My Wife and I picked up our new All4 yesterday. I took it for a drive down some twisty roads last night and here is my initial impression.

Ride comfort is much improved over the R50. Not sure if this is due to the longer wheel base or increased suspension travel. The run flats are horrible, as soon as one of those goes out it's time for new non-run flat tires. The R50 handled some bumps better like pot holes due to the tall sidewalls of the non runflat tires, but going over railroad tracks and expansion joints the R60 does much better. I am sure the ride will improve with a tire swap.

The tire grip is low currently due to the tires not being scrubbed in, so that makes the handling a little muted currently, but the car handles much better then expected. When traction is lost it is very neutral, not a lot of under or over steer, and it is easy to control. Having the All4 exiting a corner is great, you can put the power down sooner and it sticks. I am sure the handling characteristics will improve as soon as the tires scrub in.

The R50 was WAY underpowered. It cornered well but would get some under steer at the limit, and as soon as it hooked up the engine would bog down a bit leaving you sitting there with out much go. Having the extra go with the R60 is great. The R60 is no power monster though (haven't driven it too hard, new engine ) but it is very adequate and getting you moving fast and through traffic. I have noticed the turbo lag though, and hopefully the stiffy DV spring will help with that, and also once I get past the initial break in phase I can hammer on it.

The R50 seemed to be built a tiny bit better. Fit and Finish in the R60 is great, but the interior seems a bit less engineered then the R50 and R53s. It looks like they tried to cut cost on the interior a bit and it shows. We shall see if it wears as nicely as the R50 did.

Overall Super excited to have the R60. I can't wait to do some long road trips with it and have some fun days in the mountain roads. Are there any other MINI to Countryman converts out there? Let me know what you think about the change. Better pics to come, This is one I grabbed with my cell phone last night.

 

Congratulations on the R60. Could not agree more with the interior materials. The R50/3 had some nice touches like the grey turn signal stalks and the center stack tubes. The R60 is all black and boring in comparison. The dials were "just right" in size for a MINI as opoosed to the big plate size center speedo. Carpets and floor mats are junk in the R60 compared to the R50.
That's not to say the CM is not a nice little vehicle. It is more practical and a hoot to drive.

 

Congrats on the new car!

 

I came from an R52 and knew I didn't want to leave my Mini family, just with a 2 year old I needed more room. The convertible handled corners just a bit better, because of the low stance. But I now have an "S" so I'm all good! I've had mine a month and while I would have loved to keep the convertible for Fall in West Texas that's still a bit hot for top down driving.

 

Well, you got the color right!

 

Sold an r52 for a countryman.....be prepared for all the shakes and rattle like the r50 when you get around 15000-20000 miles on her...

 

Hurray! I think the rattles should be listed under standard features, with a MINI like statement afterwards about how real race cars have lots of rattles, and how that makes the performance a bit better.

As soon as I can get some decent non-phone pictures taken, they will put up on the Official Surf Blue owners club.

I thought parallel parking the bigger R60 would be tough but was surprisingly super easy! The brake hold can be a bit trouble some so I started using the E-brake so I can determine how quickly, and when the brakes let go. At first when the brake hold let go it jolted the car a bit, and that can lead to problems when trying to squeeze into a small spot.