New MINI Countryman Untamed Edition 2026 review: rugged SUV can handle the rough stuff

Verdict

Whether anyone will ever put the MINI Countryman Untamed properly through its paces off-road remains to be seen; but it does at least prove it can handle the rough stuff, even if that’s more to do with the optional tyres than any of the cosmetic add-ons. For the most part, it looks (and feels) like little more than a trim level with some stickers and accessories added, pretending to be something more extreme than it is.

MINI is a company that’s far from shy when it comes to producing a special edition or snazzy trim level, and while it’s proud of its ancestral connections in the world of rallying, it’s capitalising more on the lifestyle off-road segment for its latest Countryman-based instalment, the Untamed Edition.

The name may be doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but the suspension has also come in for an increase in ride height. Well, so long as you choose an electric version, as the petrol models retain the standard car’s suspension set-up. Modest as it may be, the 15mm rise increases to 19mm if you take the optional off-road Pirelli Scorpion XTM tyres into account. However, with the current Countryman already being of sizeable stature (we hear you, Mini purists), the slight bump in ground clearance doesn’t seem all that noticeable.

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2018 Mini

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62,407 milesManualPetrol2.0L

Cash £10,876

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2022 Mini

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23,644 milesAutomaticPetrol1.5L

Cash £19,276

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2022 Mini

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27,500 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L

Cash £19,149

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2022 Mini

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13,405 milesAutomaticPetrol1.5L

Cash £21,455

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MINI’s execs were keen to point out that they know there are off-road enthusiasts that would take a more extreme approach to carrying out such upgrades, but reiterated that recalibration of the steering, traction control and braking has been included in the tweaks.

Visually, there are subtle extras including black protective vinyl stickers along the bottoms of the doors, above the wheel arches and on the bonnet’s ‘power dome’, while the blue Untamed model sticker is applied on the small panels on the rearmost side windows. Two exclusive colours differentiate the Untamed Edition further: Hideaway Grey and Nomad Blue – the latter being the first time MINI has offered a satin (or ‘Frozen’ in BMW-Group parlance) finish on a series production model.

The grille surround is in Dark Steel, and the chin spoiler has a more rugged scuff-plate look, which is repeated on the rear and through the side sills. The black alloys are apparently “inspired by” proper steel wheels, but left us wondering why MINI simply didn’t fit those in the first place.

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On the inside, the Untamed Edition does feel a touch more special thanks to sports seats upholstered in a combination of artificial ‘Vescin’ leather, in Nightshade Blue with Cornflower Blue piping and stitching, while the upper sections are in a similarly coloured knitted material. These seats look the part and do a pretty good job of holding you in place even if you do venture off-road.

Other Untamed detailing around the cabin includes that same blue colour on the fabric strap that forms the third spoke of the MINI’s chunky steering wheel, hard-wearing rubber floor mats and a neat storage box between the front seats.

The rest is as you’ll find in any Countryman, with a circular OLED touchscreen, wireless charging pad on the centre console and some proper buttons, even if the toggle-style drive selector is a bit on the small side.

You get the same 460 litres of boot space, and folding down the rear seats grows that to 1,450 litres. If you’re planning an even bigger adventure, the MINI will tow up to 2,000kg with a braked trailer.

For those inclined, MINI offers an Untamed branded roof tent made as part of a collaboration with Autohome and a set of fold-up picnic chairs and table by outdoor gear maker Helinox. Thankfully – or not, depending on your viewpoint – we weren’t forced to try it out.

To make matters slightly confusing for buyers in the UK, the petrol model we drove at the car’s US launch does get the raised ride height, and as such is more closely aligned with the electric version we’ll get here. Performance from the turbocharged four-cylinder engine is unchanged, and on the road there’s no notable difference in performance between this and the regular Countryman S.

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The more rugged tyres didn’t generate any obvious additional road noise, and body control remains well in check through bends. The Countryman remains fun to drive and still feels a touch sharper and more engaging than some of the more conventional family SUVs on sale. The raised driving position will be a plus to many, of course.

Where the Countryman Untamed did throw up some surprises was when we headed off the tarmac and up some increasingly challenging trails. The taller ride height did prove welcome as the fire roads turned to more undulating trails that worked the axle articulation a bit more than your typical forest car park. Sufficient torque of 360Nm kept the MINI moving nicely, though we suspect the controllability of the electric powertrain would suit this sort of driving even more, as would exploring trails in near silence without the buzzy four-cylinder sound of the petrol engine under the bonnet.

As the angles became gradually steeper, the enhanced approach and departure angles were a bonus, though we do think MINI’s designers could have leaned into this aspect more and given the car reprofiled bumpers to emphasise its ability on more rugged terrain. As it happened, the stock bumpers cleared everything without an issue.

But it was in the more advanced sections of the trail – where spotters were required to help guide us through the rough terrain that most average drivers would have turned back – that the Countryman proved its mettle. The tyres were unquestionably one of the primary reasons for it being so capable here, and while it lightly scraped its underbody on a couple of severe rock sections, the enhanced traction control allowed for enough wheel slip without hindering progress.

It made light work of getting back down the mountain too, always letting the driver feel in control with the ABS doing its thing when needed but never letting the car run on. Whether these testing trails are what real people will do in the real world is debatable, but it does at least reassure us that, at worst, that the Countryman Untamed will be well able to get you out of a muddy field after a music festival as you leave the majority of front-wheel-drive SUVs behind.

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