When BMW introduced the MINI brand nine years ago, it immediately scored a hit with young, trendy types who realised that this was exactly what they wanted, and it has continued to do so ever since. Time marches on, however, and since 2001 the original buyers have been getting older, making money, having sex and all sorts of similar unpleasantness, and the hatchback, Convertible and Clubman estate versions are unlikely to meet their needs any longer.
Hence the development of the Countryman, a model specifically designed to provide more practicality than any previous MINI and keep customers loyal to the brand for a few more years. Whether or not this works may depend largely on the styling. One commentator has suggested (in a different context) that MINI is "a wee bit trapped by its own design language", and creating a medium-sized SUV which still bears a family resemblance to other MINIs does seem to have caused a few problems.
You'll have your own views on this, of course, but I suspect that the Countryman will still be appearing in lists of Top 10 Ugliest Cars Ever when continental drift has sent Wales to the South Pole. If you drive one through town there's a real risk that you will find pedestrians clutching at lamp posts for support and sobbing, "For the love of God, what is THAT? Oh, the humanity!"
Okay, so it isn't pretty, but it certainly has space. There's an enormous amount of headroom, and this is the first MINI that I, a six foot three person, can reasonably sit in the back of without prior surgery, though I did need to have the adjustable rear seat slid back as far as it would go.
Further back there is a luggage compartment which is vast by MINI standards, offering 350 litres compared with the 160 of the hatch. Fold down the rear seat and this increases to a most impressive 1170 litres, though this figure is helped by the car's considerable height.
Ground clearance is impressive, too, making the Countryman a realistic proposition for lifestyle motoring. That applies all the more to both the Cooper D reviewed here and the much faster Cooper S if they are fitted with the ALL4 four-wheel drive system, which naturally enough gives better traction, though since it adds £1065 to the price, takes nearly 7mpg off the combined fuel economy and puts both cars into a higher Vehicle Excise Duty band you'd be advised to give some thought to whether you actually need it.
Right from the start, a major selling point of any MINI has been how much fun it is to drive. The Countryman, being unusually tall and heavy for the brand, inevitably suffers, and during a brief conversation with a colleague he made it abundantly clear that he was deeply unimpressed. On the other hand, he admitted he was comparing its with other MINIs, and I venture to suggest that this is somewhat unfair.
There is no way the Countryman could possibly match the hatch, Convertible or Clubman in terms of driving dynamics, but I thought the test car was pretty good on the road. The key features of the other models - excellent turn-in and very good mid-corner balance - are still there, and the inevitable extra body lean doesn't seem to give the suspension any cause for concern. Compared with other lifestyle SUVs, the Countryman is exceptionally good to drive.
Mind you, I'm basing that comment on driving the Cooper D, whose 112bhp turbo diesel engine provides just enough grunt and absolutely no more. (That output may seem feeble, but all low-powered MINIs are able to make the most of what power they have.) It might be a different story with the Cooper S, which produces a maximum of 184bhp. I haven't driven it one yet, and it may handle well enough, but even if it does I would probably still prefer the diesel.
Another common feature of MINIs is that they are expensive. Without any options, the Cooper D ALL4 costs £19,875, but who ever heard of a MINI without any options? This one had a lot of options, and although some of them (all relating to colour choice) were free and some were good value (£995 for satellite navigation, for instance), some were neither (£145 for the luggage compartment separating net, so help me), and when you added them all together they brought the total price up to £26,430.
That seems like a great deal of money, though the history of MINI suggests that most owners will tick their way merrily through the options list with no thought for the expense.