you’ve acclimated to the system and user interface, it is surprisingly easy to navigate and use. Furthermore, the voice-recognition system accurately responded to all of our testing commands. However, the system lacks Android Auto smartphone connectivity, providing only Apple CarPlay.

A 12-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system is available. It sounds great, and is likely a significant improvement over the Countryman’s standard six-speaker system.

If the Countryman hints at its age with the omission of Android Auto, it shows off its AARP membership card when it comes to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). There are few of them available, though we realize that some people might consider that a feature and not a bug.

Every Countryman has something called Active Driving Assistant. It equips the SUV with forward-collision warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beam headlights. The Countryman also has rear parking sensors and an emergency SOS call button to get help if necessary, and you can pay extra for adaptive cruise control.

Otherwise, you’re pretty much on your own. So, that means you don’t get blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, lane-centring assist, or a surround-view camera system.

Since our test vehicle did not have the optional adaptive cruise control, the only thing we could safely assess was the lane-departure warning system. It provides a subtle vibration through the steering wheel, which is our preference.

As far as crash-test ratings go, only the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) provides any guidance. In addition, because the IIHS rolled out some new testing procedures, that guidance is incomplete. However, in the crashworthiness evaluations the IIHS has performed, the Countryman earns the highest rating of Good.

Theoretically, if you’re shopping for a subcompact crossover SUV, you probably want to save money. And if you have enough cash to upgrade from a mass-market brand to a luxury marque, you’re probably seeking some status, too.

So, where does that leave the MINI Countryman, which can cost as much as or more than an entry-luxury crossover but is substantially more expensive than mass-market models? Well, it places the Countryman in what is commonly called “premium” territory.

Premium is where Buick and GMC live, serving as a layer between Chevrolet and Cadillac. That’s also where Jeep and Mazda want to play. You could also include Acura and Infiniti within Premiumville’s city limits, though they would argue in favour of a gerrymander into Luxuryland to join Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

Considering the small SUV alternatives from any of those brands (if they exist at all), the MINI Countryman looks pretty good. It uses BMW engineering and technology, boasts plenty of personality, offers numerous ways to customize to your preferences, and is rousing good fun to drive as long as you’re not trying to channel your inner Tanner Foust.

But none of this comes cheaply, and with a MINI Countryman, you’ll pay a premium for premium.

Note: Images show a US model.