MotoringFile Review: 2017 MINI Countryman Cooper S All4 (Manual)
The 2017 MINI Countryman should just be a taller Clubman. It should be a MINI that feels too heavy. It should be a compromised crossover – too small on one hand and too large to be a MINI. We’ve heard it before when the first Countryman was released in 2011. And given that this one is bigger in every dimension we’re bound to hear it again. But here’s the thing – none of those critiques quite holds true. After driving the new MINI through the wilds of Oregon over the course of a very long snowy day, I’ve found that the new Countryman drives how we might have hoped – like a MINI.
But first let’s back up. It’s snowing. And reports are that the mountains we’re heading to just received another foot of snow last night. Apparently all wheel drive is not a recommendation by the park rangers— it’s a mandated requirement. This is either a brilliant test for the new Countryman or suicide. Our test car is the new 2017 Countryman Cooper S All4 with a six speed manual (yup) transmission. This should be fun.
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Why You Need All4
For years we’ve told Countryman buyers to skip the All4 and put your money elsewhere. With this new version our opinion has shifted. Because of the larger size and weight, front wheel drive doesn’t endow the new Countryman (or Clubman for that matter) with as much traction as you’d expect on anything but dry roads. And even then a moderate helping of throttle will break the front tires loose. Put simply MINI’s front wheel drivetrain is better suited for its smaller cars these days. There we said it. But the solution is an easy one. All4 solves those traction problems very efficiently while limiting the weight and efficiency penalties normally associated with all wheel drive.
So lets go back to Mt. Hood. Our experience with the new All4 Countryman on the snow slopes of Oregon’s finest was in a word, awesome. MINI’s really upped its game with the revised All4 system. The weight penalty is down to only 134 lbs and frictional losses have been reduced (making the system more efficient and fluid). It’s a system feels both more effective and more invisible in action. The one thing you notice right away is the speed of which the rear wheels engage. When pushed hard on wet snow the new Countryman All4 feels almost entirely neutral and eager to drift.
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http://www.motoringfile.com/20…man-cooper-s-all4-manual/