When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
1st GearNew members: make an initial post and introduce yourself as you shift from Neutral to First Gear. Current members: meet some of the new members.
Just picked up my 2021 JCW Countryman yesterday. Ordered in October. This is my early mid-life crisis car. I wanted small, fast, hatch, four doors and luxury (and automatic). That pretty much narrows the list down to the Clubman/Countryman. Ford gave up on small cars in America, the inside of the WRX is a plastic festival, the Golf R retooled for 2022 so there isn't a 2021 model, I'm not enough of a dudebro to own a Civic Type R, the AMG A35 is out of my price range.
I liked the Clubman, but it felt too low on the road. Countryman if just right. The mod list is already long -
Sparco Assetto Gara 18x8 ET45 w/ General GMax AS-05
Carlinkit Android Auto MMI
Piano Black front/rear emblems
debadge tailgate and front doors
20% tint from door windows
LED DRL bar under JCW red line on grille
MB Quart 12" Discus sub/Shallow 6" box w/ MB Quart 400W amp
OBDLink CX dongle w/Bimmercode
red pinstripng on side mirrors
custom stripes set up like the below -
This is the first car I've owned with this level of performance. Even keeping it under 4500 RPM for the break-in period I still have more than enough to deal with 90% of the other cars you see on the road. This is a totally new experience for me and i got Uncle Ben in my head constantly. I understand now why it always feels like the fastest cars you see on the road are always the slowest drivers - when you have it, you don;t need to show it. Its awesome.
Sparcos are on - they fit without any spacer, but I went with a 3mm because the base of the spokes came a little too close to the front calipers for my liking. They also brought the wheels flush with the body. I'm selling the takeoff grip spoke wheels/tires/TPMS, what's the etiquette for that here?
'All4' is off the doors, but I'm leaving the Countryman on the back until I talk to my stripes guy again. Still waiting on my black emblems. Subwoofer is assembled, waiting on the amp kit. Tint is going on today. Still only a third of the way through the break-in, the weather sucks here and I'd rather not cover it in salt just yet.
I told my family this wasn't going to turn me into a 'Mini' guy, but I do find myself admiring the look of the car. I'm pretty lowkey as a person, but I do like knowing there probably isn't another car like it in my area. After going through the F60 section, I saw that there was some dispute over whether or not the JCWs still burble and pop. I'm at ~500 miles, have never been in Sport mode, and the car pops on some cold starts, during heavy acceleration, and once when I had to brake hard because a dummy pulled in front of me. I can only imagine what's in store after break-in.
How weird it is to see something I created in a videogame come to fruition. Love the car even more now. I'm such a low key person in real life, but I like my cars to stand out (and be tinted so no one knows its me).
Also got rid of the Sparco caps and replaced with a little red accent.
Love the racing stipe/color combo!
