Yesterday I test drove a countryman All4 S. It drove well, not as good as I'd hoped but still good. The dealership had only 2 All4 S, and the rest were just regular S. The offers for all were really good at $0 down and less than $300 a month. The issue I'm having is deciding which one to get. The 2 all4's
Had 1 main difference, 1 had heated seats but no xenon headlights and the other had xenon headlights but no heated seats. I know everybody has their own preferences but I'm looking for feedback from people with both, or even people with one or the other. The other thing holding me back is color. Neither are colors I love, but are decent ( silver with black top and Grey with black top ). The only car on the lot with a color I like is not an All4 but is an S, has has no heated seats or xenon lights but is $2,000 cheaper. Do xenon lights matter that much? Does the all 4 even matter for somebody that may go to the snow once a year, if that? I honestly can't decide so I figured I'd try the forums. Any feedback is appropriated.

 

Hi,

I live in WI and I was debating getting a ALL4 myself for a while. Ended up getting a 2014 Hardtop. The reason is I have a lot of friends with mini's and they told me that all you need is a really good set of winter tires and you should be fine without the All4. The savings in gas milage was a big push as well. With ALL4 you will get lower gas milage. Just my two cents on why I did not get the ALL4. Happy hunting!

 

Features you are debating depend a great deal on location. Dark winter nights in rural USA are a lot safer with xenon. If you are strictly urban with lots of light everywhere - do you really need them? Same with the All4 - it is safer everywhere, but more important in the snowy up north than the sometimes rainy down south. Keep in mind that the MINI tires are no good in the cold and no good at all on snow and ice. All-weather tires are available, but only on the smaller wheels. If you are going to need real snow tires, do you really want to buy an extra set of tires/wheels for a vehicle you'll have for 3 years? You need to sit down with yourself and have a long talk about what you really need in a vehicle based on what you are going to put it through. It may not be a MINI. That's from personal experience. Good luck.

P.S. - Forgot heated seats: Mandatory Everywhere.

 

I appreciate the feedback. Honestly, i dont see myself going to the snow very often ( if at all ) and rain doesn't happen in California anymore . I guess il be using the mini more as a daily driver as well as a fun weekend card to go biking, camping etc. It will be a big change seing as im coming from an E36 M3 sedan.

 

If you are in Southern CA. then you don't need heated seat and the Xenon head lamp is very nice to have. The S will do the job just fine and it is a bit lighter than the All 4.

 

I live in No Cal and it doesn't rain here either anymore, but I have an ALL4S, while the ALL4 may not be Audi Quatro level , even with no wet pavement it sticks the car around corners very nicely 4 wheel drive is not just for weather. Now if you don't care about such things, although coming from and M3 you might, then a front drive S should be ok. I don't have Xenon's but those that do love them. I do have heated seats and have to say it's pretty sweet.

 

thanks for the feedback. I actually just got back from test driving the NON ALL4 S and to be honest, i enjoyed it more than the all4. I definitely felt the torq steer that everybody talks about, but i think that was the fun part. i feel the non all4 keeps you alert therefore making it a bit more of 'ride' ... and it felt a TAD quicker. I think for mainly city driving ( which i do ) it will be a lot of fun, and the added MPG over the all4 is a nice bonus.

 

+1. not sure why more people don't mention this. the All4 system on the CM is most definitely a year round system (unless you drive it like a typical SUV in which case you aren't really concerned about road adhesion or cornering grip in good weather anyway).

having the rear wheels driven at all times (except at very high freeway speeds) really sticks the back end and it rotates really well through corners, plus the sport suspension option helps as well..that back end just does not step out like I can get my R56 JCW to do. It inspires a lot of confidence when you are driving the twisties.

 

As you might guess I absolutely agree , I don't have the sport suspension but I did add a rear sway bar and that transformed the car IMO. I think the ALL4 is very underrated and MINI has gone out of their way to sell this car as a SUV which I don't believe it is , with some very inexpensive tweaks you can really have a blast with this car, this thing chews up the twisties.

 

Glad you found one you like, although, after having an M3 I think you'll regret not having the ALL4 , either way good luck
Cheers

 

can the mini tow my m3? if so il keep both

 

Nice!

 

Got the same observation after driving them back to back and decided on the non All4 as you surely feel the combination of added weight and power loss on the drive train.

 

I'm not sure where you are in NorCal but unless you go to Tahoe every weekend in the winter and have to hit the slopes when the white stuff is coming down and Caltrans has chain requirements, get the FWD with the xenons and the heated seats. I would call the center arm rest and auto climate control mandatory as well.

 

i settled on the xenons for sure, but the ones that have it dont have heated seats unless i get it fully loaded... i guess il have to settle for xenons but no heated seats.. O! also it comes with center armrest and auto climate ... havent pulled the trigger yet because im still deciding on the lease ( than again the deal is hard to beat )

 

probably one that just sat in the showroom, getting all touched on and whatnot.

Maybe it sat in the middle of a shopping mall surrounded by "WIN THIS MINI" signs lol