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23/01/2011
By EWAN KENNEDY
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Mini is about to enter a market segment it has never before attempted, with a small SUV called the Mini Countryman.
While it could be argued that the Mini Moke that was built in Australia until the early 1980s could be classed as an SUV, the new Countryman has many features not seen in the cute little Aussie Moke. To start with the Countryman will have a roof - something that was an optional extra on the Moke!
Countryman will also have 4WD, unlike the Moke which used to rely on big wheels and light weight to get it over tough roads. Note that there will also be a 2WD variant of the Mini Countryman. The all-wheel drive system on the Countryman gets the catchy tag of ALL4
Probably the most interesting change of all is that the new Mini Countryman will have four conventional passenger doors. This is because the Countryman is a substantial 398 mm longer than the standard Mini three-door, meaning that it can be used to transport people in the back seat without those in front needing to give up a fair bit of their legroom.
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.
Cleverly, the Mini will be sold with a choice of two bucket seats or a three-seat bench in the rear. Versatility is further enhanced by enabling fore-and-aft adjustment of the individual back seats to you can juggle occupant space in various ways.
Luggage space is also greatly improved in the Countryman when compared with the Mini three-door. With all four seats in use it can carry a useful 350 litres of gear, but folding and/or sliding the back seats in different ways this cargo carrying can be increased to as much as 1170 litres.
Engine options are petrol and diesel. The petrols are: 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol without a turbocharger that produces up to 90 kilowatts of power; the same enginewith a turbocharger to pump it up to a zippy 135 kW. Then there’s a pair of economy oriented turbo-diesel engines, one is a 1.6-litre that is officially rated at only 4.4 litres per hundred kilometres and has 82 kW of power. When the diesel is fitted beside an automatic transmission it has a capacity of 2.0 litres, however it is tuned so that it has the same 82 kilowatts.
All three engines are offered in the 2WD variants of the new Mini Countryman, but the all-wheel drive system is restricted to the turbocharged petrol and diesel engines.
Manual and automatic transmissions are offered in the complete range.
Rather than calling the Mini Countryman an SUV, the title of SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) has been revived. Mini’s parent company BMW tried to get us to call its X range of vehicles by that title, but gave up through lack of interest. The different nature of the cute little Mini may see the expression SAV (not to be confused with battered savs!) get a bite on buyers this time.
Ground clearance is greater on the Countryman than in the others in the Mini range, however at 149 mm it’s hardly aimed at crossing the Simpson Desert.
Pricing for the new Countryman starts at a pretty reasonable $37,700 (plus on-road charges by the dealer and the government) for the Mini Cooper Countryman, but escalate rapidly as you go up the range. Putting a Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 Chilli on the road will set you back very close to $60,000.
As with the rest of the Mini range the sky is the limit thanks to a huge range of options to let you fully personalise your exciting new Mini Countryman. Topping these out are the performance items provided by the crew at John Cooper Works (JCW).
The all-new Mini Countryman petrol goes on sale in Australia late in February 2011, with the diesels following about three weeks afterwards.
The complete Mini Countryman range, with prices (excluding government and dealer charges*) is:
Cooper Countyrman: $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
MINI Cooper D Countryman: $40,950
MINI Cooper D Countryman Chilli: $46,350
MINI Cooper D ALL4 Countryman: $43,850
MINI Cooper D All4 Countryman Chilli: $49,250
Contact your local Mini dealer for driveaway prices. |
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