It took me a while to get to the CM so this is not a one liner.

Last July we went to the opening of the MINI dealership in Reno. I looked at a CM for the first time and I was impressed with the amount of interior room and the amount of flexibility given the exterior footprint but I really did not like the looks of the front end or the pricing. It really did not matter because my Jeep GC snow / dog car was not supposed to be replaced for another 12 to 24 months.

Fast forward to early September. The Jeep has a catastrophic mechanical failure after numerous smaller repetitive issues. I need to shop for a new car and it's not exactly the right time for me to pay cash given other personal finance happenings and some job uncertainty. On top of that my preferred vehicle is a manual transmission 3 series xdrive which could not be special ordered at that time due to bodystyle change over.

I set the cash budget between 20 to 25k and start the hunt for a nice used 328 XDrive manual in either wagon or sedan bodystyle. THat was wishful thinking! I then looked at used Jeep GC's, used X5's, used X3's (I have a lot of brand loyalty towards BMW.) All were pretty well trashed and seemed like ticking time bombs at that price point. I decide to stretch the budget to 30 - 32k which gives entry into some newer CPO 3 series, but again, they don't inspire confidence and they are all automatics. We looked at Subaru's and ran. I was getting a bit frustrated which is when my partner suggests we go look at the CM again. We walked from BMW to MINI and ended up ordering Butch that day.

If the Jeep had held up another year I would likely be taking Euro delivery of a 2013 328i X-Drive for my birthday this September. I like the CM, but I honestly would have preferred the BMW.

I always hated that Jeep. May it rust in hell.

 

Yeah, that's not your MINI, that's the Wee dude's car!

 

This is true. The Wee Dude is just letting me borrow his MINI, for the next 9 years.

 

Tell us how you *really* feel about that Jeep.

 

I've been driving my Infiniti FX for 9 years. A few years ago I got the wild idea to add twin turbos to it. I did not have this piece of sage advice at the time: if you can't afford to replace the engine, you can't afford to modify it.

I survived the mods and repairs but it is time for a replacement. I wanted something with much better gas mileage, could haul my bikes, and looked unique.

The Countryman met the criteria. Now I just need to resist the urge to replace the turbo.

 

Hard to answer this one but this is my 61st car and possibly not my last. I traded my Z4M coupe but I had nowhere to put my son, so I grew up and got a CM. I just like the fact I can still have a Mini (my 3rd) have a useable back seat and AWD. I am content.....for now.

 

Yeah... I'm still bitter. It's probably been recycled into a Kia just about now. I wouldn't buy one of those for a little while

 

Had an '05 Pathfinder that I had been driving for right at 7 years. Great vehicle just did not need the size of it anymore. Saw the previews of the Countryman and really liked it. Started the research process and put a few other vehicles in for consideration: Q5, XC60, New Grand Cherokee. Always came back to the Countryman.
Went with the Countryman because it fit what I needed and wanted. Really like the high level of customization one can do. I have been into the air-cooled VW scence for awhile and have had some pretty awesome ones in the past and this vehicle fit right into what I like to do to them.
At the time of ordering nearest MINI dealer was 70 miles away in SF. Thankfully MINI of Marin opened a few months ago so that's where I'll go for service.
Really enjoy my MINI and now my wife is talking about getting a Clubman.

 

Had a 09 Cooper and loved driving that car, but it's too small to carry anything in it. The lease is up and needed a 4 door car. It was either the A4, new 3 series or CMS. The other 2 is alot more expensive and I fell in love after driving the CMS, didn't even test drive the other two.

 

Long story but I'll try to condense...

About a year ago my wife and I were driving about 25 miles north of Austin to meet with our dog's breeder about adopting another dog. At that time, I had a 2-door sports car & my wife had a 2-door sport coupe & hauling our year old 55 lbs Labradoodle around town wasn't the easiest...much less two 55 lbs Labradoodles. Side bar: We had been looking at the Ford Escape but decided to wait for the new Ford Explorer launching in a few months.

