How comfortable is the Countryman S AWD on long trips (5-9 hours one way)? How are the sport seats, suspension, and narrow width of the vehicle? Does it feel confining? Should I only get this car if I want to zoom around town, or can I use it for long drives and be comfortable?

thanks

 

We've done up to six hours so far. We would have liked to get lumbar support but we preferred the leatherette so the co-driver uses a small lower back pillow from What Works. With that addition - no problem. The sport seats give good support and are comfortable for long rides. The narrow width of the vehicle is not an issue - you can reach anything you need.

We got the 17-inch wheels because we were concerned about harsh ride - we feel like that worked out and we don't feel like the ride is excessively harsh.

We plan to visit some relatives in about a month and expect the 11-hour ride to be comfortable. Such rides were a consideration when we picked the ALL4.

IN our experience, the ALL4 works well for zooming around town, zipping around some twisty roads, and eating up the miles.

 

I had some fears when I first got the ride. However my break in period entailed me driving it home for over 6000 miles in under a week. Never felt cramped, and in fact was amazed at the "roominess" of the vehicle. I was traveling on less that perfect roads through the Yukon, and only had one "ouch" moment with the suspension. Other than, even with the stiff run flats I was pleasantly surprised.

Full disclosure: my other vehicles are a Jeep and a 40's era motorcycle, so maybe my comparison is unfair.

M

 

I can only speak from a comparison point of view--my MCS was sporty with the suspension to match. My Mister, who has back problems, couldn't handle long rides in the Cooper very well, so he was very interested in the CM. We didn't get the "sport" seats this time around, we got the lounge leather seats, which are a bit less scooped and more flat.
When we test drove the CM before deciding to buy it, the Mister immediately noticed a difference in how smooth the ride was. After an 11-hour drive in the Cooper, the CM definitely felt a lot more like luxury (to me, at least) than sport.
So we ordered the CM and plan to take it on an 1800-mile trip back to Canada next year, which he thinks he'll be able to handle much more comfortably.
As to the narrow confines, I can definitely say it felt A LOT more roomy than my Cooper. I think it's a very comfortable car.

 

I've driven my CM a couple of times on trips over 7 hours in length, and I really enjoy it. I have the Lounge Leather seats, and the manual tranny. The ride is smooth on good surfaces, and the seats are very comfortable. I wouldn't classify the car as a top notch highway cruiser, but it is well above average. I have the sport suspension, and 17" rims, and this setup is a good balance between quick response, and smooth ride. I'm 6'3", and I've had 4 full sized (all over 6') adults, with all our gear, on a 6 hour drive for a fishing trip. There was sufficient room, and no one was crowded. The only comment I got was the rear seat cushions did not have as much support as the front ones. Both rear passengers liked having the individual buckets as opposed to a small bench.
Overall, I really enjoy the car on long trips. It's far better than my wife's Honda Fit as far as ride and seating comfort. Her Fit can haul more cargo, but it's not as comfortable for the passengers. The one thing the Fit clearly beats the CM on is cup holders. The ones on the CM are useless, so plan on holding your drink up front for that long trip. The other upside is the CM gets nearly the same gas mileage as the Fit. 35-36 MPG for the Fit, and 31-33 MPG for the All4.

Mark


Mark

 

The CM definitely has a noticeably gentler ride. I drove a Clubman loaner for two days (about 175 miles), so it was easy to compare. The MCS or Clubman is a great roadtrip car, assuming you have enough space for what you need.

The CM is an AMAZING roadtrip car. We have leatherette/bucket seats (more dog durable), and they're awesome for hours and hours of comfort. They are not particularly breathable, and I get the impression that the lounge leather is a little better, so be aware of that. If you're sweaty when you get in, you're going to have a spot on your back that simply does not dry out for a while. A little breathable lumbar pillow or a seat cover would probably help with that, but it hasn't been bad enough for me to bother with.

For me, the CM has the combination of handling and smooth ride that make it perfect for a long trip. I drove an '02 Jeep Liberty for 9 years, and that was a wonderful car, but it rolled SO MUCH when you executed any kind of quick maneuver. I feel much safer with a more agile car, and its agility was cited in its top highway safety pick rating, so that's not just my impression.

I do have to agree about the cupholders. I have my iPhone mounted on a gooseneck from the cigarette lighter, so that kills one cupholder. The other one holds a Starbucks venti or a 16 oz travel cup with no problem, though both of those things block one of the window switches. Anything bigger is out of the question.

If I want a Coke or something, I tend to get a 16 or 20 oz bottle and leave it in the door so the fiancé can have the cupholder on his side. When we both have coffee, though, there's a little jockeying for the spot.

Taking the CM on a long drive for vacation was the subject of a recent blog post of mine if you're interested. I think I'm going to write one soon that focuses in on even more on the CM's assets as a roadtrip car and potential solutions for the cupholder quandary.

 

I made a round-trip run from Cottage City (DC area) to Pittsburgh. No problems or complaints - - - except the MD state trooper at the WV border that wanted to give me a reminder that the speed limit was 65, not 85.

