Driven: 2024 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman Keeps Its Soul Despite Growing Up
This new Mini is bigger, roomier, and more premium, but it’s still a Mini at heart.
My, how you've grown! The redesigned 2024 Mini Countryman is 4.7 inches longer, 0.9 inch wider, 3.9 inches taller, and has a 0.9-inch-longer wheelbase than the car it replaces. It is, by some margin, the biggest Mini ever made. But there's a good reason for that. The U.S. is the world's largest market for the Countryman, and American customers have long asked for a supersized version of the compact crossover SUV. And Mini product planners listened. The new 2024 Countryman's increased dimensions and 7.9 inches of ground clearance mean it's now officially categorized as an SUV.
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The Basics
The 2024 Mini Countryman is built on the BMW-developed FAAR-WE vehicle architecture that also underpins the forthcoming second-generation BMW X2 and the recently redesigned BMW X1. This architecture was designed to accommodate front-drive and all-wheel-drive powertrains with transverse-mounted internal combustion engines up front, as well as single- and dual-motor full electric powertrains.
The $47,895 (base price), 312-hp 2024 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman tops what will be a three-model Countryman lineup in the U.S. The entry-level model will be the $39,895 241-hp Countryman S ALL4. Between those two will be the all-electric Countryman SE ALL 4, drive impressions of which we'll bring you next month.
Noteworthy Tech
Built in Germany at BMW's Leipzig factory, the new Countryman is the first Mini to offer Level 2 driver assistance technology. It also features the first-ever round OLED touchscreen used in an automobile, something that seemed to excite the Mini execs we spoke with even more than the fact the John Cooper Works Countryman is an all-wheel-drive compact SUV that will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5.4 seconds on the way to a top speed of 155mph.
Indeed, Mini design chief Oliver Heilmer spent more time describing the beautifully designed and executed screen layouts and discussing the different jingles created for the eight "experience modes," the four different driving sounds, and the 30 different "earcons"—audio feedback signals—used to indicate successful interactions with the car's functions than he did talking about an exterior with more visual heft than any in Mini's history. That's perhaps because there's no obvious Mini tradition in the form or proportion of the brawny new Countryman; the car's essential "Mini-ness" is reduced to the execution of the floating roof, which can be ordered in contrasting colors, and the rear light graphic, which is an evolution of the Union Jack theme seen on the outgoing model.
About the John Cooper Works Model
The 2024 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman is readily identified by its Chili Red roof and exterior mirror caps (five different contrasting body colors are available), and red brake calipers lurking behind the 19-inch or optional 20-inch aluminum wheels. Other visual differences between it and the regular Countryman S ALL4 include four exhaust outlets and a different front fascia, with a more aggressive grille flanked by large intake scoops with vertical red highlights and a couple of non-functional scoop-like notches on the surface ahead of the hood opening.
The front end is the least successful element of the John Cooper Works exterior makeover, the larger grille and more pronounced vertical elements on the lower bumper exaggerating the overhang from the three-quarter front view. The execution of the Countryman S ALL4's front end is cleaner, more technical, and more successful.
Inside, the John Cooper Works Countryman is, somewhat predictably, finished in black with red accents. The new Countryman's interior features extensive use of a 2-D knitted material made from recycled polyester on the doors and dash that allow different colors to be interwoven in unique patterns. One of the interior options on the Countryman S ALL4 features a stunning fade from petrol blue into tan on the woven door skins; the red pattern in the weave on the dash of the John Cooper Works is equally striking.
Overall, the interior ambiance is the most upscale seen on any Mini, and the premium perception is enhanced by a meaningful increase in interior room compared with the previous model. The new Countryman's larger dimensions mean the driver and front passenger have 1.2 inches of additional shoulder room. Rear-seat shoulder room increases by an inch, and the rear seat can slide back and forth by 5.1 inches to increase rear legroom or luggage capacity. Mini says the new Countryman's load space can be increased from 16.2 cubic feet with the rear seats up to 51.2 cubic feet with them folded.
The OLED screen, a gleaming 9.4-inch disc mounted at the center of the dash that's a 21st-century take on the large centrally located speedo of the original Mini, dominates the interior, even before you awaken the car. Important vehicle information is displayed prominently at the top of the screen, and the area in the center is used for the nav display—with augmented reality helping to identify the correct route—or to swipe through the various menus and apps supported by the BMW-developed Mini OS9 operating system. Depending on which of the eight experience modes you select, touching the digital speed readout will configure the screen into a giant speedometer surrounded by minor gauges.