On the way to the breeder, on a very busy freeway, my wife saw a car/SUV and asked what it was - I said, "I think it's the new MINI crossover." About 5 minutes later, we saw another and she said, "that's my new car (for the dogs)." *Because she thought it was so cute and wold be functional for hauling dogs to the dog park & such.*

Well, about 10 minutes later, we pulled into the breeder's ranch and there sat her brand new Light Coffee/White top Countryman & my wife say's, "that's a sign - we're going to get one." A couple days later, we went to the local dealer _ MINI of Austin_ and placed an order for a 2012 Light Coffee/White roofed Cooper S with the flat floor option! Nine months later (current) we couldn't be happier an it fits our 2-year old Labradoodle and her 13 week old mini-me just fine

 

after my dad taught me how to drive on a jcw r53 i fell in love with the excitement of the mini. since then i turned 18, got my first car... wasnt a mini. it was a 325 sedan that i hated but got a great deal on. i sold the car freshamn year in college and rode my bike everywhere for two years. then lookied back into buying a car. what i hated about the 325 was #1 automatic (kicking self in face) and #2 snow.. forget about it, (however i did once get it up a crazy logging road in floyd va).. anyways i wanted at least fwd, being far superior in the rougher elements. In the time i was riding my bike my sister got her first car. a clubman s. so i borrowed it alot, fell in love with the handling of the mini again except, my sister cant drive stick.. automatic GAAHHH! so i was looking at what to get. i really wanted an old GP but tough to find one, actually almost impossible that hasnt been tracked or thrashed( cant blame those people ). so i looked at getting something with warrenty. i opted for the countryman for several reasons. #1 loved the look, its that weird look that grows on you if well your weird. #2 all4, read up on the awd system, loved it, and the idea that you still get 31mpg on the higway! duur, (this was necessary because i work at an adventure camp, do alot of hiking, biking (softroad offroading required) and snowboarding on the off season. sooo awd and slightly taller ride hight was a no brainer. i have had the car now for 3 weeks, have broke it in propperly, and am now able to truely give it the beans. the car is 800 pounds heavier than my sis's cluby, and therefore slightly slower, however i love my MT!

i have about 1200 miles on it, am planning to throw a few parts on it until the r18 AP comes out, then i will be really happy with my purchase, as this chunky pig needs some extra power..

 

Congrats on your CM and welcome!

I had to comment about the poor capability of the 325 in snow. I used to live in MI and travel about 35 to 40k miles a year for work throughout MI, OH, IN, and western PA. Always had RWD BMW's with snow tires in the winter and never got stuck. The SUV's would be in the ditch and I'd drive right on by. Maybe I was lucky, but I know the cars were undrivable in the snow with summer rubber and IMO snow tires are really the key more so than all wheel drive.

This is where I would get on a tirade about CalTrans making me put chains on my RWD BMW equipped with snow tires while letting SUV's get by with bald all season tires but I'll stop myself... I'd probably still be driving my 06 330 and never have bought the Jeep (the one rotting in hell) nor bought the CM if it were not for the CalTrans 4WD or chain requirement during my almost weekly drive from SF to Reno. Now I'm really stopping myself.


Fred - who doesn't undertand why the state of California feels it needs to use scarce tax $$$ to stop interstate traffic for an hour or more just to make sure motorists are equipped properly to drive in snow and still do it wrong. Oops, I did it again

 

Miles30, I think your wife was right-it was a sign! Congratulations on your new baby and your new puppy!!

 

I've owned two other MINI's a '03 R50 and an '04 R53. I sold the R53 because we needed one car with AWD. We always thought that if MINI brought AWD to the lineup, we'd be first in line. Well, we were in the market for a new car, and my wife wanted something that got at least 30MPG on the highway can can fit a car seat in the back with out too much front passenger discomfort. The Countryman was the perfect vehicle. We are pretty happy with it, though after 6 months and 8000 miles, we are very disappointment in the MPG in the city (16-17mpgs) though highway has been good from 28-32mpgs.

We plan on being in the car until the warranty runs out, then see what our family looks like then Sadly, we need to get a 6 passenger vehicle to carry family members around. It seems like a stretch, but it would be great if MINI made a competitor to the mazda5. We would seriously consider getting a MINI version of that!

 

Great choice!

