2021 Mini Countryman Cooper S Mini Yours long-term review: Farewell

It’s time to hand back the keys to the Mini Countryman. An under-appreciated offering in the growing small luxury SUV segment – so what’s the verdict?

What we love

The rear seat and boot space are large and configurable

Mini badge brings a fun and spirited drive

Mini Yours trim offers quirky additions

What we don’t

Cabin noise is extremely noticeable on harsher roads

Fuel economy isn’t great

Some shortfalls in the ergonomics of the cabin

Introduction

The small luxury SUV segment is becoming increasingly popular with mainstays like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volvo all playing in the premium pool, and setting the bar extremely high.

Australians love SUVs, and this segment can be a consumer’s first step into the luxury market – a much more popular category than luxury sedans these days. In fact, the entire small SUV category made up 13 per cent of total car sales in 2021 (this includes non-luxury vehicles). 

With this said, I was more than happy to get the keys to a car that’s managed to stand tall against the fierce competition, even though it’s not the tallest in appearance. 

I had the keys to the 2021 Mini Countryman Cooper S Mini Yours for three months. That’s ample testing time. 

A quick recap – there are three variants available in the Mini Countryman range including in the Cooper, Cooper S and John Cooper Works. There’s also a Plug-in Hybrid option.  

There are three trim levels available too – starting with Classic, Mini Yours and JCW Sport. Our model is the Mini Yours. Pricing starts at $61,400 plus on-road costs.

I’ve already introduced this car and reviewed its practicality, but now it’s time to deliver my verdict after clocking up a decent amount of kilometres. 

This Mini has been a great companion. It took on the role of our support car on video and photography shoots due to its ample cargo space, took me to and from work on a daily, and also journeyed with me on weekend getaways. 

As mentioned, the Mini Countryman isn’t the largest-looking small SUV, but its dimensions say otherwise. It measures in at 4297mm long, 1822mm wide, 1557mm high and has a wheelbase of 2670mm. 

To put this into context, the dimensions are greater than that of the Audi Q2 – 89mm longer, 28mm wider, 49mm higher, with a larger wheelbase of 76mm and ground clearance of 15mm. Although it may not look like it in person.

The appearance of a Mini might not be to everyone’s taste. They are, well, unique, with loud headlights, distinctive rear lighting, and quirky interiors. It’s taken me quite some time to get used to the bold styling elements, but I now appreciate Mini’s point of difference. 

This Countryman comes complete with the luxury-themed Mini Yours trim scoring neat touches in and out. These include black bonnet stripes and roof rails, Mini Yours badging, Mini Yours floor mats, plus Union Jack detailing throughout. 

Standard features include comfort access with keyless start, concierge service (be careful with this as, yes, I did accidentally call on a couple of occasions… Awkward), wireless smartphone integration of Apple CarPlay, wireless smartphone charging, power tailgate, and active cruise control with stop-and-go function. 

On the inside, Mini Yours spec includes electric seat adjustment for driver and front passenger, Harman Kardon sound system, excitement package with multi-colour ambient lighting, Mini logo puddle-lamp projection, head-up display, nappa leather sport steering wheel with multifunction controls and a panoramic electric sunroof.

Inside

With all the little details, this cabin looks funky yet still maintains a high level of luxury. The leather seats along with the soft-touch materials make it a comfortable and nice environment to spend long periods of time in. 

For a small SUV, there’s plenty of useable space with a well-thought-out layout. Storage up front includes a large centre console with a lift-up lid, door bins with room for bottles, two cupholders up front, and an additional storage cubby. 

There’s also access to a wireless charge pad, a USB-C and USB-A port, plus a 12-volt charger. The wireless charge pad, however, annoyingly didn’t fit my larger iPhone and this car isn’t equipped for Android users. Something they’ll need to amend in the next update.

Back seat passengers get niceties such as air vents, two USB-C ports, seat back pockets, door bins, and decent head and leg room. It’s a really nice place to be on longer trips. Choose here if you’re not the driver, as they really did think of everything to accommodate the rear passengers.

The boot offers 450L of cargo space with the maximum capacity of 1390L when the rear seats are folded. 

The nifty feature is that the seats are a three-way split, so you have the choice of folding the middle seat down for longer items. What I found tedious, though, is the fact that you can’t fold the rear seats from the boot, with the lever only accessible by entering the back door. 

On the upside, my large suitcase and then some *cough, cough* all my Christmas shopping packed into this boot easily. It was a really practical car to have during this period.

Infotainment and Connectivity

A real stand-out in the Mini cabin is its eccentric circular infotainment display that holds an 8.8-inch touchscreen system. It makes an impact and aesthetically is a real stand-out compared to others in the market.

Laid out just like BMW, you can access the functions using the rotary control in the centre console, or there’s the added option of the touchscreen and steering wheel controls. 

