Thanks! ... but this is actually GeoffreyM's new toy...
I hope I get one for me soon though!

 

Sorry about that...

Looks GREAT GeoffreyM!

 

Yours is the first True Blue of anyone that has taken delivery. When I order mine I'm planning on the same color. My wife's Pure Red is at the VDC now and our sales manager said it may be on the truck on the 6th. The dealer is only about 100 mi from the VDC.

 

After analizing the new Countryman here are some thoughts about a couple things I think must be improved about this car:

1) Two seat rear bench needs something that covers the space in between them to the trunk... (it is completely open)




2) Rear seat needs to be or be offered as 3 seat bench.



3) Center arm rest should have a better design, one that doesn't get in the way of the handbrake when pulled up.




4) Better cup holders... something you can actually use for ANY cup, can or drink container... Big drinks containers won't fit or be pushed against central console.
This is an issue that MINI hasn't been able to fully addressed on any of the MINI models...



5) Larger exhaust tips. Stock tips are too small. I've seen nicer tips on kia and hyundai cars..




Last thing could be a larger engine, maybe a 1.8L?... I know the current 1.6 works well, but maybe a slightly larger engine could help performance on All4 version.
Just some thoughts...

 

The standard boot floor can be flipped up and then snapped to the rear seatbacks creating the bulkhead you desire. The optional Flat Load Floor (coming soon) can then be fitted to cover the boot well exposed by flipping up the standard floor. Confusing? See the thread dedicated to this option.

Will be available that way sometime this year

Agreed. Not a well thought out design.


To be determined. For me, if it holds a standard half-liter water bottle or to-go coffee cup it'll be just fine.

Larger tips would be nice.


I'll never argue against more horsepower or torque!

 

JCW tips are larger. A larger engine is out of the question. In fact MINI is moving to 3 cylinders in the future. Not sure if that will eventually include the Countryman.

 

[QUOTE=GeoffreyM;3185185]Here's BigBlue fresh from the tint shop. Beltline, scuttles and headlights get blacked out next.


Looks great! How dark did you go on the tint?

 

Nicely done, what is your tint percentage and type? Thanks....
Don

 

It's 70, I believe, but I just said, as dark as you can and keep me legal. Its carbon infused. Which I would have picked anyway(harder to scratch), but my guy said if you do metallic(which is cheaper) you risk the Low tire sensors screwing up. Which makes sense, they are RF based. It's hard to see, but I had them tint the reflectors at the wheel wells too. They did it for free.

 

What color is this??

 

Man i WANT ONE!!!!! I think they are sooo SWEET!

 

True blue.

 

Ordered the same one. Can't wait. Mine has been at port since 12/14

 

Picked up my car on New years Eve

It looks very yellow in bright natural light , turns green tinged as it gets dark/ fluorescent lighting and as it gets dirty so more reason to keep it clean

I know yellow is not everyones " cup of tea" but I love it!!!

 

Congrats! Looks very sharp particularly with the white wheels. Enjoy!

 

That yellow looks great! Congrats!

 

That yellow turns out to look much nicer than I would have expected based on the online configurator (sp?) or the various writeups I've seen.

Very nice!

 

Congratulations to a beautiful car!
I ordered a Countryman S just before christmas with excactly the same color combo. As I imagined it looks just great. Can´t wait until april.

Any ideas on how to keep the white rims white. Wax?

 

To keep wheels white

1 change pads from stock to EBC greens - they shed a lot less brake dust and it's not dark black so you notice it less

2 wax wheels every time you wash I use a cheap wax spray and I am not to concerned about polishing it to a shine just gives a sacrificial surface

I kept my prior mini wheels in great conditioning doing that

Ideally you would wipe wheels of after a drive but that's just a pita

Great color choice you will love it - the white turbo fans truly are gorgeous

 

# 3 suggestion: Between washes a "California Duster" will wipe the dust off. I cut the handle off of mine so that it goes around the spokes easier. Works great, doesn't scratch the paint. I use Wheel Wax every 2nd wash or so and Hydro in between. (Beautiful Countryman!)

 

Does anyone have pictures on the Countryman showing the differences of the white turn signal lights versus standard?

Trying to see the detail, if anyone has it.

Thanks...

 

I don't have pix and this may be stating the obvious but the white turn signal lights feature a clear lens and an orange bulb. The standard turn signal lights feature a colored lens (orange) and a clear bulb. Hard to tell the difference from a distance.

 

The bulb is something "special" - if you look at it straight ahead, all you see is clear. Move to the right or left and it turns orange. My T-Bird and Ranger had clear lenses and orange bulbs and I switched them over to a chrome bulb that lights orange. Real spiffy. May have to consider that for the CM when the time comes.

 

I was finally able to test drive a Cooper S All4 today and I was so impressed! It felt far more substantial than I thought it would be and the transmission was also better than I thought it would be. Oh, and the power, way better than I thought it would be! I finally broke-in my '11 MCS hardtop and I can attest to the noticeable power gain over my '10 MCS hardtop. I just didn't know if it would power the Countryman so well and it did. I was going to test drive a Cooper Countryman but it was being detailed at the time. It had minimal body roll in hard corners, no wind noise or rattles, and soaked up the small bumps with adequate road feel. The sport button is the way to go. THIS IS A 4 DOOR MINI!!!
P.S. I took several images with my iPhone but I haven't uploaded them yet.

 

Your experience is exactly how I felt after my first Countryman test drive!