 

Hi. I think you will love the Countryman for road trips. We've done extensive long road trips and are currently at 10,900 miles (ZERO issues btw). Our longest day so far has been 11 hours. I commute daily 75 miles. My back gets tired at around 3 hours in this car (and starts to sweat within 30 minutes). We only have leatherette sport seats but recently picked up a used set of Lounge Leather seats with lumbar so will be switching those out. I would recommend trying to find the seats to compare (in person) and see what you think. The angle on the regular sport seat (without lumbar) seems odd. It's shallow and the headrest seems to push you forward.

We do have the 18" sport package upgrade wheel (still with runflats standard oem summer tires but not for long) which are harsh on rough pavement but sweet on smooth twisties. The 45 profile on that wheel doesn't give much cushion. Picked up a set of 17" countryman oem wheels for winter so will be running the 55 profile with blizzaks winter tires (should be mushy, ha ha )

The cabin feels huge in my opinion. LOVE the interior set up. Mini CONNECTED a must in our minds. We enjoy it daily

 

My Mister would say (and does), "I didn't do it, the car just wanted to go fast!"

 

A few months ago I drove my Countryman from Indy to North Carolina and back again (24 hours total) in a three-day period. Average temp was about 98 degrees. The seats felt comfortable the whole time. The only problem was that my arms got tired during the twisty sections of the West Virginia Parkway. I guess I was having too much fun.

Sport seats in gravity leather, for what it's worth.

 

Speaking of Lumbar support, has anyone tried retrofitting the lumbar unit from the leather chairs yet? This was easily done on the regular mini coopers.

 

I found the P/Ns
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It's a lot more expensive than it is for the cooper models (they were 1/2 the price for the lumbar mats). maybe i'll just do this for the drivers seat

 

I got these adjustable back supports for my CM but am stuck after removing the tall oval back leatherette cover from the back of the seat. Not mush room to work with as there is a metal retangular frame and a large plastic one too. let me know how you solve the problem Did the front XL cup holders yesterday and it only took and hour. Lee

 

Fenton was in the shop this week and we had a '13 with the same leatherette sport seats we like, but the '13 had adjustable lumbar support installed. With that we didn't need the lumbar pad we use in Fenton. Maybe I need to look for a set of these seats!
We got rid of our Prius because I didn't survive long trips in it very well - replaced it with a Ford C-MAX Energi. It's much more comfortable and comes with a video game called plug-in hybrid.
We like Fenton for twisties and reasonable length drives, but the C-MAX gets the nod for the 12-hour trips now.

 

I'd say it all depends on the quality of the roads you're driving on, if they are billard table smooth roads then no problem, if they're not so good then you might want to rethink the sports suspension and 18 inch wheels. Thar said I did a 5712km round trip from the middle of Norway to Milano Italy in my old Clubman, 17's, sports suspension, she ran like a clock, had a huge amount of fun in the twisties on the Swiss Italian border and cruised well at 150-170kph on the de-restricted sections of the autobahn. My present soon to be gone CM on sports suspension and 18's would have done the job just as well, with a little more room. I'm not sure what the width of the vehicle has to do with it's long distance ability.

That said my go to car for long distance trips would have been my wifes Volvo V70, nothing I've driven to date has seats that match it, the 2.4 litre diesel just hummed along, even on R design suspension and 18's the ride was excellent.

 

KiwiRob last week you claimed your wife drove a BMW. You should take notes if you can't keep you stories straight!


I have not owned my car long enough to be an expert on taking long trips in it but I do like the seats, very comfortable. Lots of pot holes here this time of year, run flats are a little lumpy.

 

for any long trips u must have armset to feel comfortable.

 

She did the V70 was replaced by a VW Touran (which we still have) along with her X5, I actually preferred the V70, the seats were more comfortable and the ride is better. But her choice so she can buy what she likes.


If you read what I wrote you would have noticed a couple of key points, 1) would have been, 2) the ride was excellent, both when taken together should have made you realise the car is gone. If she still owned the car I would have written 1) would be, and 2) the ride is excellent. Don't they teach present tenths and past tenths anymore?

 

Can't say I ever learned anything about tenths in grammar school.

 

LOL! That was hilarious.

 

Yip I...it up, but he still hasn't got a clue

 

Your stories are complicated, Its a lot less to remember if you stick to the truth.

 

It would seem our friend Baghdad Bob has a problem with the truth.

 

Ya for comfort it's pretty nice. Been on a few long trips over the last couple years and it's very comfy. I have a Chevy crew cab 2500 that I drive too which is much roomier and smoother ride, but comfort is about the same plus the Mini has more visibility in traffic, less vulnerable to cross winds, and much smaller so it's less stressful too. Maybe that's what equals it out in the end of the day. Doesn't feel cramped or anything. But I also have a Roadster S which I took on a 6000 mile road trip with my wife and we both found it very comfy too with luggage in the back to smooth the ride a bit. Although we had unlimited room since there was no roof for 98% of the trip. LOL

 

I did a 2600 miles European road trip last Sept and comfort was never an issue.

http://www.totalmini.com/forum/125-r...road-trip.html