A toggle switch in the binnacle beneath, labeled "Experiences," is used to switch between the modes. Three of the eight experiences are also drive modes by another name, and although the screen responds quickly and smoothly to touch inputs, the animation and accompanying jingle as you switch from one experience to another seems to take forever to execute. That's fine if you're sitting in the driveway deciding what mood Mini you want to drive today, but it's annoying when you want to flick between drive modes on the move.
The Drive
"Core" is the 2024 Mini Countryman's default drive-mode setting. Flicking the toggle down initiates the most efficient throttle and transmission-shift settings. Flicking the toggle up activates "Go Kart" mode, which sharpens the throttle and transmission response, stiffens the shocks, amps up fake cracks and pops from the exhaust, and dials back the electronic nannies. Well, almost all of them: Legal requirements mean you must go into the system to turn off the speed-limit warning chimes, and the lane keep assist steering interventions every time you start the car.
In John Cooper Works specification, the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-banger under the hood makes its 312 hp at 5,750 rpm and 295 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. It's a midrange pugilist, this engine, happiest working from 2,000 rpm to 5,000 rpm rather than singing to the 6,500-rpm redline. In its default Core drive mode, with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission left to its own devices and efficiently surfing the torque, the JCW Countryman feels quick and alert. In Go Kart mode, with all the driveline configurations in the submenu set up a notch from Sport to Sport+ and the transmission in its Sport and Manual settings, the JCW Countryman can hustle down a winding two-lane like a proper hot hatch.
Although it's all-wheel drive, the Mini SUV feels like a like a front-drive car on corner entry, partly because the all-wheel-drive system is biased to the front wheels, and there's more weight over the front axle. The steering is nonetheless quick, though any sensitivity is marred by the ludicrously fat steering wheel, which makes you feel as if you're driving while wearing a pair of boxing gloves, and brake-pedal feel is consistent. The ride is taut, but there's a welcome veneer of suspension compliance that reduces noise and impact harshness, even on the optional 20-inch wheels and 245/40 Pirelli PZero tires.
Bottom line: The 2024 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman still feels Mini-esque even though it's bigger and taller and heavier than any Mini in history.
We have yet to sample the entry-level Countryman S ALL4, but after our stint behind the wheel of the John Cooper Works model, we know the 2024 Mini Countryman marks a step change over the outgoing model. Yes, the new Countryman is bigger and more accommodating, but more important, it looks and feels more premium. It's a more mature Mini, but, as that giant round screen shows, it's a Mini that hasn't lost its sense of fun.
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by cars. My father was a mechanic, and some of my earliest memories are of handing him wrenches as he worked to turn a succession of down-at-heel secondhand cars into reliable family transportation. Later, when I was about 12, I’d be allowed to back the Valiant station wagon out onto the street and drive it around to the front of the house to wash it. We had the cleanest Valiant in the world.
I got my driver’s license exactly three months after my 16th birthday in a Series II Land Rover, ex-Australian Army with no synchro on first or second and about a million miles on the clock. “Pass your test in that,” said Dad, “and you’ll be able to drive anything.” He was right. Nearly four decades later I’ve driven everything from a Bugatti Veyron to a Volvo 18-wheeler, on roads and tracks all over the world. Very few people get the opportunity to parlay their passion into a career. I’m one of those fortunate few.
I started editing my local car club magazine, partly because no-one else would do it, and partly because I’d sold my rally car to get the deposit for my first house, and wanted to stay involved in the sport. Then one day someone handed me a free local sports paper and said they might want car stuff in it. I rang the editor and to my surprise she said yes. There was no pay, but I did get press passes, which meant I got into the races for free. And meet real automotive journalists in the pressroom. And watch and learn.
It’s been a helluva ride ever since. I’ve written about everything from Formula 1 to Sprint Car racing; from new cars and trucks to wild street machines and multi-million dollar classics; from global industry trends to secondhand car dealers. I’ve done automotive TV shows and radio shows, and helped create automotive websites, iMags and mobile apps. I’ve been the editor-in-chief of leading automotive media brands in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. The longer I’m in this business the more astonished I am these fiendishly complicated devices we call automobiles get made at all, and how accomplished they have become at doing what they’re designed to do. I believe all new cars should be great, and I’m disappointed when they’re not. Over the years I’ve come to realize cars are the result of a complex interaction of people, politics and process, which is why they’re all different. And why they continue to fascinate me.Read More
