Don't get me wrong, I think my new Countryman is terrific. There's just a couple of features from my Clubman that I wish were also in my Countryman.

- The Countryman doesn't have a secret compartment. That's where I keep my connected ipod in my Clubman. Out of sight. Now I have to worry each time I leave my Countryman whether or not my ipod is visibile (don't want broken windows and stolen ipods). Anyone come up with clever solutions for this?

- I wish the rear seats folded down absolutely flat (which my Clubman seats do). Not a huge deal, but seems to be a nicer touch with the Clubman.

- I wish the Countryman hand brake wasn't so large, making the front track system (if you have an arm rest) not very functional. But I guess at least the Countryman has a track system.

Besides these rather picky points, the Countryman is an outstanding car.

 

I just heard today that there's a fold-flat package coming in a few months. I'm guessing it's dealer installable. There'll be a panel that folds flat over the back of the seats and is flush with the other panel behind the seats, which will make a flat surface to load stuff on. At least that's how I understood the verbal description from my favorite MA without any pictures. Hope that will solve at least one of your bugs!

 

I thought I was only one who missed that little secret compartment. Kept my keys and wallet in there. Now I have to keep my stuff in the back pouch, which I dont like. But I love my Countryman!!

 

Yeah and there are two features...Thank God!...that didn't come from my Clubman...like...Barn Doors and the Hearse-Look.

 

When I saw the Countryman a couple of weeks back, there was an add on for the back which allowed the boot area to be flush with the back of the seats. The problem that I saw, is that the seatbacks don't actually lie completely flat.On our 4Runner the seat part actually lifts forward and then when the rear seat backs come down, the whole back is flat. That is quite important when you're trying to get something larger and boxy into the back.

 

There are a few Clubman idiosyncrasies that drive me nuts and I'm wondering if they're addressed in the new Countryman.

- The booBeep booBeep booBeep is super annoying when starting the car w/o seatbelt already clicked in.
- The booBeep booBeep booBeep won't stop if you unclick while still driving until you reclick seatbelt, even if you come to a complete stop.
- The seatbelt often gets caught up in the gap between the driver door and seat. 4 out of 5 times I have to wrestle with it as I'm trying to get buckled up.

Do these things bother other Clubman owners and is there any relief in the new 2011 cars, particularly Countryman?

 

First one is pretty common in most cars I believe. The belt getting stuck bugs me too.

 

You aren't going to find a car anywhere on the planet made in the last decade of so that doesn't do the first two. If you don't want to hear it, put your seatbelt on. I don't see what the big deal is. If you're only moving it in the driveway are you really in the car long enough for it to be THAT annoying?

 

I keep the iPod laying in the bottom of the center rail and cover it with a tin of Altoids. As an alternative, the cup holder covers it well also.

 

I haven't caught the seat belt yet, I did all the time in my 2007S. The seatbelt warning is a different beep and starts immediately. The seat belt is much easier to grab and a bit more awkward the attach. Probably take a little more getting used to. The center rail is bigger and for those of us the kept stuff under the hand brake in previous minis the added space is great. I use the dividers to make little compartments. Also I keep the Droid in my pocket. I don't need it out with the bluetooth. As for IPods, I don't have on, however, I indend to put all the tunes from the Droid on a USB and leave that plugged in. I can access that through the radio. Also all my phone contacts are visible in the radio. All this without connected. I agree about all of the rail accessories. Mine are in the back seat area.

 

The seats do not lay/fold completely flat, nor will they with this option. Look for the Flat Load Floor threads on this very topic for all the details.

 

Does anyone know if you can do this with ipod tunes (put them on a USB and just use the USB connection)?

 

I am pretty sure that files with Apple DRM will not play from a USB stick, only from an applicable player like an iPod.

 

I think most of the newer apple songs are DRM free? I thought they changed over to DRM free at some point. Could be wrong though.

 

They were supposed to be but since I always use my iPod I'm not sure. I'll look at my library and report back in a few.

