Well, I was farting around on the MINI.ca web site a few days ago and decided to price a Countryman S ALL4.

STICKER SHOCK!

Over $40K, and that doesn't include options like NAV and Tech packages!

I'm finding it hard to justify saving up for a new Countryman when I can get very similar accessories and performance from the Nissan Juke for something like $14K less.

I know people here will complain about the Juke's looks. Go beyond that and explain to me why the two are priced so drastically different for two similar vehicles classed within the small CUV vehicle group.

The thing that really hurts is that the initial comparo's are saying that the Juke is more fun to drive.

its a "BMW suv" Comparable more to the X3... not cheap.

yeah the Juke is butt ugly lol... Might be more fun, but its more comparable to a first gen CRV IMO.

With 138,000+miles on my '03 MINI S, I can tell you I've never had a car this well built and swear by their quality. Obviously they have gotten better over the years.

You can't even get the JOKE in a manual when you go for the all wheel drive option. BORING!!

Sit in the Juke, drive the Juke. Compare with the Countryman. The Countryman is aspirational as well as a whole lot of fun to drive. Yes it does cost a lot more especially after you spec it up, but it sure is worth it.

Note sure where you are coming up with $40K. Mini-Cooper Countryman All 4, 6 manual, Sport Package, Cold Weather Package, HK stereo upgrade - around $30K. That is a pretty decent Countryman. That is very close to the equipment package on my 2011 MCS Vert. Auto transmission adds $1,200.

The Juke has had its share of fairly negative reviews ... there is no history on resale value.

I'd go with the Countryman.

Well, FWIW I don't consider the Countryman to be exactly good looking either, but even so it's not as hideous as the Juke!

I priced "my" Countryman out the other day on MINI USA and I came to about 38K, so I don't consider the OP's $40K out of the question (he's in Canada) - I'll bet I could get pretty close to $50 K with the right combination of options and JCW.

All of MINIs have gotten pretty spendy, and the only future products I'm interested in now are the Roadster (which I'll bet will follow Porsche's philosophy of removing content and charging more for it!) and the so called city MINI, which I think will price out about where a Justa used to back in '02.

The Juke was made by the same people, who brought you the Pontiac Aztec. I think the Countryman is better looking than the Clubman I had...

I've been scouring the web and can't find anything to this effect. Linky? Thanks

I think the poster is in Canada, as can be seen in the URL he/she listed for the MINI site they used. Maybe that's why it's coming up as 40K.

Yes, up here in canada the pricing is outrageous compared to america. When the CDN dollar is literally on par with the US dollar I can't understand the disparity.

Check out the so called "transportation fees". You are looking at approx. $1600 for freight and PDI. And that too when the ship passes the eastern coast of Canada on the way to the US.

I don't think you can really compare the Countryman to the Juke. I've driven the Juke and while I agree its alot of car for the money, I would never put it in the same league as the Countryman.

We have had a 2006 325i in the family and that car was rock solid quiet. I expect the same from the Mini. The Juke just feels "tinny".......not as robust as the Mini.

Down the road after thousands of K's......I suspect the Mini will still feel solid structure wise.

I plan on buying a Countryman

Is the Canadian difference that much? I have a nicely equipped ALL4, Nav, cold weather, adaptive headlights- for $32500

It is and by a lot. here are the base price:

Countryman - $27,850
Countryman S - $32,650
Countryman S All4 - $34,400

So if you are looking for a fully loaded (non JCW)

Black metallic - $490
Double spoke wheel - $690
Black lounge leather - $1900
Style package (chrome) - $490
Visibility package - $450
Convenience package - $750
Lighting package - $890
Sound package - $890
Sport package - $990
Tech package - $1200
Automatic - $1490
Navigation - $1750
Comfort package - $1900

*some package will be cancel as you will upgrade to an other one. e.g. Nav. package will replace tech package

So just for the car, you are looking at $48,690 + PDI and a whooping 13% tax.

That was a joke...the Juke is just butt ugly...at least the Rogue looks decent.

That's exactly what I was looking at, including the 13 % tax

It still baffles me that we have to pay so much more in Canada for vehicles, even more now that our $ is almost at par with the greenback. With the CDN dollar being so strong, MINI is making a bigger profit off the back of CDN consumers. No fair

The bloody things come from overseas and have a shorter distance to travel to eastren Canada than for the rest of North America, and we still end up paying more.

