Mini Countryman review

Strictly speaking, ‘countryman’ means someone born, or at least living, in a rural area. Well, take a lingering look at the Mini Countryman. Does it look to you like it’s ever tasted a good ploughmans or smelt the waft of a thickly manured field? No, it doesn’t to us, either, but that’s actually not its remit.

Just check out those sculpted bumpers and the glitzy, Union Flag-style taillight design. If cars wore clothes, the Countryman would be dressed from head to toe in urbanite Nike, not tweedy Barbour. Put simply, if you want a small, go-anywhere off-roader, have a look at our Dacia Duster or Suzuki Jimny reviews instead.

The Mini Countryman is more about looking good on the road and, as if to prove the point, there’s the usual massive array of Mini personalisation options to stamp your mark on your new Countryman – so (hopefully) you’ll never pull up next to one that’s the exactly the same.

It may not be a true off-roader, but it is still a small SUV, which means it’s bigger and far roomier than the Mini 3-door and 5-door hatchbacks or the Mini Clubman estate. And it’s in the mix with a multitude of SUV rivals, all vying for your cash, sitting at the pricier end of the class alongside the Audi Q2 and Volkswagen T-Roc. If you like the thought of spending a bit less then the Ford Puma, Seat Arona and Skoda Kamiq all deserve a place on your shortlist, too.

Along with the personalisation options we've touched upon already, the Mini Countryman is available with a good selection of petrol and diesel engines, and there’s also a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) option. With its claimed pure electric range of almost 30 miles and fantastic company car tax breaks it could end up saving you a packet.

Click through to the next page to start reading our detailed 16-point review on the Mini Countryman, where we'll tell you how well Mini's biggest model stacks up against the competition as well as which engines and trims make the most sense. 

And remember, if you decide that it's the car for you, check out our New Car Buying service for great discounts on the Mini Countryman and hundreds of other cars with no need to haggle.