2014 MINI Countryman Review
Stand by for some good news! This year’s 2014 MINI Countryman review brings you a couple of modifications which could make you smile and immediately pick up the phone for your nearest dealership, especially if you’ve got three kids and thought you’d never be able to drive a cool car ever again.
Seating rings the changes
Starting off with the biggest change of all: the rear seating configuration. No doubt you remember clearly the two bucket seats which have been a feature of the MINI Countryman since time immemorial (or at least, since 2010)? How about that weird (or innovative; depends how you look at it) rail which runs between the two, allowing convenient clip-on access to your drink, your sunglasses, and your iPod?
In 2013 this was an optional feature, so you could either have a bench which could theoretically hold three adults (or in reality, two adults and a teddy bear) or the bucket seats?
The honeymoon’s over. They’re gone. No more.
Now you get a bench seat as standard, no questions, no choice, but not forgetting that customers vote with their wallets, no doubt it’s a response to buyers’ feedback. It’ll still be cosy for more than two adults in the back, since the area size of the car remains 161.7″ x 70.4″ but you’ll definitely get the kids in now. There’s plenty of room for the cupholders and the iPod dock; but you’ll find them on the centre console, still within reach, and a bit more as you’d expect.
Anyone feeling disappointed? We thought not. The unusual style was nice, but was possibly more of a restriction than a selling point, and we prefer the extended possibilities with the bench seat.
Improved features
The other two minor modifications which have been added to the new MINI Countryman affect the driving a little more, and only in a good way: heated wing mirrors, and heated windscreen washers as standard. Anyone contemplating a winter like we had a couple of years back will be happy with that. The day we can get in a car and set off immediately in -18 degrees C temperatures, will be a happy day indeed.
If you were hoping for a 2014 MINI Countryman which offset the (very few) issues with the 2013 model – and here in particular we’re thinking the sluggish acceleration in the front wheel drive Cooper and Cooper S, the limited cargo space in all versions, and the slightly overpriced add-on options – then look away now. There are no obvious changes there.
Without driving a new one, it’s not possible to comment on acceleration, and the length is the same; the cargo space is the same, and everything’s still pretty expensive, but then you know what you expect from a MINI, and space isn’t one of those things. You get what you pay for – a cool, easy ride in one of the most personable cars available.
Why buy a MINI Countryman?
All in all, the new 2014 MINI Countryman is still going to be a real pleasure to drive. You’ve still got a very smooth six-speed transmission, both in manual and automatic versions, and the horsepowers are still just as good as they were last year.
Since the 2013 model with the ALL4 drove the best of the lot, we know which one we’d get. Whatever might be good enough for John Cooper is good enough for us, so the JCW wins, as far as we’re concerned.
By Sakina Murdock, freelance writer.
