I don't have a great picture of myself and the MINI CM but my wife took a picture of me near it about an hour after we took delivery a week ago. Here goes...

 

Well, it's been a week and I'd like to update my thoughts on the MINI Countryman S ALL4 purchase.

THE GOOD:
The car is tight with no squeaks and rattles. The unorthodox layout of the cockpit is now mostly familiar. The attention to detail of the construction is cool. Fit and finish is great (bit I'd expect that from BMW). MINI Connect is proving to be quite useful although I'm not sure about the traffic function in Navigation since I haven't really used it yet. And it's a lot of fun to drive. And there is plenty of knee room for my long legs.

THE BAD:
The mileage is still on the low side starting out. Right now, we're seeing a about 22 MPG. I'm not sure what the dealer put in the car but we just filled it up with 93 octane. We'll see how the mileage changes as we deal with the break-in period. We haven't had the car on the highway very much. The mirrors are a tad too small and very hard to get positioned correctly. Without a memory function, I'm constantly trying to get them properly pointed whenever I drive the vehicle. I've had to learn not to approach some stop lights too closely or else I can't see the light (unless I look through the sunroof...again, probably a issue with my height).

THE UGLY:
For myself, I'm really not liking the seats. After a week of driving, the leatherette seats are too hard and I just can't get comfortable for extended stretches behind the wheel. It's not the lack of lumbar controls either. I had mentioned earlier that the thigh support wasn't up to snuff and that's still the case a week later. But the hard seats keep me from finding a good position that my upper left thigh starts hurting after a while. Again, I think this is mostly unique to someone of my size where my legs butterfly in the driving position where I cannot lay them flat like normal folks. This is the story of my life for all vehicles I've ever owned. But I usually have power seats where I can adjust the rake of the bottom of the seat to compensate. Since I cannot do that here, I don't have a good solution outside of maybe going for a seat cushion of some sort. If we ever trade and get another Countryman, I'm hoping a driver's power seat will be offered but we'll certainly get the leather seats, which might end up being softer and not hit my thighs like the leatherette seats do.

One thing about the non-power seats though...the last cars either my wife or myself have owned without power seats were my 1990 Mazda 626 or her 1993 Ford Escort. Neither car abused my thighs like the Countryman despite the leg position. Both of those cars had cloth seats.

For kicks, I replayed the Motorweek episode on my Tivo that featured the Countryman several weeks ago. It's a little weird when you go back and see pretty much your exact same vehicle we bought right down to the Silver Metallic color, black roof and bonnet stripes featured in the review. The review car had the Sport package + 18" wheels, which we lack. I agree with most of their comments but again, they seemed to come at the review from the perspective of a MINI Cooper driver going larger, not a driver of a larger vehicle coming down. It is a significant distinction that shouldn't be lost on potential buyers. And yes, the MINI is expensive compared to some of the vehicles in its class. But as long as they hold their value, that's fine by me.

More motoring to come...

 

Great insight Sevenfeet! I'm a day or two behind you ownership-wise, so it will be neat to watch the comparative feedback.

I'm with you on the fit-n-finish quality and initial fuel consumption. This first tank isn't impressing me much, but I know it needs to break-in and get a good run out on the highway.

Thanks again!

 

How to solve the traffic signal viewing problem...



LightInSight offers a wide-angle fresnel lens made of optical-grade plastic that "clings" to the top edge of the driver's-side windshield. It allows you to see the traffic light in the lens and still pull forward to the stopping line. The photo above shows it much lower than the typical MINI position; the top edge just touching the black edge on the inside of the windshield.

I've had one of these for 8 years on my '04 MCS JCW and it is truly a necessary add-on, especially in urban environs.

 

Well I have posted it before but the lounge leather seats and the difference in 'feel' between the base seats and the lounge, just going back and forth and sitting in the two cars that were available, is what sold me... well i was partial to the silver one in the first place the seats sealed the deal

 

I'm waiting for the next pic where you pick up your CM and bench press it! Actually with the larger height of the CM it really doesn't look that small next to you. Now if you were standing next to a SmartCar it would probably look like a remote controlled car!

 

Usually I go to the local car show and try sitting in every vehicle, mostly to eliminate them from me ever buying or renting them. Recently I tried this with a Smart car and got a lot of snickers from the assembled public. It was pretty funny, actually.

Years ago a friend of mine left me his Mazda Miata while he went on vacation. He chose me since he knew that I couldn't actually take his prized toy anywhere. It was literally impossible for me to drive it. I warned him that if my house car fire, I could only attempt to put the car in neutral and push it away!

 

I may have to find a lounge leather example and see. It's too late for this car but if we trade for another one at some point, we'd likely order better seats. In the meantime, my wife is comfortable and that's what matters.

 

That is a great idea! Thanks!

 

The base seats arent that bad, but I'm a large critter... not 7 feet, but 6'2" with a back that appreciates the adjustable lumbar support more than most folks!

 

I climbed in a miata once and promptly got my foot wedged between the gas pedal and behind the console, with my knee caught below the steering wheel, it took two people to pull me out !

 

Yeah, I had a similar situation ten years ago when two friends of mine in two different cities both bought silver Porsche Boxsters (one still owns it). I couldn't be jealous since it's physically impossible for me to drive it. Even the passenger seat is so cramped that I couldn't sit there for more than 10-15 minutes without losing feeling in my legs. Imagine the two of us driving over the Brooklyn Bridge at night on a nice clear spring evening with the top down my eyes literally looking over the cowl since that's the best I could do for sitting comfort.

 

I opted for the cloth seats again in my CM, and am not sorry. Hubby has the leather ones in his 2008 Cooper. DO NOT put on seat covers, as it will interfere with the airbags, as you can read in the owners manual. My surf blue Mini CM (with white roof and mirrors) has black cloth seats, black interior, piano black accents, black carpet mats, and is great looking! Very comfy too.

 

There are seat covers that have cutouts for the side air bags. I have Wet Okole seat covers in my '04 MCS JCW and they have openings in the outside surfaces of the seat covers. I'm sure there are other manufacturers out there with the same safety accommodation built in, but perhaps it is too early to find ones for the CM.