Bah Humbug!!

Looks like my car would be about 38,240 in Canada. How much is a loaded Juke?

About $8000 less. No xenon option on the Juke however. But for $30000 you would get torque vectoring AWD, factory nav, backup camera, leather interior, sunroof...Rockford system with sub...etc.

Are there canadian import differences between the two? A loaded Juke here is just under 30K, so it was easy to justify 3k more for countryman

$30,942 for the Juke SL AWD includes freight and PDE of $1560. It ships from japan.

I just think there really is a disparity between canadian and american countryman pricing. A big disparity considering the dollar.

hhmmm.. I am getting 30K + PDI/freight ($1600) + tax for a fully loaded juke. So it is not 8k less but 18k less.

But again, I believe that we are comparing apple and oranges. They might look similar if you 'somehow' compare their platform but it is two distinct car IMO.

Just a quick comparison

Canada princing:

Countryman - $27,850
Countryman S - $32,650
Countryman S All4 - $34,400

US pricing:

Countryman - $22,350
Countryman S - $25,950
Countryman S All4 - $27,650

So if we put aside the brand, options and all the other bells and whistles, we are still looking at 5-7k difference from US market.

Us, Canucks always and will always pay more than our counterpart. Car market s*cks in Canada.

The problem on why in Canada we always pay higher on Euro car is our Canadian is not "Direct Trading Currency" compare with USD. Every time when my friend they cheer about our CAD vs USD is getting closer to 1:1. I tell them Canadian business is stepping into a dark age and in deep **** if we had 1:1 conversion rate. Since if it is one to one, who going to spend money in Canada for the same product when you can buy it from the State at lower stick price and WAY CHEAPER!

Also you may found that you can have a better deal if you purchase the same car from East Coast compare to West Coast. It was due to the transportation from East to West.

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I have an 04JCW and with the husband, two kids, and a dog, it's getting a bit cramped... we have been really excited about the Countryman coming out for some time now. In waiting for the release I saw the Juke and I can see what attracts you to it. I have been in both now for test drives and here's what I noticed. I am about 5'7" and in the back seat, my head touches the handle above the window on the juke as well as the roof... maybe OK for the kids ... for now... but I can't count on transporting adults back there comfortably at all (so the Countrymanreally is more car). The height of the base of the back windows is so high for a kid though, I worry about them not being able to see out and getting car sick. The back "trunk" area is smaller than the Countryman(because of the angle of the back window being more sloped) and since this is where our dog would occasionally be hitching a ride, it pretty much made the Juke a non-contender for us. The other funny thing about the juke was the center console... comes in a snazzy red color or a gunmetal slate kind of color... cool if your car is either of those colors but what if you go with blue or something - It would just look like it was supposed to match but doesn't. The Countryman didn't escape some criticism either though... I was very taken back by the HUGE emergency brake handle that looks very much like the throttle lever of a Boeing 757 or something... it's enormous and very odd and I can only imagine it must get in the way of any accessories you might want to add to the sliding console rack. Anyway, with the MINI you have a name, that name is more than a name... it is history, build-quality, pride, and comradery. The person who mentioned the rattles is right... the MINI is a solid product built to last. The Juke will look old in a few years because they will change so much of the styling to meet the masses. As for performance, the Countryman was not an ALL4 version and I can't recall if it was even an S but it handled fine.... it was tall but no more so than the Juke. I had some odd moments in shifting thru the Juke's gears but maybe that's just because I'm used to the MINI... it seemed to have the juice it needed when you wanted it. Hope some of this is helpful. [/FONT][/SIZE]

good post and I agree about the rear passenger space on the Juke....it's cramped. I hit my head on the roof as well. I will purchase a countryman for all the reasons you provided but if someone can overlook the negatives of the Juke...it's a good deal for the money

"I was very taken back by the HUGE emergency brake handle that looks very much like the throttle lever of a Boeing 757 or something.."

the throttle levers on the 757 are quite different but I get your point. I find it an interesting design but I can see how it will hinder some accessories on the "rail"