Living with a… Mini Countryman JCW (Final Report)

In a sea of identical looking SUVs and crossovers the Mini Countryman has a couple of big things in its favour from the off. First of all there’s that unique Mini look, now successfully stripped of the previous chintz for this latest generation of Countryman. Sure, it still riffs on that classic heritage. But it does so with a confident contemporary twist looking forward as much as back. Second, it’s based on the BMW X1, which is an excellent car built on great engines and slick interior tech. But uglier. And more expensive. Advantage Mini. Available with regular petrol engines or as a full electric version, the one we’re testing here is the hot JCW, complete with a 300 horsepower engine, hot hatch chasing performance and lashings of sporty garnish. But all the practicality of five doors, sliding rear seats and the rest that you get on a regular Countryman. We liked it enough to award it a full five stars when we reviewed it previously. Will that score stand up after six months of living together, though?
Skip to: Month 1 – I’ve been upgraded! Month 2 – Hot and bothered? Month 3 – Putting in the hard miles Month 4 – Snow fun with the black screen of death Final report – Scores on the doors

40-something petrolhead family guy with growing kids and a busy home and work life needing a car as capable on the school run as it is on long runs – if it can entertain on a twisty road and stand out from the crossover and SUV mainstream then all the better!

Dan says: “The Mini has impressed the kids I’ve bussed across town when it’s my turn on the school run taxi rota”

Trips taken

Early days so far, but the Countryman’s arrival has coincided with my eldest having just started at ‘big school’, meaning bye-bye walk round the corner to the local primary and hello morning rat race with all the other stressed parents in their SUVs and crossovers. So far the Mini has impressed the kids I’ve bussed across town when it’s my turn on the school run taxi rota, the snazzy interior, the ‘woohoo!’ jingle when you select Go-Kart mode and ambient lighting all scoring well with them while I’ve appreciated the banging Harman Kardon stereo on the way back. I’ve got some bigger trips with some serious motorway miles coming up, which will be a chance to stretch the Countryman’s legs a bit and see what it’s like on a longer run.

We’re loving

Having concluded my review on the 170 horsepower, 1.5-litre Countryman C with the words “we honestly don’t see what more you’d want” I was looking forward to testing that theory. Sadly, days before it was due to arrive I got an email from the Mini press office saying I’d be getting a JCW instead. Quite the upgrade, given I’ve now got the absolute toppest of top spec Countrymans (or should that be Countrymen? Not sure…) and one with a 300 horsepower 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Which … is pretty much identical to what I’ve just come out of with the Cupra Leon I was running previously. Honestly, after indulging my hot hatch tastes with the Cupra I’d intended to wind my neck in and run something a little more restrained and sensible this time round. Fate seemingly had other plans, or perhaps knows my tastes.

We're not so keen on

Having awarded the Countryman five out of five in my glowing review previously is there anything to criticise? Well, yes. I still hate that stupid fat thumbed steering wheel I called out in the original review. I’ve also had complaints on the school run from his lordship in the passenger seat that, for some reason, this doesn’t get the massage function I’ve got on the driver’s side. No skin off mine but it does seem a bit mean the £5,200 you pay for the Level 3 upgrade pack in which this feature is included doesn’t extend to sharing the love with your passenger. Obviously, I’m being very mature about it and not showing off about how much I’m enjoying my massage as we sit in the school run traffic…

Niggles

It’s still the honeymoon period but I have already encountered a glitch with the otherwise impressive driver assistance tech, the automatic speed limit sensor picking up the 5mph sign in the adjacent roadworks when I was driving on the motorway, and attempting to slam the brakes on to bring me down to that speed. Good job the kids weren’t in the car when that happened, or that the ‘Hey Mini’ voice helper didn’t engage with my verbal response to this situation…

Surprise and delight

Plenty of both in this car, which I’ll be reporting on as we go. There are so many nice little design touches in the cabin it’s hard to know where to start, but I love the clever mix of materials like the recycled polyester weave on the dash and doors while the already impressive BMW-supplied operating system powering the massive circular screen looks even better with its jaunty Mini makeover. Cool graphics, logical menus and a super crisp display are all a massive step up from the glitchy, fiddly systems in many rivals and would be reason enough to choose the Mini over them based on early impressions.

Mileage: 3,356 (on delivery) Fuel consumption: Not yet recorded

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Dan says: “A measured average of 37mpg is pretty impressive for a non-hybrid and powerful 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine in a chunky crossover”

How much has it cost you?

As mentioned, my best intentions at running a more frugal/responsible car after the excess of the Mini’s Cupra predecessor have been somewhat scuppered by the arrival of the JCW version instead of the 1.5-litre mild-hybrid I’d expected. Cue the tiny violins and all that but the fact it can’t quite do my regular 400-mile round trip to Heathrow and back on a single fill is a frustration. Against that a measured average of 37mpg is pretty impressive for a non-hybrid and powerful 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine in a chunky crossover.

