And by new owner I really mean, it's my wife's car, but she occasionally allows me to drive it.

Anyways, she just picked up her new Countryman. It was ordered on January 17, arrived on the west coast of the US the week of March 14th, delivered to the dealership on the 19th, and put in the hands of my wife on the 23rd.

We didn't opt for the S version, or All4, but we did keep the manual 6-speed. Still playing with all the bells & whistles (Nav system, Mini-connected w/iPhone integration, etc, etc), but so far we love it. It's been about 6 or 7 years since we last drove a manual car, so we've stalled it a few times. Gotta get those clutch legs back...

 

Nice! Keep posting, I am trying to decide between an S or not. I would like to hear your impressions of the Countryman with the 6speed. I have only been able to drive an automatic and I was not impressed. It seemed to always be struggling to get up to speed. The S automatic was just much smoother.

 

congrats

 

We test drove an automatic S version. It definitely had a lot of pep. The non-S manual doesn't have quite the same pep, but being able to manually pick the gear ourselves does help make up for the power difference, but doesn't totally equal it. If you are an adrenalin junkie and love launching the car off the start line, then the non-S version, no matter whether it is a automatic or a manual, is probably going to disappoint you. While we love a powerful car, we also know that for the most part we don't need it. The power in the non-S manual is more than enough for us. Our tastes and needs have changed, that's all.

Part of the decision to get the non-S version was the price. It would have added nearly 3 grand to the the sticker price, which was already pretty high after we added in all the features we (well, she) wanted.

 

Picking nits..... it is a MINI Countryman. No Cooper involved.
Welcome!

 

Congrats!

 

Sorry to pick your nits, but... check the MINI USA Website...

 

Well. I stand (or sit as the case may be) corrected.

 

Congrats on your New Mini COOPER Countryman! I have the non-S as well and have no regrets on our choice. We love it!