The Mini family in Malaysia has now been completed following the launch of the Mini Countryman by the BMW Group Malaysia that has served up a series of firsts for the brand here.
The Countryman is the first Mini to feature four doors, a fully versatile interior for five people and a large tailgate that opens up to a flexible configuration that offers more than double the previous storage room of any other Mini.
While the Countryman has grown in size, it hasn’t lost any of its distinctive ‘go-kart’ driving feel. In fact, if anything, the Countryman has built on that with the Mini All4 all-wheel drive system that comes standard with the Cooper S Countryman.
“From the start, the Mini name has always been synonymous with excitement, cheekiness and performance, characteristics that are in abundance with the new Countryman that we are introducing today. The Countryman represents everything that is great about the Mini and magnifies it. It is all about the 4 – fourth family member, four doors, four wheel drive and built larger than four metres in size,” said Geoffrey Briscoe, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia.
He went on to add that Mini is continuously growing for the group, with 222 Minis sold during 2012, a 3.7 per cent increase over the previous year. They are expecting the launch of the Countryman to further push sales forward for 2011.
“The Countryman represents an assured evolution of the brand’s design language, bridging the gap between the classic Mini concept and a future projection of its capabilities. Even with larger body dimensions, increased ground clearance and four doors, the Countryman is still unmistakeably a Mini,” said Farid Sulaiman, Mini Manager at BMW Group Malaysia.
The Countryman will be officially available from 24 March onwards in two guises, the Cooper Countryman and the Cooper S Countryman, with both sporting different variants of 1.6-liter engines.
Producing 122hp, the Cooper Countryman does the century sprint in 11.6-seconds whilst returning 7.6-liter per 100km of fuel consumption. The Cooper S Countryman on the other hand dishes out 184hp courtesy of its twin-scroll turbocharger and direct injection together with variable valve management for a century sprint of 8.3-seconds.
Both variants of the Countryman have some new underpinnings in the suspension department with and come standard with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) while the Cooper S Countryman gets Dynamic Traction Control as standard and allows it to completely lock the front differential in loose surface conditions.
The All4 system on the Cooper S Countryman is a permanent all-wheel drive system with an electromagnetic center differential that distributes power between the front and rear axles. Normal driving conditions could lead to up to 50 per cent of the power sent to the rear wheels while extreme conditions will lead to all the power being sent to the rear wheels if necessary.
On the outside, the Countryman is as Mini as it can get. Mini design cues are plan to see on the exterior, such as the large headlights set into the bonnet, hexagonal radiator grille and vertical tail lights. Playing along its outdoors theme, generous use of glass surfaces increase the visual depth and simultaneously gives the impression of space on the interior as well.
Rolling rubber is in the form of a five double-spoke design in 17-inch for the Cooper Countryman and 18-inch turbo-fan design for the Cooper S Countryman.
Stepping into the cabin, the amount of space is the first thing to capture your attention. The rear seats can be moved forward or backwards individually in a 60:40 split and the backrests can be folded individually in a 40:20:20 split as well. The flexible arrangement of the rear seats allow the luggage capacity to be increased from 350-liters to 1,170-liters.
A glass roof package is available on the Countryman and can be remotely operated through the remote-locking key but the downside would be the RM9,988 asking price.
In-car entertainment is in the form of iPhone or USB connectivity as well as the integration of other multiple format devices.
Mini Connected brings the world’s first web radio function into the cabin of the Countryman, allowing users to pick up their favourite radio stations from around the world. Part of the package is the Harmon Kardon loudspeaker system and the 6.5-inch high-res LCD screen. The package retails for RM14,988.
The Cooper Countryman will set you back RM248,888 while the Cooper S Countryman will leave you RM285,88 lighter. All prices are OTR inclusive of personal registration with the Mini Tender Loving Care service package.
