My fiance and I are going to MINI of Louisville tomorrow to test drive a few MINIs. We are not sure what we want as of yet. It is between a Countryman S and a Clubman S. too bad we have to the the Auto because it will be her daily driver and she does not know how to drive a manual. Who out there has driven the two cars and what did you like or dislike about each of them?

 

I haven't driven a countryman, but I have driven an auto Clubman S. I'm a manual guy but it was a lot of fun, seemed as nimble as the Cooper, and the paddle shifts were pretty cool. Only thing I didn't like was the poor visibility out the back barn doors.

I just had it for a few days as a loaner, but if I needed more cargo space than the Cooper it's probably the direction I would go. The Countryman looks great but I assume with it's larger size and higher stance it will lose some of that Go-Kart feel.

 

A little off topic, but my wife didn't know how to drive stick before we bought our MINI as her daily driver. It's easy enough to learn

 

I agree....it's easy to learn and it's so much more fun to drive a manual than an auto. When I bought my first car with a stick I had to have a friend drive it home from the dealership. It took me a couple of weeks to really get the hang of it. I avoided hills for about a month !