New Mini Countryman

Hamburg, Germany-Insisting that the new Mini Countryman is not an SUV nor even a small crossover, the engineers at BMW have nonetheless emphasized both off-road ability and people/cargo-hauling utility to give Mini a more family-friendly and spacious offering. Back in the '60s, the original Mini Countryman was a wood-sided station wagon with only two doors, so the new four-door is the first such to wear the name. The new model, coming to America as early as next year, is not only longer but also taller and notably wider than the Mini Cooper Coupe, Cabriolet and Clubman models in dealerships today. By also expanding on feature offerings—including access to Web radio and other features via an iPhone link and Mini-specific app—and on personalization via paint and interior choices, the Countryman maintains Mini's hipness factor even as it makes room for child seats and trips to Costco.

The Specs

Arriving 10 years after BMW's original reincarnation of the Mini brand, the Countryman answers the need for a "step up" model dealers can offer to loyalists whose lifestyles may now include children, homeownership or other demands for a somewhat larger vehicle. It also has more ground clearance and a more upright seating position, which Mini refers to as a "semi command" view of the road. We don't think they mean you're only half in control, just that it's not as tall as a full-on SUV. With the optional ALL4 all-wheel-drive system, the Countryman is hardly an off-road adventurer but does pose fewer worries on dirt two-tracks through the woods or in slippery weather conditions.

Munich would deny this, but the cutesy pretensions that Mini is an "English" car are all but abandoned with this one—in its details, from the iDrive-like interface with the navigation screen to the array of electronic driving aids, the Countryman is the most BMW-like of Minis. This fact is emphasized—albeit unintentionally—by the introduction taking place in the countryside outside Hamburg. The Countryman won't even be assembled with its brand mates in Oxford but at the BMW Group's Austrian partner firm Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik in Graz. This emphasizes that this is an all-new vehicle, not a stretched Mini, even as it hews closely to Mini exterior design and engineering traditions.

"Biggest-ever Mini" is a relative expression—even at a shade more than 4 meters long, at 161.8 inches the Countryman still casts a smaller shadow than a comparable 165-inch five-door VW Golf. The Mini-characteristic design pushes the wheels out to the corners, so the wheelbase is an inch longer than the VW's, and it's also a bit bigger at 70.4 inches wide and 61.5 tall, the latter figure incorporating both the raised roof rails (which enhance interior headroom) and a half-inch more ground clearance with the all-wheel-drive system (branded ALL4). Inside, the Countryman feels significantly less cozy than your standard Mini Cooper coupe—driver and passenger bang elbows less often, and the rear seat is a place where adults can sit for longer than a quick trip out to dinner. With a seats-up cargo capacity of 41.3 cubic feet, there's even enough luggage space for a week in the country.

ALL4 sends 100 percent of drive torque to the front wheels until it detects slip, whereupon the electronically controlled center couple sends torque rearward. It's not a high-speed system, though, and it shuts down at freeway speeds (140 km/h, or 87 mph).

Along with the new model comes an enhanced engine for the top Cooper S model, making 184 hp (versus 172 today) with a dual-scroll turbo, direct injection and variable valve timing to ensure that the performance enhancement does not cut into fuel economy. The combined rating in the European driving cycle for the Cooper S (the only model we drove) is the equivalent of 38.5 mpg, or a 9 percent improvement on the previous engine. We'd expect to see something in the mid-30s on the U.S. EPA test cycle, perhaps less with the automatic, though both the manual and automatic trannies offer six speeds.