While it all connects seamlessly, it has its moments. There were times where I was connected to Apple CarPlay and music would drop out, or when phone calls wouldn’t instantly connect to my Bluetooth and I’d have to pull over and reconnect the system.

Otherwise, the icons are easy to read and everything can be accessed easily on the go. Within the system lies inbuilt navigation, DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth, and online connectivity – capable of providing daily news highlights and weather. These are ‘nice to know’ elements, but I can’t say that I ever made use of these.

What’s more, with Mini Connected you can check the status of your vehicle, such as oil levels and whether your doors are locked or not, from your mobile phone. It’s not an application I accessed much during my time with the Mini, but I can see how this would be a valuable tool for long-term owners.

Safety and Technology

In the way of safety, it boasts a five-star ANCAP safety rating when tested in 2017. Officially, crash-test results apply only to the discounted Cooper D diesel, not the Cooper S, but given the similar structure underpinning both cars, expect similar results.

This Mini scores autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, lane-keep warning and assist, emergency assistance, auto high beams and traffic-sign recognition, automatic parking, adaptive cruise control with stop/go and speed limiter, front and rear parking sensors, six airbags (driver, front-passenger, front seat-mounted side airbags and side curtain), ABS and two rear-seat ISOFIX mounting points. 

Value for Money

This Mini Countryman Cooper S Mini Yours is well equipped, with really only a handful of appearance options to choose from, which include a choice of wheels, interior trims and exterior paint colours.

While it’s jam-packed with features it is rather pricey, especially when you place it up against some of its competitors such as the BMW X1 sDrive20i, which starts at $55,900 before on-road costs and shares the same engine and transmission.

However, there are others in its class that take expensive to a whole new level, with the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 4Matic starting at $74,245 plus on-road costs – at least the Benz offers a more powerful engine and all-wheel drive for your extra spend.

Mini offers a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, plus there’s also an option for owners to purchase an upfront five-year/80,000km service plan. Mini and BMW are still sitting behind rivals when it comes to warranty, and we believe they should be sitting at five years.

Fuel economy wasn’t great. Mini claims 6.7L/100km, but I struggled to get it under 9.0L/100km for urban trips.

Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp

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Driving

Carrying a Mini badge, you can expect one thing – it’s a little pocket rocket serving up plenty of fun. It provides enough boost from the turbo and some nice acoustics to go with it too – that good old-fashioned ‘stu tu tu’. 

Thankfully, there’s no turbo lag and just cruising in ‘Mid mode’ (which is the standard drive mode), the throttle response is instant and power is plentiful. 

But there is the more spirited Sport mode and Eco to help with fuel efficiency. Perhaps I should have utilised this more often, but that’s no fun. I found that in whichever mode I chose, it easily shifts through the seven gears on offer with very little fuss.

The steering gets a little heavy but does work well manoeuvring around town through tighter turns. I never had any issues making quick U-turns or getting through restrictive car parks thanks to a decent turning circle.

One thing I will say is that the head-up display, while handy, did pose a problem. As it’s a pop-up, I would constantly find myself having to readjust my seat position or steering wheel so that I wouldn’t lose information on the display. While the display is adjustable, there’s no perfect position that let me catch all the available info at once.

I could often catch the speed (obviously the most vital information), but then would miss caller and media information. So while I appreciate the fancy feature when you start up the car, it’s something that frustrated me on the road. Otherwise, I liked the simplicity and placement of the digital instrument cluster.

In this car, there’s the higher ground clearance of 165mm, and while you don’t really feel like you’re in a small SUV, it does a good job of gliding over any courser surfaces that I felt once out on the open roads.

On my longer drives out of town, however, I did notice the great deal of tyre noise that entered the cabin. I never noticed it around town, which is a plus – only on rougher surfaces.

One thing I really liked was the adaptive cruise control – it’s really intuitive with just a couple of taps on the steering wheel, and also has stop-and-go function.

After quite a few weekends away, I became really familiar with this Mini, every aspect of it, inside and out. Sure, it’s known solely as an urban runabout, but it’s also pleasant and comfortable on longer drives – just keep that music up to block out the tyre noise. Thankfully, the sound system is good.

Conclusion

There are some blemishes in this car, like some of the ergonomic elements, the fuel economy and, yes, it’s pricey when you put it up against a BMW or Audi for that matter.

However, I really enjoyed having this Mini in the garage for three months. I’d driven many Audis and BMWs before and wasn’t sure how this was going to stack up, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I hadn’t always classified a Mini as a luxury car, but after spending ample time in it, it does have all the luxury elements – just with added flair. It’s well built, has personality and, above all, is fun.

MORE: Long-term report one: IntroductionMORE: Long-term report two: Practicality
MORE: Everything Mini

Keyword: 2021 Mini Countryman Cooper S Mini Yours long-term review: Farewell