How many variants of MINI Coopers can exist? Alongside the regular hatchback, you had a coupe, convertible, wagon, and of course…an SUV. When the Countryman first came out in 2017, enthusiasts were livid. Why would you take the cute, fun-to-drive Cooper and put it on stilts? Easy: money. Parent company BMW knew that SUVs had been the go-to for many years, thus the Countryman was born! MINI is also known for quirky appearance packages, and this 2023 MINI Cooper S Countryman with all-wheel drive now has these packages. How well does the Countryman do as an SUV, a MINI, and an all-around vehicle? Let’s take a look.
It’s simple to explain the design of the Countryman. Essentially, it is a taller MINI Cooper. Starting at the rear, this Countryman had COUNTRYMAN spelled out under the license plate along with the Cooper S badging. MINI utilizes Union Jack flag-inspired tail lights, which are a little funny. Why? When you use the turn signals, it looks like the turn indicators are pointing the wrong way. Quirky MINI! This Countryman was painted a special two-tone Momenturn Grey and black which I’ll explain in the next few sentences. Looking at the side, the ALL4 badge is black, and there are some graphics on the bottom of the doors. Remember when I said there are quirky packages? Well…this Countryman is the Untamed edition!
Untamed editions of the Countryman come with 18-inch wheels, the Untamed badge, along with black for the badging. Funny name, but I like the combination of the paint and the wheels. The graphics are unnecessary but, MINI. The headlights had black trim around them which looked like black black eye shadow. The sides also have some black cladding around the wheel arches since that’s the trend for most SUVs. Does it look good? Other than the graphics in the Untamed package, I’d say it does. It sort of has the cutsie look of a regular Cooper S and has the MINI corporate front end.
Step inside, and you’ll see that part of the Untamed package has green seats. It’s an interesting choice and I’m still not sure if I liked it. What I did like was the MINI switches which control various functions such as the drive select, stop/start button, and the ignition which pulses red. On top of those are more traditional large dials for the climate control and buttons for heated seats. I’ll get to the infotainment system but for now, I’ll say that it’s housed in a large circular housing. That harkens back to MINIs of the past and helps the Countryman stand out. When you get any automatic MINI, you’ll see a previous-generation BMW shifter.
In front of the driver is a steering wheel with Untamed at the bottom. Looking forward, the instrument cluster moves with the steering wheel. This display is really small with a more traditional-looking tachometer and fuel gauge. Part of the Touchscreen Navigation Plus package includes a pop-out head-up display which is almost useless since it’s so small and not the easiest to use. There are paddle shifters on the steering wheel, along with controls for media and regular cruise control.
I had to wait to talk about the infotainment system because it’s…terrible. First off, it is a touchscreen and uses a very small rotary knob, but the shortcut buttons surrounding it feel incredibly cheap, a theme I found throughout the cabin. Even though the infotainment system is housed in that large circle, the display itself is also small. It’s hard to use since the touchscreen has hard-to-use shortcut buttons on the side. Sorry MINI, but this is one of the worst infotainment systems I’ve seen. The seats are supportive, but being based on the Cooper S, the interior is rather small. I sense a theme here. A manual tailgate is standard, something I was disappointed with the price of this particular Countryman.
This Countryman had a few safety features but was lacking both adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring. It doesn’t help that the door mirrors are…small. I know, I’ve said a lot. I was surprised that this particular model didn’t have the features, which you can get on competitors either standard or a part of a driving assist package. While some may not care that it uses regular cruise control, it was an odd omittance. There are three different driving modes including eco, normal, and sport. I kept it normal and was able to get around 30 MPG.
MINIs aren’t known to be inexpensive, and the Countryman continues that trend. Pricing for the Cooper S Countryman starts at $37,500. This model was the top-of-the-line Iconic trim which includes power folding mirrors, a great sounding Harman/Kardon sound system, and a few extra goodies. Price for this: $4,900. Next is the Untamed Edition appearance package. For $1,500, you get the graphics, Untamed badging, driving modes, and the Touchscreen Navigation Plus package. This has a head-up display along with Apple CarPlay compatibility. When you add up all the packages and little options, this SUV ballooned to $45,000. That’s expensive for a small SUV.
Do I recommend the Cooper S Countryman? That depends. If you just want a larger Cooper S, then sure. Unfortunately, I have to say I don’t recommend it. It feels too cheap inside, is too expensive, and has a terrible infotainment system. You can get a decently equipped Cooper S Countryman for a few thousand less, but I wouldn’t do it. Instead, I would take a look at either the Volvo XC40 or even a Mazda CX-30. Both of these have better features, cost around the same or less, and have much better interiors. MINI may have tried to have the Cooper S Countryman feel Untamed, but it fell short. Hopefully, when MINI electrifies the Countryman, they can give it better technology and a more upscale cabin.
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