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28/04/2011
REVIEW by EWAN KENNEDY
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Mini launched its all-new Countryman in Australia in January, but only with petrol engines. The local dealers expected to receive imports of turbo-diesel variants in February but heavy demand overseas has seen delays and only now are the first turbo-diesel engines arriving on our shores.
Those of you who haven’t been keeping in touch with diesel engine design for the past few years may be bemused at the use of ‘sport’ and ‘diesel’ in the same sentence. But the latest generation of turbo-diesel powerplants isn’t just one step removed from the old diesels that were affectionately called ‘oilers’, these latest diesels are a giant leap ahead.
While this isn’t a full-on sports engine, acceleration from rest to 100 km/h in 9.4 seconds means the new diesel Mini Countryman has plenty of punch for everyday driving.
Should you want to take an all-wheel-drive model into some light to medium duty off-road areas the 305 Newton metres of torque will stand it in good stead.
Mini gets its new 2.0-litre diesel engine from BMW as the marque that was once oh-so British, these days belongs to that upmarket German car maker. Fortunately BMW understands the legend of the Mini as well as the feelings and needs of the lovers of these little hotshots.
However, the word little is perhaps less than appropriate when talking of the Mini Countryman. This is the largest of the new Mini breed and is actually well into midsize by car standards.
Countryman is a substantial 398 mm longer than the standard Mini three-door hatchback. The extra size means that the Mini Countryman has four conventional passenger doors. It can transport people in the back seat without those in front needing to give up a fair bit of their legroom as happens in the smaller Mini.
Not only is the Countryman longer than the Mini hatch, it’s also wider and higher. This isn’t a stretched standard Mini, it’s an all-new vehicle.
In an interesting move, the Mini Countryman is offered in two different rear seat configurations; either with two bucket seats or a three-seat bench. There is fore-and-aft adjustment of the individual back seats to you can set up occupant / luggage space in many ways.
Luggage space is also greatly improved in the Countryman when compared with the Mini hatch. With all four seats in use the Countryman has a useful 350 litres of gear, but folding and/or sliding the back seats cargo space can be as high as 1170 litres.
The complete Mini Countryman range, with prices (excluding dealer and government charges) is:
Cooper Countryman: $37,700
Cooper Countryman Chilli: $43,100
Cooper S Countryman: $47,500
Cooper S Countryman Chilli: $53,150
Cooper S ALL4 Countryman: $50,400
Cooper S ALL4 Countryman Chilli: $56,050
Cooper D Countryman: $40,950
Cooper D Countryman Chilli: $46,350
Cooper D ALL4 Countryman: $43,850
Cooper D ALL4 Countryman Chilli: $49,250
Cooper SD ALL4 Countryman: $52,100
Cooper SD ALL4 Countryman Chilli: $57,835 |
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