MINI Countryman meets its ancestor

We bring the biggest MINI ever face to face with the car that started it all- the 1959 Morris Mini Minor

Auto Express Car Reviews

April 2010

Latest deal price: from £15,912 to £25,939

Mini by name, definitely not mini by nature! The Countryman will be the fourth model to join the range when it steamrollers into showrooms in September, but with four-wheel drive and offroader dimensions to match, is it still a MINI? We brought it face to face with the original 1959 Morris Mini Minor to find out.

Before the new BMW-engineered hatchback first showed its face in 2001, we were sceptical about whether it could live up to the legend of the Alec Issigonis-designed original. But the moment we got our hands on one it was clear that BMW had done a fantastic job of transferring the DNA.

Sure, the current Hatchback, Clubman and Cabriolet are all longer, wider and taller than the 1959 original but they retain the same cheeky styling and go-kart handling that made that car so famous. The Countryman’s arrival though has forced us to re-evaulate exactly what it is that makes a MINI a MINI.

The reaction at the Countryman’s unveil in Geneva was lukewarm, with some journalists pointing out that it was too big and lacked charm. And lined up against the Morris Mini Minor its inflated dimensions are brought into even sharper relief.

Measuring 4.11 metres bumper to bumper, the Countryman is over a metre longer than its ancestor. And while the roofline of the original sits at just 1.35 metres the Countryman towers over it at 1.56 metres high. Side by side the 51-year old car looks tiny and fragile, the 4x4’s 18-inch rims are almost twice the diameter of its modest hub caps.

And it’s not just the Countryman’s expanded waistline that has MINI traditionalists up in arms. It’s the first five-door model to ever wear the iconic badge, the first with all-wheel drive and as if to cement its ‘outsider’ status it will be built not at the plant in Oxford, but contracted to Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.

Having said all that, BMW’s business model is impeccable. Expanding the range not only attracts new customers to the brand but lowers production costs at the same time. And that’s the key to the Countryman - it’s not targeting diehard MINI fans, but a whole new type of clientele.

Gone are the days when the new MINI relied on its traditions and origins, the current family of BMW-designed MINIs are an ingenious marketing product, more of a global lifestyle product than a car manufacturer - and one that appeals to both hairdressers and chief executives alike. The Countryman simply adds another string to its bow.

For an alternative review of the latest MINI Countryman visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

What Next

For more breaking car news and reviews, subscribe to Auto Express magazine. We'll give you 6 issues for £1 and a free gift!

< Previous Next >

14 Comments

Its certainly not a Mini!

This new offering from BMW which is being built in Graz, Austria to keep costs down with parts from Eastern Europe may be many things but it certainly is not a Mini!

I had a real ADO 15 Austin Mini Countryman and it had that tremendous Mini roadholding and cornerabilty on all sorts of twisting country roads and was really zippy in town nipping in between taxis and buses etc - great fun.

I very much doubt if this new offering has this sort of real Mini character.

Apropos Magna Steyr in Graz - the company that tried to take over OPEL - there seems to be a move in Britain to reduce production costs by building new models there instead of in the UK?

Is this really what we want? It does nothing for economic growth or development in Britain and seems in fact to be a vote against products made in Britain.

Maybe the playing fiellds will become more level on Thursday when people have an opportunity to have their say on how things should be run in future?

By vandenplas4litre on 4 May, 2010, 9:41am

Pig Ugly

Apart from being just plain pig ugly, the other key thing that BMW forgot is that it is the CONCEPT that needs reintroducing, not some vague pastiche of the shape.. The concept was small, cheap, clever. BMW's Mini is none of these.

By pajbse on 4 May, 2010, 10:45am

Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond

@vandenplas4litre
Couldn't agree more with you. This God-awful Labour Government of liars and deceivers couldn't be trusted to piss on a candle right. Tfailed miserably to save Rover and were no help to Jaguar. Aston Martin and now Mini are making models abroad, all at the expense of labour (small 'L') and manufacturing expertise in Britain.
@pajbse:
I liked the new Mini when it came out and still think it was a successfully updated design, but this one does look plain odd. Also striking is that the original Mini looks like a toy car next to the new one. I never owned one myself but did get the chance to drive a Mini 1000 one day as a courtesy car when my Father's was in for a service. I was absolutely shocked at its rapidity up to 40mph, its road-holding and its braking and spent a hugely enjoyable hour with it, coming to understand why so many people loved it.
Now then, back to the election. I voted them in in 1997 but never again! All I can say is:- If Labour end up with the most seats on Friday will the last person to leave Britain please turn the lights off!

By sirsidneyruffdiamond on 4 May, 2010, 11:08am

I hate these things

As the title says "I hate these things". As a real classic Mini owner and lover I see these BMW monstrosities as cynical caricatures of a once brilliantly conceived (but perhaps not alway executed) car. Had they been called BMW 1 series or the like (too late now of course as there is one) I would have no argument but to call them Minis is just totally totally wrong as the photograph above shows. I personally will never buy a BMW as I cannot forgive them for this.

By davvy1uk on 4 May, 2010, 11:11am

Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond

By sirsidneyruffdiamond on 4 May, 2010, 11:12am

Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond

By sirsidneyruffdiamond on 4 May, 2010, 11:12am

Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond

By sirsidneyruffdiamond on 4 May, 2010, 11:16am

I hate these things

By davvy1uk on 4 May, 2010, 11:30am

BMW bashers take note

@Sir Sid and Vandenplas
You seem to forget that the BMW owned MINI Plant in Oxford is working to capacity and churning out MINIs made by local residents on a 24/7 basis to keep up withe demand and is a well-known success for UK Motoring manufacturing industry.
Would you like BMW to build a bigger Plant and employ more UK residents?
Who will you pick on next? The Chinese for taking Rover and MG and building a factory in China churning out one of GB's famous marques?
Get over it - MINI is a DNA generic of the old car and a success, big or small.
For your further interest, the first car made by BMW was a CKD version of the Austin Seven called the BMW Dixi. Now that's a fact.

By ColonialboyoNZ on 4 May, 2010, 11:00pm

absolutely right

@sirsidneyruffdiamond

Well said,

By A1Jaguar on 9 May, 2010, 7:01pm

@sirsidneyruffdiamond

when maggie picked up the batton from them in 79 the country was in a right mess then as i recall unlike the situation when major handed over to Blair in 97 with economic growth

By A1Jaguar on 9 May, 2010, 7:04pm

Don't you guys get it. The job is to expand the brand and sales. Not make diehard 1959 mini lovers happy. It is a little strange looking but that might work for this application. My guess is the package it offers ie 4 doors, more room, 4WD in a still smallish package will find a whole new group of buyers, which is just the point. The same point that the Land Rover LRX is aiming at! BTW what does a Mini have to do with British politics?

By qball on 22 May, 2010, 4:16pm

Guys, get over it. Please. Move with the times. Of course the Mini is bigger than the old one. Safety issues have ensured that. The new Polo is the same size, if not bigger than the original Golf nowadays. The 'little' Fiesta is 1 1/2 times bigger than the original. It's no big deal and you can't keep living in the past.

By Snabaw on 24 May, 2010, 3:06am