A friend of mini LOL'd when I told him I was getting a Countryman All4 to replace my Hummer H1.

I mean, it's not really "replacing" it per se, but I'm selling the H1 because I hardly ever drive it anymore and I want an AWD vehicle for the occasional snow and bad weather we get in NJ. Being I have a had a great experience with my Cooper S, I naturally went for the Countryman.

 

Replacing an 02 Jeep GC V8 with only 100k. There will be two main differences:

- Better gas mileage as I was averaging 16MPG with the GC
- Better reliability. Even if the CM has a couple of teething problems it will be better than what I endured with the Jeep this past year.

Now if they could only get around to building the darn thing...

 

Replaced a 2003 Honda Pilot 4WD with an ALL4:

Main differences:
8 seats -> 4
Holds 4 bales of straw -> 2 bales of straw
6 cylinders -> 4
4400 pounds -> 3200 pounds
4-speed automatic -> 6-speed manual
17-21 MPG -> 24-33 MPG

Big difference: CM4 is FUN!

 

You could have just parked the All4 in the back of the H1. Think of it as a yacht with a lifeboat!

 

If I take the word 'replaced' literally, it's parked in the shop space formerly occupied by a lawn tractor.

Of course, since it replaces a Subaru in the lineup, not so different in that sense.

Cheers,
Tad

PS- Recognize your SN from fchat.

 

2002 BMW 745i ... out
Mini Cooper SD All4 Countryman ... in

 

bought an acura tl new in 03 and keeping it, eventually for my son. buying the mini countryman base with lots of options since my wife already has an all wheel drive vehicle and commutes to work arent long. can't wait to get my 2012 countryman.

 

Replaced an 8 seater Toyota Sienna with the MINI ALL4.

The ALL4 would fit in the Sienna with room to spare. Mini has four seats, mini cannot help me move house, enither oculd I live in my Mini if I really needed to.

I miss the Sienna about one day a month when I have to haul masses of kids or stuff, but the other 29 and three quarter of days I am so glad I have my Mini.

I do not miss being soccer mom! If I am going to live in my car, let it be a beautiful one.

 

Replaced 2003 325xi

Pros: I now have a reliable vehicle that is manual

Cons: I got the justa so no ALL4

 

not so sure if the "con" is a "con"...i live in mass and got the 'justa' after thinking about it very carefully. my acura 03 with front wheel drive, traction control and all season tires served me well in the winters. plus, they plow extremely well where i live and work. so after thinking about it, i have to get the turbo to get the all wheel drive (which for 99% percent of the time will operate as a front wheel drive) is thousands more...plus the turbo seems somewhat problematic (reading other posters on this forum) and the turbo means different wheels which will require winter tires...all that adds up to a no thanks for me. so you may have two Pros

 

Got out of a '02 Jeep Liberty. It was reliable and cheap to maintain until some expensive differential and axle repairs after 120,000 miles. It fit the dogs and our stuff beautifully, got me all over the dirt backroads of New England for kayaking and hiking for nine years.

The biggest difference is the mileage. I used to get 18-19 in the Jeep, and I get 28-29 in the MINI (both measured by miles driven between fillups over amount of gas at fillup). On average, that's a little more than a 50% more miles per gallon. You don't get all of the cost savings of that, since the Jeep ran on 87 and the MINI wants 91+, but I'm still seeing something like a 40% drop in my gas costs. Since my commute is 70 miles a day, that's a lot of money.

The other big difference is the corners. The Jeep floated on that high suspension and the body rolled a lot when I cornered. The Countryman, even though it's a hair less go-karty than the hardtop, is amazingly sure footed and level in hard handling. The Jeep was plenty fun to drive with its 3.7L, 6-cylinder engine, but the MINI is just absurdly fun to drive because it accelerates significantly better and corners dramatically better.

 

there is many differences.. my last car was a Smart Forfour Brabus 177 HP for less weigth .. it means 0-100 km/h in 6,7 seconds.. a very sporty car.. very inconfortable tyres because no runflat but 205/40/17 in front and 225/35 rear... engine was turbo but less confortable than Cooper S..
Countryman is very easy to drive and very confortable.... i hope will be easy also in ice and snow (with winter tyres, off course..) ...
Better space ... and better mileage... 3 liters /100km less... Happy with my CM

 

My CM is replacing my Cooper S. The larger size is outweighed by the ALL4. If I could've kept both, I would have, but since we live so far from a dealership, we didn't want to keep the Cooper out of warranty.
Still no CM to drive, so I can't say anything about the handling yet, but I definitely miss my peppy Nigel.

 

Well I hope! I'm just nervous as this will be my first winter without 4WD or AWD. My previous cars were Jeeps, Subaru and the BMW.

 

All4! I replaced my R56 S Manual

 

This is exactly why we have our "Justa". We have had Subarus for the past 6-7 years and after driving those I don't really care for the part time AWD systems anyways. Depending on how well ours does this winter we might pick up another one in the spring.