By Steven J. Ewing
Posted Mar 29th 2012 2:58PM

When our friends at The Tire Rack told us they'd be sending over a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70 tires mounted on 17-inch Sport Edition alloy wheels for our long-term Mini Countryman, our minds were immediately filled with images of the little blue hatchback bounding along snowy roads with razor-sharp precision and confidence. Instead, editors Neff, Paukert and myself can literally count on one hand the number of times we actually had to drive the Mini on snowy/slushy roads. So much for winter tire/all-wheel-drive snowy playtime.

To say that we've had an unusually mild winter here in the Midwest is truly an understatement (note: we are absolutely not complaining). In mid-March, we saw record-high temperatures in the mid-80s. As Neff said in last month's update, seriously, what the hell is going on?

So rather than wear down the tread on our Blizzaks even further, we took the Countryman over to Motor City Mini once again to have its stock Pirelli Cinturato 18-inch wheels and run-flat (boo!) tires put back on. Perfect timing, too, since the car was just about to roll over the 12,000-mile mark, meaning its first scheduled maintenance was due. The oil was changed, fluids were topped off and all of the other mechanical elements inspected, and thus, our Mini is now prepped and ready for spring and summer in The D. We griped about the harshness of the run-flat tires combined with our optional sport suspension already, so we'll spare you another round of grumbling. If there's one thing we'll miss about the winter tires, it's the smoother – albeit, slightly louder – ride.

With 12,000 miles now under our belts, the Countryman is plenty broken in. But after a quick math session with the car's logbook, it seems our observed fuel economy numbers are falling short of what the EPA suggests. I'll personally admit to driving the Mini more aggressively than most consumers likely will (hey, this thing is seriously fun to throw around), but even so, the fact that our observed fuel economy is only 24.9 miles per gallon is indeed questionable. The EPA rates the 2011 Cooper S Countryman All4 at 26/32 mpg city/highway and 28 mpg combined when fitted with the six-speed manual transmission, and our best recorded fuel economy is only a dismal 29.3 mpg. Either I'm not the only one with a heavy right foot or something is off here. We'll definitely be keeping a close watch over this as time progresses.

In the next month, associate editor Chris Shunk will put the Countryman to use as a family hauler, so we'll get a better idea of just how kid-and-cargo-friendly the four-passenger interior really is. Stay tuned.

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Original post, photo gallery and peanut gallery commentary Autoblog...

 

Don't know what kind of lead feet they're throwing around, but with over 10,000 miles, Cosmo tells me I'm averaging over 29 miles per gallon.

 

Granted I'm only 600 miles in on the new CMS4. . .but I cant not get it to go above 24mpg. The tank I'm on now I've been babying it, and kept the Sport button off, and I'm still on track for 23.9mpg. . .I sure hope it gets better!!

 

Countryman S at 2100 miles and I can't get over 24mpg with mostly city driving. I haven't taken it on a long highway trip though...

 

The way my scedule is, 150 miles of every tank is highway miles. I drive to my girlfrinds house 75 miles away, stay for my three days off of work, then drive the 75 miles back. Then the rest of the week is all city driving. With work being only 12 miles one way. I thought for sure I would be seeing 28mpg at least with that mix.

 

Yeah mine is the same with city driving. When I get it on the highway it jumps up to 27-29 mpg average pretty quickly.

 

I too have an All4 manual. I am suppose to get an average of 28 mpg in mixed driving. I am averaging 27 mpg. I have 9300k miles on mine and I was hoping for a little better mpg. I try to stay at 70 mph a little over/under and am not too aggressive while driving. From what I have been reading thru different threads, seems like this is normal for a CMS All4 manual?

 

I've rarely seen any of these auto testers get close to EPA mileage tests for any car.

The EPA mileage tests are very specific and it is unlikely a random owner will often drive in a similar scenario. The base EPA highway test averages about 48 mph with a top speed of 60 mph for instance, with a supplemental test that goes up to 80 mph, but not for very long, and still average 48 mph speed. You can look at the test cycles here:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

 

lingering around 25k in my S All4 as well. But only 700 miles on it so far.

Karrock, you must drive down hill both ways.

 

That sounds about right for me. Driving around town it's hard to not be a little zippy, and that drives it down toward 25. A mix at 28 sounds familiar.

 

Oh okay.... been obsessing about my mpg and if I am on the averge with everyone else, than it is what it its.

Again, I love my CMS All4 and love zipping around with it.

 

How are your Pirelli's holding up? I have a 2011 CMS All4 (Manual) with 12,891 miles on it and my tires are basically shot. I started hearing strange noises at about 9,000 miles - finally had a chance to take the car in for it's annual and they found all 4 tires were abnormally worn and that was causing the noise. It's getting progressively worse - sounds like I'm riding in a freight train! Went to a Pirelli dealer today (Saturday), but could not get an answer on what could be done (if anything) until Monday, but forking out $1300 dollars on tires on a car that is not even a year old yet is something I didn't want to do. This is my 4th MINI so I am very familar with runflats and these have got to be the worse I've ever had.

MsBrit

 

I've always wondered what the alignment procedure was for brand new cars.

I know they have a wider tolerance probably than the average shop--which is wider still than my personal preference and driving style woud require.

After only about 700 miles I haven't looked at tires but I have determined that I will wear out the outside edge VERY quickly unless I change the alignment to suit me.