 

I'd always loved the Mini's. Just thought the design was amazing: retro and modern simultaneously, with that Euro touch. As I'd gained a lot of weight after 2 kids and a blown out knee and back surgery, I'd always thought they were going to be too small, and difficult to get in and out of.
I'd had 2 Explorers, and then a Honda Element. I LOVED my Element; it was functional and different. But got AWFUL gas mileage for being a Honda. I'm sure the aerodynamics of a box didn't help, but the engine was not mated well to the vehicle's size.
Anyway, my wife's car, a Ford Freestyle, was decreasing in value quickly. We needed to make a move on it before we were upside-down. My credit union was offering 1.9%/60 months, so we got her a new Kia Sorento she loves.
We knew the Element was going to need new brakes, tires, etc. soon. And then we realized we were ahead 10K equity on it. That 10k paid off our last credit card. My wife was adamant I get something I WANTED since I was giving up my favorite car. We saw a Mini, and I wished I could get one, but with two little ones, a 2 door car is not feasible.
On the same car ride, we saw a Countryman. PERFECT! The cost was a bit of a concern, but the 3 years of no maintenance costs, the improved gas costs (even with premium), the resale value, and the low rate the credit union offered made it an affordable increase. I couldn't go crazy with add-ons, but got what I felt I HAD to have.
Almost every time I get in the car I smile. My wife notices and always says how happy she is I got my Mini. My 8-year old boy loves it, and insists on sitting in the red and black booster so it matches the car. My 3 year old daughter wants me to "go faster" all the time. A good friend wanted me to stop by after pickup so he could drive it. It's an amazingly popular car with my group, and HOLY CRAP is it fun to drive. :D

 

Well the main reason I am getting a new car is because my lease is coming to an end on my Mazda 3. With that being said I always liked MINIs but after once having a two door Honda Civic, I swore I would never have a two door car again.

So, backup to summer of 2011 and I went to see my best friend out in South Carolina. I get to the airport and her and her husband pick me up in yep, you guessed it a brand new 2011 CMS Light White/Black Roof. I instantly fell in love and was completely obsessed with the car. I took pictures of it, drove it over and over again. Unfortunately there was no way to get out of my Mazda, so I had to bite the bullet until now.

I ordered my own CMS on 6/5 and it is due to be at the dealership the week of 7/23, which ironically I will again be in South Carolina again visiting the same friends who still own their CMS!

 

Yup, At 49, and having owned a dozen or so cars, trucks, and a few motor cycles, I can say it is the most fun and coolest car I've owned.

 

Interesting to see the number of former VW owners here! My MINI Countryman replaced my 2002 Passat wagon just shy of its 10th birthday. It had been a nice car but was aging and starting to turn into a clunker. I wanted to replace it before it needed any major repairs, and I did manage to offload it in time.

I wanted to replace the Passat with a fun, stylish car that I would lease this time around, with a MSRP at or under $25,000, and one that was fuel-efficient. (My Passat, though a 4-cylinder turbo, averaged a disappointing 18 mpg around town, which makes up most of my driving.)

Being a VW enthusiast, I first considered another VW (my Passat was my third VW, having owned a '75 Dasher and an '80 Rabbit). The only wagon option was the Jetta Sportwagen since Passat wagons have been dropped from the lineup. I also seriously considered the newly redesigned Beetle. And for practical purposes, I decided to test-drive and spec out a Golf. Besides VW, I didn't see anything else that seemed to fit the bill. Nissan, Honda, Toyota all seemed too bland and generic.

After spending an afternoon test-driving VWs, I was pretty discouraged. The Beetle was really fun and cool to drive, but I realized I couldn't live with two doors. I have just one kid (in middle school), but she has friends who need to ride along ... and the real deal-breaker is my 80-lb. black Lab, who would likely be too scared to hop in the back seat of a two-door. The Jetta Sportwagen seemed to be available only in TDI in my area (an expensive extra that I don't need since I do hardly any distance/highway driving). I drove the Golf ... it would have done the job, but it felt pretty generic.

Then one morning a friend suggested I consider a MINI, at which point I remembered that there was the new four-door Countryman. From there things happened pretty quickly: I made an appointment for that afternoon with my local MINI dealer (I'm fortunate to have one that's a ten-minutes drive from my house) ... test-drove a manual "S" ... loved it ... realized the base model was more within my price specs ... had no patience to wait for a custom order, so the dealer found a base model with the few features I wanted in stock at a dealership four hours away ... by the next week I took delivery!

My first choice, had I the patience and time (I was concerned the the Passat might need something in the interim), would have been light coffee with a white roof. I didn't think I was going to like the black wheels, but I really like them now, and I love that they don't show the brake dust like the alloys on my Passat did.