About the topic at hand, I agree with the OP. Some of these very small things might have me leaning towards a Clubbie instead. Price would be about the same since if I do a Clubbie it would be a JCW.

edit: In my entire library I only have 5 .m4p files. NONE of the files I've bought in the last year or two is an .m4p. They're ALL .m4a files. Anything I rip is Apple Lossless. Those files, I don't believe, are playable from a nerd stick.

 

Out of curiosity from reading your post, I loaded my entire iPod library of music onto a USB thumb drive and plugged it into my MINI's USB port. It works, and I can control everything from the stereo. I am going to use the USB thumb drive in the MINI from now on, and leave the iPod at home.

 

Great idea for a thread. We love our Countryman too. My wife says it is her most favorite car ever. Next to my Porsche, it is my favorite also so this list is not so much complaints, rather a list of things that would make the car even more perfect.

1. Rearward visibility is poor. If the passenger side rearview mirror dipped upon engaging reverse, that would help immensely. So would a reverse camera but the auto dipping mirror would probably suffice.

2. The volume of Nav guidance commands is completely independent of the volume of any audio device playing. So you need to constantly adjust the volume of the nav system to compensate for the prevailing audio levels. Most nav systems will mute or lower the volume of the stereo when nav guidance commands are issued, the Countryman does not. Ironically, the stereo does auto mute when an incoming call is received, same should be possible with nav guidance commands.

3. Mirror position memory. While we can get past lack of power seats and memory positions, having to re-adjust side view mirrors every time is a hassle. The car has power mirrors and their already are individual settings for each driver tied that get associated to the key, don't see why mirrors couldn't be included in the memory with virtually no weight penalty and at minimal cost.

4. While album art display is great, it should also display track name and artist. While album art is displayed, you need to use the joystick to obtain track name and artist. Pandora does a good job by displaying the album art along with track and artist name at the same time.

5. Nav does not display all street names even at highest zoom level. Minor nit but very handy to be able to see upcoming street names.

6. The USB port in the glovebox only works for software updates. Too bad. Would be great to be able to use it for a 32GB USB stick so you don't need to leave iPod in plain sight. Better yet move the USB/AV port to the glovebox or in the armrest.

7. No good place to conceal iPod. See above.

8. Parking brake handle is oversized and renders most of the front rail useless for any of the supplied accessories. Especially if also have the front armrest.

9. Lowest setting on heated seats is too high. I would like to be able to leave the seats on as heat feels great on lumbar and back, but even at level one it is too hot for me.

10. As noted by another member in another thread, when listening to radio from the presets screen, no track info is displayed. Most notable for satellite radio and HD radio stations.

Again, I don't want folks to think I am unhappy with the Countryman because the opposite is true. This is our first MINI and it surely will not be our last. We love the car and it has exceeded our expectations so far. Nevertheless, these items I list are nuisances which if corrected would make the car even more perfect!

 

Didn't know that. I never bought from iTunes. All of my library has been ripped from original CD to MP3 format.

 

Have you tried anything in the glovebox USB port yet? In the E9X M3 it's supposed to be for updates and uploading only but people have connected USB sticks and even iPods to it and it played normally. We all thought it was weird too.

What about the rear PDC instead of a camera? I also noticed that the D-Pillars are massive but I think PDC would help quite a bit.

 

Yes, I tried a USB stick in the glovebox port and it is not recognized.

We have PDC and it helps for sure, but does not help while you back down a driveway and there are no obstacles to detect.

 

But do keep in mind that these are indeed small factors. I now own both a Countryman and a Clubbie, and these are 2 very different animals in more important factors (size, 4wd option, 4 drs). I strongly recommend test driving both.

 

I plan on it. I've already taken the CM out a couple of times but I need to get a Clubbie out.

 

I certainly hope this gets fixed in some type of software update. This would have certainly swayed me from the nav system. I want to be able to hear the freaking directions!

 

Agreed. Should be fixable. It is a real nuisance and I am shocked this feature was overlooked.

 

I love my car..... but

I also noticed that you have to choose the night mode for the nav and then change it back. Kind of amazing that the headlights are automatic but i Have to manually change the nav screen from day to night mode. In my acura this was tied to the headlights.....