1 Year Review
 

I hit 1 year with the Countryman this week. Put on about 23.5k miles so far. For anyone out there looking for owner feedback, here is some info.
My car is a 2018 S All4 model. Technology Package, Dynamic Damper Control, Power Folding mirrors, Spare tire.

Really like the 6 speed manual transmission. It's smooth and shifts well. The auto-rev matching takes some getting used to, but it works really well. For an SUV type setup, it really handles more like a car. I'm surprised because I've been a sedan / coupe person forever and thought the SUV setup would feel weird. The sport mode with the dynamic damper control is really nice. My only complaint there is the active sound, which I hope to turn off this spring.

I really like the center dial and buttons in front of the arm rest. It's so easy to get into any of the menus without reaching up and touching the screen or any buttons on the dash. The stereo is nice and gets plenty loud for my taste. The heads up display is pretty useful as well. I didn't think I would use it but I leave it up every day now.

The moveable back seat is awesome. If you need more trunk space, more it forward. If you need more leg room, move it backwards. This is a great feature. I don't think I could ever own a daily driver again that does not have this. It's just way too useful. Also love the storage floor in the trunk. I can't use it as much because the spare is in there, but I like the extra room it does provide.

I also bought the Mini roof rails and roof box. We used it on a family road trip to the beach last summer. It worked great and only brought my gas mileage down about 2 mpg. Speaking of, I'm averaging about 28.5 mpg across that entire 23.5k miles of driving so far. My commute is about 80% highway, 20% traffic lights.

The All4 did well in its first full winter test as well. I can feel it kick in when the car starts to slip. It's also fun to turn the TC off and slide it on purpose a bit when space allows.


Bottom line is that I would definitely recommend one of these things. It is fun to drive with lots of cool features for everyday use. I'm very glad I bought one a year ago.

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Nice review.

Yes nice review.
I agree with most but not all... The manual transmission I think it the weak point - it feels like a loose rubber band and the shift knob itself doesn't feel great in the hand. It's my wife's car so I'll leave it be, but if it were mine I'd be looking at some sort of short shift kit...
I also find the stereo is quite lacking for a car in this price range... All else I think is accurate in your review...

I could be on board with a short shift kit in this application. I don't expect this vehicle to be the best manual application that I've ever driven, but I am very pleased that the manual option exists because that is my absolute preference.

Oh yeah - I'm not complaining - we only have manual vehicles in our stable - but it's a BMW after all and I'd expect better in a 40k+ "driver focus" vehicle. The manual in the cooper is the same rubber band... build for comfort :)

I applaud you for only owning manuals! That is awesome. My wife only wants an auto. All mine are manual :-)

You really don't like the Harmon/Kardon sound? That surprises me. I guess and do know that sound is a taste as for example I never liked the sound of BOSE.

This is really more of a high riding hatch or station wagon, I think SUV really doesn't fit this car. I have had mine a year too and did some softroading with my wife's 4 motion Tiguan. The Mini's AWD system left the Tiguan for dead.

That's why I did this, the first week I owned it! Did the same in my previous F56. Best mod I've done! I hate the ugly stock shift knob!

Yes, it's illuminated, and matches the orange backlights of the other buttons perfectly.

review
 

Accurate review. I noticed you didn't mention any repairs /warranty issues, and that's great ! We're coming up on two years this coming August 2019 and ours has been solid. It has 12,500 miles.
Goodyears are wearing very well . Sometimes i'd like a stiffer shock, but that's just me I think. I'm use to stiff rides, (two Jeep wranglers, Dodge Ram) so the Mini is a carlike ride and it is very comfortable. It is a easy vehicle to get a long with.

Had the hatch open once on its own, and had the windows lower themselves in a Costco parking lot at the one year anniversary, that was un-nerving. Other than that its been great. Really like the LED headlights.
Drives great, very stable, takes on wind very good. Easy to change the oil. I have more issues converting liters to quarts, than the actual oil change, but that's me :grin:
I'd buy another one. I'd like to drive one of those JCW versions and see how much of a difference there is. I can't see us getting rid of this one though.
I do run only real premium gasoline in it, no alcohol gas. Only time it gets gas with ethanol is at Costco. Its seems to tolerate it okay.
Have a good one!

Thanks for the review. I agree with most.

I too have a manual and it's excessively squishy for a performance car (mine is a JCW).

I agree with a post above about the radio is lacking, but I am used to custom sound systems.

I also have rattles that should not be there.

These cars not having yellow lights on the mirrors for proximity is just a huge miss.

The suspension is what I would call OK considering this is a MINI.

