Hello all. I've been lurking for awhile and decided to finally join after talking with my local mini dealer. I have the $ put away to order a new mini in the spring. I'll either be going with a jcw hardtop or possibly a countryman S

I'll prob go with the JCW unless the countryman really blows me away, though the all4 is tempting. I'm coming from a vw gti, that was highly modified. I really love the mini's & euro tuning in general. Can't wait to get it.

One thing is for sure it will be red.

 

 

Good luck with which ever way you decide to go, can't miss MINI is a winner.

 

The countryman is a real wild card. Even the dealers don't really know what to make of it until they have their seminar on it in November. I have doubts about mIntaining the 'MINI' driving experience in an elevated, awd suspension, but on the other hand, whatever driving experience it does have might be quite desirable. I certainly think they LOOK cool enough. Love the front end. I wish some of the clubman design details could have absorbed the countryman appearance a bit.
Either way, since you're waiting until spring you should have an opportunity to try both first!

If I could have afforded it I would have gone after a jcw edition of my car. It's performance that is attainable aftermarket for less, but having manufacturers warranty on these components is great piece of mind!

 

Thank you everyone for the welcome. I won't make my final decision until I get to test drive the countryman. What throws a wrench in the works is the dealer told me a jcw countryman should be available in 2012 with 220-230hp? I don't think I could wait that long, but I'm def gonna wait to the spring to make a more informed decision.