I am planning to order a Mini this year and I am torn between getting the two door or a countryman. Whenever I am reading about the countryman it get so much HATE from the comments from people. Saying it is ugly, not a Mini, cheap inside, cheap quality in general, too big, too small, etc. I'm just wondering why people are hating on this car so much?

 

People like to when things change.

Wife has had an All4 for 24k and over a year. She loves it. So do I--just as much as my Cooper S.

 

My guess is they've only seen the Light White ones with the black roof. If they saw a Pure Red with white, it would be a whole different story.

That said, people get carried away when presented with something new or something that doesn't fall neatly into their pre-concieved notions. You pretty much need to ignore them and follow your own drummer.

Sealy - Who gave up the drummer and got a major with the boot tassles, big hat, and the sparkley stick.

 

You're going to experience hate no matter what model you pick. I've been on car message boards since 2000. New Beetle people hate people with PT Cruisers and Hondas. Honda people hate VW people. Original Beetle people hate New Beetle people. Everyone hates the Pontiac Asstek. It never ends.

I've learned over the years, that it doesn't matter what other people think. The only thing that matters is what I like.

Everyone has different taste. There are cars out there I don't much care for, but you have to respect that it's the perfect choice for someone else, and they probably love it just as much as I love mine.

So basically, I buy cars that I love, and that I want, and that suit my needs. If someone else doesn't get it, that doesn't diminish the joy I get from my cars.

 

Drive both, maybe some other brands as well, and buy what fits your needs best. What people say shouldn't amount to a hill of beans. A lot of people (mostly Countryman owners) will say that the vehicle has "first year" new model issues. That's probably true, but hey, they are covered under warranty.

I personally prefer the standard hatch over clubman, coupe, countryman, cabrio, etc. But that really doesn't affect anyone other than me.

 

Can't please everyone. And most haters haven't seen or ridden in one. The reviews tend to reflect that.

The sales numbers show its a hit, and the fact theres now a new model coming based off of the CM really shows they found a need and addressed it.

 

Sealy, your sign-offs crack me up!


I've had mine for a little over 3 months and 5,000 miles and LOVE her! I don't anything abou the car that's cheap. Yeah there are some things that could be different, but for the most part, I love everything about my car!

Go check one out yourself, take it for a test drive and make up your own mind. It's a great little car IMHO.

 

The ONE and ONLY thing EVERYONE will ever agree on.

 

Yeh that and the Nissan Juke!

pac

 

Seriously. I few of my fellow employees and my boss don't "get" my car but whatever. Just wait until they see the next mods I do.

 

I've encountered several MINI and Mini owners who refuse to have anything to do with the CM. I was handing a card for the local MINI club to a cabrio driver this week - she said she hated what MINI had done bringing out the CM. She then had a (first) look at mine and thought it wasn't so bad. We ended up planning to meet at a coming rally.
Maybe these "hate" stances get modified when people interact - we'll see.

 

If you can wait, there is supposed to be a 2dr Countryman coming. 'best of both worlds'.
very Evoke'ish.
showed my wife, she like 4drs & am happy were getting ours soon.

 

HelloBunny, Many people using the word, "hate" don't know what the word means, so don't take the word too seriously. If your goal is to own a car that everyone admires, you are doomed to be disappointed. Be aware that some people will offer negative comments about most anything that they can't afford - they're envious.

I drive a hatchback and I think it's the neatest car that I've ever owned. I accept that not everyone wants one and it would be ridiculous for me to expect all to admire my car.

Take the 18 year old who is driving a pickup that's jacked so high he can walk under it to change the oil. Is he going to admire my car? Actually, what someone thinks of my car is irrelevant. Of course, if I were looking to sell it, I would want to find a person who liked it.

This the way it is, otherwise, we would all be driving the same thing.

 

I can tell you never drove an AMC Matador...

 

Maybe because it's not so "mini"? Not that there's anything wrong with that...as Seinfeld would say lol...

 

Well, I don't care who hates it. I had to give up my first MINI, an '03, when my third kid was on the way. Now that they have come out with the 4 door with a bench seat, I am ecstatic to be back in the MINI family. People can hate on it all they want, but it is the only way I can possibly drive a MINI with the ridiculous carseat laws in this country.

 

I can understand it.

I would assume that the first thing many people think of when Mini Cooper is mentioned is the size of the car. That's its most obvious quality, and this is not shocking given that the size of the car is indicated as the make of the car.

So for many people their first reaction to the CM might be that it's the "anti-Mini". When I showed a few people our new CM who are not "car" people, I swear I could hear them thinking to themselves "OK, if they needed a larger car, why would they buy another Mini?" It's just not logical.

And many existing Mini owners don't consider the CM to be the genuine product. It violates the original premise of size, and it's not even assembled in the proper country! :-) Sounds like what 911 and Boxster owners first thought of the Cayenne (most of them got over it), and the current comments about the Panamera.

Perhaps if BMW had named the CM the MaxiMini instead (thankfully they did not), maybe more people would "get it" more quickly.

Candidly, if we were not previous R53 owners, I'm not sure that we would have even test driven a CM. But because we were, we never seriously considered anything but a CM. But maybe we are not typical at all. Our MA swears that the vast majority of CM's he sells are to customers that never owned a Mini before. That somewhat surprised me.

The laws of physics dictate that our CM will never be as fun to drive as our beloved R53 was. But for what is is, the CM is still a fun drive. We had little choice because my GF needed a 4 door car for business reasons.

 

I really, really really wanted to like the Countryman but after several months I just gave up! It just doesn't do it for me.....that's not to say there's anything wrong with it I just quite simply don't like the way it looks. It's personal taste...we're all different...I mean some people don't like my Clubman...that's their loss...all I can say is thank God that we are different otherwise the world would be a very monochromatic place....we can't all love the way a car looks....unless of course it's my Dodge Challenger!

 

Funny, that's exactly how I feel about the Clubman, it just doesn't do it for me, as much as I wanted to like it. Too wagon-like for me. That's why they make different models, not everyone likes the same things.

 

I have always loved the Mini Coopers. They never fail to turn my head--even the Clubman!--but I needed a larger car than that. When I researched my next car, I was looking for one with personality; one that was fun to drive and had decent gas mileage. I was so excited when the Countryman came out. My hubby was not so sure--but he actually loves driving it. We are so happy with this car. I don't care about the "haters", I love the "real" Minis---and I love my bigger "real" Mini!

 

There's haters who don't like the look. It's a look, and it's a strong one, so you're going to have people react strongly to it. I like it (obviously). I get why people might not.

As far as MINI people not liking it, it's bigger, just as the R53 was bigger than the original MINIs and the R56 is bigger than the R53. And the Clubman is bigger than both.

For a crossover, it's MINI. Compared to the R53, it's pretty big. Compared to most stuff on the road, it's small.

 

Well said!

 

Nope, I am the odd duck out. I never minded the Aztek. I even came very close to buying one, mostly because the dealership was willing to sell me a loaded one brand new for 14k to get them off of the lot.

 

Non Mini owners instantly recognize the CM as a "Mini", then typically say, "I didn't know they made a 4 door version.

Curious, are the 'Purest' the ones the practically make modifications to the car before they hit 10 miles on the car?

 

My first Mini was a CM, I loved it and my wife loved it, but my mother 91 years old hated it. While riding in the back seat all I heard was negative comments from her. Well my second Mini is the Coupe'. You guessed it no back seats!! Mother still hates it, but stays at home. Get what you want and have a blast driving it.