As briefly as possible, I went shopping yesterday for a potential Countryman purchase along with a longtime friend who was also considering one.
I'm on MINI #4 now, a 2011 JCW hatchback, custom ordered and receive in November of 2010. Prior to that was an 06 MCS, an 08 MCS, and an 09 JCW.
In August I picked up a 2012 Audi TT-RS, it has become my primary "fast" car, its performance parameters eclipse the JCW in all possible contests of speed. The JCW has become primarily the car for my frequent bike trips, along with commuting at least a couple of days a week.
Saturday was my first ever Countryman test ride. My thought process was that its extra room and utility would make it a better roadtrip car without sacrificing too much of its MINIness. I drove a lightly optioned S model with manual transmission. Overall I liked the ride, handling was adequate for what it is, fit and finish good, my only reservation is it's much slower than what I'm used to driving. THAT is my biggest dilemma, can its attributes as my "bike" car and commuter overshadow the performance I'll be losing coming from the JCW. I know there are plenty of folks on here who have come from MINI hatchbacks, I'd like to hear if/how you dealt with the lower level of performance overall (and this is not a dig at the CM, it's just an objective fact.)
I was offered a decent trade in value for my JCW (kind of surprised actually) but there was nothing even close on the lot, available via trade, or in the production pipeline to my wants. My priorities are manual, no sunroof, xenon lights, HarmonKardon, and Bluetooth/Ipod. Don't care about all of the other "luxury/convenience" stuff. My order would be solid red/sport package/HK/BT-Ipod/red cloth-leather upholstery.
I know a bit about how MINI ordering works. I believe dealers get a certain amount of allocations that are most likely weekly. 3 of my 4 prior MINI's were orders and I asked for them right when the dealers had an open slot and managed to get them all in about a five week timeframe.
In the current case, the next available CM slot my dealer has is 2nd week of February production. It's currently a lot car, he says I have until the end of this week that it could still be reconfigured to be "my car." After that, he will pretty much have at least one more per week, each having about a 6-8 week delivery date after production starts.
I don't have to do this in a hurry, or at all. Help me decide. The soonest I could have one would be late March/early April if I jump on it this week. I just don't want to regret losing the JCW. The reason I've had four MINI's in 6 years is because I've sold a couple, then immediately regretted it and ordered another. I don't want that to happen again.

Now on to part deux.

 

Part II, my friend's shopping.
A friend accompanied me yesterday also interested in a Countryman. In the 15ish years that I've known her, she's had four cars versus the 10 or so that I've had. She doesn't put a lot of miles on them, takes good care of them, and her needs/wants are totally different than mine. Circa 2008 or so, she and her husband both picked up used MINI's mostly because of being around mine. His was a 2007 S that looked great on paper but became a nightmare. First its engine blew up at around 40K miles (it was basically the timing chain tensioner issue before it was really even on the radar), then a few months after warranty fixed that, the turbo blew. After the warranty went out, he decided to minimize his losses and traded for a new Jeep early last summer.
The woman's 2007 Cooper was trouble free. Manual transmission, fairly low optioned, it gave great gas mileage and worry free reliability, but she was ready for something else. As noted earlier, her wants/needs are nothing like mine, she doesn't give a rats's *** about performance, it just needs to be reliable, have good utility, and good gas mileage.
She told the MINI dealer she wanted a base Countryman, manual/no sunroof, and minimal options. Again, nothing on the lot, but there was one that fit the bill coming in at another dealer in a couple of weeks that they could trade for. The nail in the coffin though was a very low trade in offer for her low mileage Justa, in contrast to the excellent offer I'd been given for mine. Eating lunch afterwards, I could tell she wasn't happy about the situation as we parted. Three hours later she called me to tell me she was waiting for her new Hyundai Sonata to be prepared and she drove it home last night. To you or me, it is NOTHING like a CM, but for her needs it fit the bill, and the deal she was offered without a bunch of negotiating was the clincher. I really think the MINI deal was lost in the space of a few moments when the used car manager played his card. I have a car addiction, and have willingly accepted some deals before that made me bite my tongue, but for someone who only does it once every 4-5 years or so, the nuances are more important.

 

I'm selling my R53 2005 and have a CMS4, manual, sport suspension, on order. I have no problem with the drop in straight line performance. With a driver and one or two passengers it felt adequate on our test drives. Wish I could have both but not in the cards. Just need more room and AWD right now for a number of reasons.

Then again, I come from an era where my first performance car was a 1961 997cc Austin Mini Cooper, and a very fast car was one with a 0-60 of 10 sec. Driving a slow car quickly is more fun than driving a fast car slowly (for me).

 

I drive a 2009 JCW,in April it will be 3 years old.
Just passed the 50k mile mark yesterday.
I didn't want to spend close to 3k on extended warranty,and at 48 and driving almost 18k miles a year, i need more comfort.
A CMS manual felt like the perfect compromise,so i ordered one.
I extensively test drove the CMS and yes,there's notably less power,but it's still a lot of fun.I have the added advantage that my daughter drives an automatic Cooper CM that she lets me borrow occasionally,and it's still a blast to drive.
I will miss my JCW,but i will continue to motor,this time in comfort and able to fit my windsurfing gear without having to ask my wife for her car.

 

mtbscott - Sounds like you have two sports cars in your fleet and you need to add something with a little more practicality to carry bike and stuff. The TT-RS is a sweet car so I would say that having the CMS as a "practical" car is just fine. It's not meant to be the fastest thing out there but it looks interesting and you can personalize it. I would say go for it.

It took me a while to decide on the Countryman as well but so far I am happy with it. Like you, I needed someting to handle bikes, kayak, dogs, and snow driving conditions. The other three cars in the fleet are faster and sleeker, but so far the Countryman is a winner for my practical needs. I really like that you can order a manual with all the other toys and then have the option to add go faster equipment from reputable companies for more speed or more agressive look. It's a nice package.

 

I didn't read beyond the fact that you have a TT-RS... whatever the problem is; it is inconsequential.

Winning!

:envysmily:

Cheers,
Tad

 

Followup.
I'd been sitting on the fence ever since my visit. The dealer manager (dealt directly with him as a prior customer) must have sensed it because he didn't do any real pressuring afterwards.
My decision is to do nothing at this time. Buying a CM for more room is more a want than a need, and I just don't think I'm ready for the loss of power. I will wait to see if/when a JCW CM comes out (one rumor says June of this year, another rumor says 2013), if the price is acceptable that could be the one.
Otherwise, there's nothing else really on my radar right this moment. The JCW hatchback is still plenty roomy for 90% of my needs, the CM was just icing on the cake.