When I first got the car (in early May), my family and I decided we'd name the car "Jet." But one rainy day, I looked out at the car parked in my driveway and decided that she looked like Emma Peel from The Avengers. So she will be known (at least during my 36-month lease) as Mrs. Emma Peel!

 

[quote=starman;3547233]True story! I was wondering in the desert heat, delirious, parch-mouthed and without my full faculties. Just then, with the buzzards circling overhead, ready to swoop down and feast on your humble narrator, I saw a wondrous vision in the distance. It was none other than Hugh Hefner holding out his hand and walking toward me in his silk pajamas while the heat waves pulsated upward along his body from the hot desert sand.

As he got closer I noticed two things: 1) In the palm of his extended hand he was clutching a MINI keyfob that he was attempting to hand to me and 2) a bevy of scantily clad beauties walking behind him with hand fans to wave across my body, succulent green grapes to place within my mouth, cooling water jugs from which I would soon be suckling and fragrant exotic oils to anoint my feet - all of which were in the back behind the seats of a Royal Grey Countryman S, if you can believe it! I grabbed the keys, pushed Hef out of the way and jumped into the MC with the bevy of beauties, hit the sport button, floored it and, well, the rest is history.

Needless to say, I am very happy with my MINI experience.[/quot

that is priceless...

 

I watch too much BBC America. I saw the Fiat 500 on Top Gear and purchased the Sport model the next day. They were quite new - I think the dealer had sold fewer than 65 when I got mine. Anyway, nothing really wrong with the car, itself. Never had a single issue come up; drove and handled very well for what it is. Can't tell you how many parking lot conversations ensued, people wanting to know what it was.

About a year later James May is telling me how the Mini completes one as a human being while blasting around in the WRC version of the MINI Countryman. I'd always liked the new MINIs, but in a purely intellectual way; it's a great car but not one that I would ever drive. The Countryman, however, now that's a car I could drive. It would be my next car...which, at that point, was still three or four years down the road. Or was it...?

After trying four times (that's right, 4) to get my Fiat dealer to return my calls to schedule my second oil change (the 500 comes with included maintenance) I just got royally peeved. The very next weekend I went down to my MINI dealer and test drove the Countryman and Countryman S, in that order. Once I'd driven the 'S' I was floored. How much fun is that?!?!? And, it's almost practical. And certainly much more practical than a Fiat. It has real-world sized wheels and tires. And I (at 6'3") can fit in the back seat...even with that dual pane sunroof. I drove home in a Light White CM S that afternoon.

Absolutely love it. And guess what? Fiat still hasn't returned my calls.

 

Excellent choice - I thought the GTI was rather bland, as well, but then I really wanted AWD...

 

My 1st Mini was a generation 1 '05. I loved it , but it got to be too small for my needs. Enter, the 2010 Clubman; probably the perfect match for my wants and needs. 2 years, 32k of trouble-free driving. Still,it was tough to talk any adults into the rear, and my teen daughter did not want to ride back there. Fold those seats down though, and I could carry everything I needed. Went in for my last free maintenance a couple days ago and decided to look over and drive the Countryman. Found one on the lot I liked. Priced right! Trade-in value on the Clubman? Spot on! I drove the countryman home the next day, yesterday!

 

Not a MINI owner yet but my CM should come in next month. Currently driving a 2004 Passat but was looking for something quicker and/or less thirsty (I average about 20 mpg).

While AWD wasn't a must-have, it's definitely a plus here in CO. While my kid is old enough to easily get into the back of a 2 door car, it wouldn't cut it with my 80-something mother-in-law. The more I looked at the CM, the more I liked it. There aren't many vehicles with its combination of 4 doors, AWD, quickness, and fuel economy.

 

Been driving a '03 WRX that had complete STi conversion followed by a Cosworth motor and now that has become quite difficult to not attract the police with, so I went about looking for something practical yet fun.
Need- 4 doors, awd/4wd, turbo/turbo diesel, somewhat descent fuel economy, and some nice features.
Choices- VW Tiguan, VW Toureg diesel, Nissan Juke, MINI Countryman. VW Tiguan felt "squishy" or flimsy in steering rack and pedal feel, Touregs were not on lot to test (4 lots without them), Juke was not available at 5 lots and no awd on the other 2. Finally, MINI greeted me with respect when I walked on the lot, I got defined answers, great interest rate, and I got exactly what I wanted.
Now the WRX will be tracked only and the Countryman will be daily driven with light modification/styling upgrades.