Finally, my fist set of brake pads wore out in 15K miles.

What knob is that? Where did you get it?

It looks like you have leather seats. That is one thing I really like - the leather seems to be high quality.

Thanks for your review. It's getting to that time to replace my 2008 Mini (she's got 110,000 miles) and starting to cost more in repairs. I have heard mixed reviews on the Countryman not to mention all of the usual static (unreliable, expensive to own/repair, yada, yada). I can't imagine driving anything but a Mini - I've recently changed jobs and now my route to work is a four lane hwy with many semi's and gravel trucks. I like the more aggressive look and size of the Countryman. I have read that the base model is a little under powered; any input on that? I like manual transmission myself, everything on the dealer can find me is automatic. I'm trying to tame the depreciation by buying a 2018/2019 demo -I've been told (fingers crossed) that dealer has been able to locate two 2019 courtesy cars with less than 10K on them. Hope to see them by end of the month.

I think it's all relative to your situation and driving conditions. To me the more power the better as long as it's controllable and predictable. That said, I test drove an S in Normal and Sport mode. That wasn't enough for me so I went for the JCW. That was fine for a while, but I wanted more power so I just put a Dinan Elite into it and am satisfied for now with the power it has. The one thing I like about New England is that we get to drive 20-30 mph over the speed limit and that is considered normal. Couple that with a radar detector, and you can reasonably get the car up to some fun speeds.

Like F60JCW mentioned, it is all relative to your situation. I live in the suburbs but need to commute to the city daily. Therefore, torque was important to me for passing or getting on to a busy highway.

I too test drove the S and felt it was under powered even with sport mode. Therefore, I purchased the JCW, which I feel is just enough but more would be better. I am hoping to install the Dinan Elite soon.

The best way for you to tell is actually go for a test drive. The good thing is the new JCW will go on sale this summer/fall with more HP and torque, which will bring it up to if not the more power than the current model with piggy tune. That would also mean that dealer will be willing to drop price on the the current JCW stock to get rid of them.

With the Dinan Elite, I now have a pesky P12A9 code that Dinan said they have seen quite in quite a few cases. I plugged in the bypass and sent my unit back to them.

How long did you have it installed before it started throwing the code?

Do post up with results after the fix.

Only 4K miles. Mine is not a DD, so it was just over a year.

Will do. I am still in the middle of working through the issue.

I am experienced in tuning and coding - and this one looks as though it might be more pesky than I want it to be.

The base model is definitely under powered. I test drove one and did not like it. The S trim is the minimum amount of power that I'd like to have in a daily driver. I think it would be better with 250hp / 225 ft-lbs, but in most situations its enough power to get up and out of the way if you need to.

Awesome review! We’re looking at a car almost exactly like this for my wife, and your review brought up a few good questions if you don’t mind...

1. Have you figured out how to turn off the active engine sound? I know my wife will want that off.

2. Do you know anything about the parking assistant? The car we’re looking at has it, but i can’t understand how they make it work with a 6speed.

Any help here would be awesome.

Thanks!

​​​​​​With the manual transmission, the parking assistant still requires you to shift gears and apply the brakes. It tells you what to do and controls the steering. It does work but is finicky to activate sometimes. But it has successfully got me into some very tight spaces.

That’s awesome info! Does it automatically depress the clutch?

Also, how prominent/annoying is the active engine sound? I didn’t know this until yesterday, but I guess the S All 4 pipes the engine sounds into the cabin through the speakers. We’re going to go drive the one we have on hold this week, and if it’s prominent, I’m sure my wife is going to hate that. Will she notice?

Anything else you think I should know about this car before I buy it? The one I’m looking at is a 2018 S All 4 with a manual. It’s got the Leather and Carbon Cord interior, conv. Package, tech package, connected, wired, and excitement. I know very little about these cars. Any help here would be super appreciated. This one has 11k miles.

Thanks!

I have read about turning it off with the Bimmercode ap. I have purchased the adapter but have not had time to try it out yet.

I have not used the parking assistant at all but wondered the same thing when I first bought the car.


I am up to 40k miles so far. Still love this thing. Total average fuel mileage is 29.6 mpg. I just changed the oil for the first time at home a few weeks ago. It wasn't too bad overall. I just had a couple little things to figure out as I went.

How loud/bad/annoying on a scale of 1-10 would you say the active sound is? Also, does it come standard with a 6 speed, or is it standard with an S or an All 4. I wonder if the car I'm looking at even has it?

We have a 2017 S All4 and if the car has this feature, I've never noticed it. Use Sport mode religiously, I prefer the burbles and pops.