Mini Countryman News

Literally two days after my last update about our long-term Mini Countryman, I found myself trudging through a snowstorm at 30 miles per hour on Interstate 94 along Michigan's west coast. I guess Mother Nature had heard my cries about not being able to test our Mini in the snow, and decided to reward me with super slippery roads and poor visibility for ...

It may not be a World Rally Championship event, but Mini is celebrating its first win at an international rally (at least its first such win of the modern era). The event in question was the Qatar International Rally, a fully FIA-sanctioned event that kicks off the 2012 Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (with his brother Nasser ...

Think there are a lot of Mini variants already? Hold on to your hats, because BMW is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. Next month the new Mini Roadster will hit American showrooms, and next year, a two-door crossover (presaged by the Paceman concept from Detroit last year but carrying the Countryman Coupe in production form) should be ...

Mini has reportedly confirmed its 2012 World Rally Championship entry after initially missing the December 19 entry deadline. According to Autosport, the delay may have had something to do with concerns Mini parent company BMW had over television coverage of the sport in Germany. Now it would seem the FIA is working to address those issues and Mini is ...

As much as I detest the winter months here in Detroit, the truth is, I'm kind of bummed that we've only seen about a half-inch of snow so far this season. In fact, I was happy that our most recent snowfall actually started to stick to the parking lot across the street from my loft, simply so I could capture this photo of our long-term Mini Countryman with ...

Mini – or Prodrive, the outfit that preps Mini's rally cars – has inexplicably failed to file for entry into the 2012 World Rally Championship before the series' December 20 deadline. Mini's first year back at the top level of rallying as a development team yielded two podiums, and the company hasn't stepped back from its stated desire to win ...

Need A Bit More Pounce In Your CUV? Mini Has A JCW For That As part of the ongoing master plan at Mini to attract distinction-seeking buyers who still have some disposable income left, we present the Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works: the Mini CUV with the mighty long name. This latest Mini JCW will get its world premiere at this March's ...

With models like the X5 M and X6 M, BMW has shown it is no stranger to performance-oriented crossovers. That extended to its Mini brand when it opted to enter the Countryman in the World Rally Championship, but now we've received confirmation that a road- (or off-road-) going Countryman JCW is on its way. Currently undergoing winter testing in Austria, ...

After spending September in the San Francisco bay area with Senior Editor Damon Lavrinc, our long-term 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4 moved to southern California during the month of October to serve our esteemed photographer, Drew Phillips. In early November, I handed Drew the keys to our long-term 2011 Jetta TDI and stole the Countryman from his ...

The last time we updated you on our long-term 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4, it was in Northern California with senior editor Lavrinc. Since then, we've driving the car down to Southern California, although not before it served as our mode of transportation for the Rennsport Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. We've also taken a trip to Phoenix to ...