Where have you been?

A few airport runs for the day job meaning some steady motorway miles, mixed with the Battle Royale of getting my eldest to his new school across town when our number comes up on the car-share rota. In the context of the latter the above fuel consumption is impressive.

What have you been carrying?

Tweenage children and associated clobber, meaning a selection of skateboards and scooters in the back alongside shopping, school bags and the rest. We also went to a jam night at a new local venue recently, my son’s regular guitar fitting in easily but my bass requiring a bit of a jiggle to fit crossways in the boot due to its longer neck. Literally more rock’n’roll than the usual ‘how many golf bags’ test of boot size, mind.

Delights?

It’s coming to that time of year where heated seats and steering wheel are very much welcome as the mornings get fresher, though it makes the school run bunfight for the treasured shotgun seat even more intense given those in the back don’t get such luxuries. They do at least get the option to recline their seats as some manner of compensation. I’m also appreciating the impressive refinement on the motorway, especially on those dull/frustrating/stressful battles on the M62 to and from Manchester.

Frustrations?

While I really like the circular central display and the menus are generally as logical and easy to navigate as they are attractive to look at there are some frustrations, especially with the fiddly controls for the heating and ventilation. These are too small and buried in the corner of the screen, and usually require eyes off the road and at least a couple of finger stabs to operate. A common criticism of the screen-driven interfaces in modern cars but a rare dropped ball given the thought that’s gone into the system on the Mini, and fact it sticks with physical controls for many other basics. I could live with the touch controls if they were just bigger – given the size of the screen and other graphics that would seem an easy tweak.

This month in a nutshell

Loving the heated seats, hating the faff of finding the fan to demist the windscreen.

Mileage: 4,979 Fuel consumption: 37mpg (measured average)

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Dan says: “Now the clocks have changed and I’m driving in the dark more the fact you seemingly can’t turn the screen off is also really annoying”

How much has it cost you?

Much as I like to think I take pride in my cars and their upkeep time, weather and other realities meant entrusting the Mini’s long-overdue clean to the local hand car wash. They certainly earned their £12, given the state it was in after some hard motorway miles and muddy Oxfordshire B-roads.

Where have you been?

Given I tend use my other long-termer for the commute to the Auto Trader offices in Manchester on the basis it’s a motorbike and therefore quicker and scores free parking the Mini has still racked up the miles this month. A chunk of that was a round trip to Oxfordshire to drive the Hyundai Inster via Derbyshire for the UK launch of the latest Dacia Duster. I enjoyed both for their back-to-basics charm, but it was nice to get back in the relative luxury of the Mini for the long journeys to and fro.

What have you been carrying?

Pesky kids, mainly. Which accounts for the interior ending up arguably even grottier than the outside. I at least cleaned that up myself. There was also a proper test for the carrying capacity when I had to return an electric mountain bike I’d been testing – seats down and with the front wheel off the bike it just about fit in but I wouldn’t want to be doing it regularly and miss the tow hook on my previous Cupra long-termer and option to sling my rack on the back.

Delights?

You know last month I was moaning about not being able to do the 400-mile round trip to London on one tank? Well, frustrating as they are the endless 50mph limits on the M1 at the moment help fuel efficiency and I managed to cover just shy of 440 miles after a round trip to Heathrow, filling up on fumes just before reaching home. I’ll say it again but 40mpg-plus in a car with a non-hybridised, 300 horsepower petrol 2.0-litre engine isn’t bad.

Frustrations?

I mainly love that big round screen, but it’s not without its annoyances. One being that CarPlay only appears as a small, square ‘picture in picture’ box rather than full-screen. Which looks rubbish, and makes the interface frustratingly fiddly in a rare dropped ball for an otherwise impressive system. At least it’s integrated enough that directions also appear in the head-up-display. Now the clocks have changed the fact you (seemingly) can’t turn the screen off is also really annoying – it’s a common issue in cars with big screens but even dimmed to the minimum they make dark roads an eye-straining chore, especially country ones with no street lighting where the glow of the screen is a huge distraction. Maybe I need to eat more carrots to improve my night vision?

This month in a nutshell

Sizing up paper plates to create an improv screen cover for after-dark driving.

Mileage: 6,147 Fuel consumption: 35.4mpg (measured average)

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Dan says: “The JCW is, in the local parlance, a ‘four-be-four’ so, in theory, no snowflake when it comes to driving in winter conditions”

How much has it cost you?

Not so much financially, but quite a bit in emotional energy.

Where have you been?

Playing in the snow!

What have you been carrying?

Mainly kids hither and thither, including an early morning gymnastics drop-off in fresh snow. Thankfully the JCW is, in Yorkshire parlance, a ‘four-be-four’ so, in theory, no snowflake when it comes to driving in winter conditions. Though this ability is somewhat hampered by the fact you can’t turn the traction control off, which is sometimes necessary given systems designed to prevent wheelspin can cut the power in slippery conditions and leave you stranded. Or interfere if you need to, cough, hone your snow driving skills in a deserted car park. Late at night. When nobody’s looking. Not that you’d ever catch me doing such a thing, no sir.

Delights?

Discovering that there is, in fact, a ‘Drive Off Support’ setting in the menus designed to get the car moving on a slippery surface. Stupid name, though. “Snow bother” would be more descriptive, and logical if you were stuck in a drift and trying to find a setting to help you out of it.

Frustrations?

It’s annoying enough when your kettle demands you download a 10GB update before it’ll make your morning brew, never mind your phone or computer insisting you spend the next 24 hours installing a new operating system it turns out you didn’t have enough spare memory for. Now cars do it, the Mini constantly nagging me to download a system update but warning it would disable the car for 20 minutes when I did so. Hardly convenient. I eventually relented on an office day, came back to the car and fired it up to get a black screen of death and no more funky graphics, no navigation, no radio and no phone for the way home. Some upgrade. Thank god I’d previously created a Mini user account on my phone AND noted down the password because without that I’d seemingly have been unable to reboot the system via the on-screen QR code. I’d like to say I’ve noticed a game-changing improvement in how it all works since the faff but … well, what do you think?

This month in a nutshell

Mini proves itself useful in the snow but the tech can take a hike.

Mileage: 7,138 Fuel consumption: 31.2mpg (measured average)

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Dan says: “The Countryman has proved a good size for a growing family and the hectic round of school runs, club taxi duties and that entails”

How much has it cost you?

A quiet final stint for the Mini, needing little more than a couple of top-ups to the tank. These do come around faster when it’s being used for town driving like the school run and commute than they do on my longer motorway journeys at some cost to my overall average.

Where have you been?

With an overlap between the Mini and my new long-term test car (watch this space!) the Countryman hasn’t been anywhere exotic.

What have you been carrying?

Grubby children to and from school, meaning sticky fingers and muddy shoes all over the interior. While I was a little underwhelmed with the black upholstery and trim when the car arrived I’m now relieved it’s not one of the paler cabins you can get, on the basis this would look even scruffier.

Delights?

The Countryman has proved a good size for a growing family and the hectic round of school runs, club taxi duties and all that entails. While I’m not all that keen on SUVs or crossovers as a rule I’ll confess the Countryman strikes a neat compromise, the mini Range Rover proportions giving it a hint of the same grandeur while taking up a lot less road space. Given it’s a performance model with a relatively big and powerful petrol engine I’ve been impressed with the fuel economy over the course of the last few months as well. True, it’s not what you’d call frugal. But nor has it been as ruinous as I expected, especially on a run. Those long motorway miles have also made me appreciate the impressive refinement and general sense of quality as well.

Frustrations?

Remember me ranting about having to download a software update last month? Well, just like a phone or laptop no sooner was that done it was nagging me I needed to do another one, which ended up in a maddening feedback loop of pages of T&Cs, tick boxes, and fiddling on the phone app to no apparent ends. More generally, while I’ve enjoyed the jaunty graphics and logical menus of the infotainment (and back-up of physical switches for volume and other essentials) having the climate controls on the screen is a pain, especially in winter when you might need to quickly de-mist or otherwise tweak the settings in a hurry. Other niggles include the fact the stereo doesn’t switch off when you stop and get out of the car, meaning your music or podcast is still blasting away while you unload the car. Don’t think my neighbours are going to miss that.

This month in a nutshell

Thoughts after 4,000-plus miles in the JCW? For sure this latest Countryman is a stylish car inside and out, and the fun design features and character impress passengers of all ages. Smartphone obsessed tweens are an especially demanding audience in this respect but even my son and his friends looked up from their screens for long enough on the school run to comment on how cool they thought the interior was with its many and various lighting effects. From the driver’s seat while I enjoyed my unexpected upgrade to the faster and more powerful JCW version having lived with it I stand by my first impressions from the launch that the standard 1.5-litre mild-hybrid is actually the nicer car. The JCW’s jiggly ride just got a bit annoying and, while it’s fast, it's not fast enough to really thrill like a hot hatch. So, if it were my money I’d still opt for the regular car in a funkier colour combo than the grey over black of this one, which looked disappointingly dull even with the red contrast roof. To its credit, though, the Countryman has helped overcome a lot of my snobbery towards mid-size SUVs and crossovers, and in a sea of identical looking rivals the Mini stands out from the crowd and puts a bit of a cheeky grin on your face while having the substance to back up the style. Would recommend.

Mileage: 7,620 Fuel consumption: 31.2mpg (measured average)

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