I have been checking out the Countryman for the last few months and have test driven both the ‘S’ and base model. My biggest problem with all the test drives has been the short duration and structured route they take you on. Most were nothing more than a trip around the block. I can understand why; they could not let everyone go on a 10/20 mile ride. The cars would clock excess mileage lowering the value. I have also been reading some of the comments regarding ride quality, comfort, and real world mileage along with the performance differences between the ‘S’ and base models. I have even checked out some of the write-ups in the magazines. Some of the reading made me start to reconsider purchasing a Countryman. When I heard I could rent a Countryman, I though what a great way to really get to know this car; So, This past Sunday I rented a base model Countryman from Black & White in Beverly Hills.

I picked up the car Sunday morning at 11:00 am and headed out. My first stop was at the nearest gas station to top off the tank. I reset all the computer readouts and hopped on the 405 freeway and headed over the Sepulveda pass toward the 101. The small engine had no problem keeping up with traffic going over the hill and was never laboring or out of breath. I then headed north on the 101 toward Agoura Hills. I got off at Kanan road and drove over the mountains to PCH. I traveled PCH from Malibu to Palos Verdes peninsula and then to Dana Point in south Orange County. We had diner in Dana Point and headed back home via the 5, 57 & 60 freeway to Ontario. On Monday I headed back to Beverly Hills to return the car. The two day trip totaled just over 270 miles with some surprising gas mileage numbers. I was happy with the Countryman overall; ride comfort was not as bad as some have stated. Compared to our other cars, I would say it was a much better than the ’97 Explorer Sport, ’99 Miata or the ’08 Ranger pick-up. It was not as good as our ’11 E-550 Coupe; but then I don’t think it would be a fair comparison. The car feels very nimble on the road, almost like the Miata. Steering was quick with what I thought was a good feel and minimal body roll. I read in some of the magazines were the writers complained about the handling, stating it is not as good as the go-kart like handling of the smaller Mini. I think most of those writers went into the test with a preconceived bias, not wanting to like the bigger Countryman and evaluated the car from that viewpoint

The base engine did exactly what it needed to do; at no time did I think it was underpowered or that I required more horse power then it was capable to delivering. Would I like more horse power, the answer is yes, do I need it, no; is worth almost 3k more for it, that is the question you have to solve for yourself. There is a lag when you push down on the throttle before the transmission down shifts and the engine starts to pick-up RPM. I played with the sport button a few times, but most of the driving was with the sport mode off. The only thing I noticed with the sport mode activated was the steering would stiffen up, requiring more effort and the transmission would hold the lower gears much longer. In standard mode the transmission would shift into the highest gear and stay there regardless of engine RPM; with the sport mode active it would stay in lower gears, keeping engine RPM and torque up. This scenario works best when driving the twisty mountain road were you need the transmission to stay in lower gears and RPM up for better throttle response as you move in and out of the turns. I did a simple 0-60 run with the Countryman using a stopwatch app on my i-Phone. Not the most accurate way but it did give me a way to compare against my other cars. The Countryman did it in 12.1 seconds, The Miata in 11.1, Explorer in 9.5 and the Ranger in 12.5. A few weeks ago I had a chance to drive the new BMW X3 2.8 and the Mercedes Benz GLK. I did the 0-60 with both and recorded around 7.8 for the Benz and 8.3 for the BMW. I never had to plant my foot in the throttle to take off in traffic with the base Countryman; I was never left with wanting or needing more. If your driving style requires you to win (or at least try) every stoplight grand prix, then I suggest you get the ‘S’.

Now for the biggest shocker, the gas mileage. I have read the thread titled “Real World Fuel Consumption MPG”. I was a little disappointed reading some of the responses; the numbers seemed very low, in fact in some cases my E550 was getting better ( I get around 22/23 mpg in mixed driving) then what was being reported. The total drive the first day was a little freeway, some mountain roads and a lot of surface streets along the coast on a busy Sunday afternoon. The total mileage the first day was 218.8 miles and according to the onboard computer an average speed of 34.8 mph. I used my Garmin hand held GPS to clock the mileage and came within a mile or two of what the car was showing. The computer also recorded the fuel economy at 28.3, which I thought was very good. My reason for topping of the tank before the start of the trip was in insure the mileage numbers would be as accurate as possible. When I filled up the first time I actually over filled the tank and gas start to run down the side of the car. When I filled up after the first trip I was a little more careful and stopped when the gas was at the top of the fill neck. The total amount of fuel was 7.185 gallons. That calculated to 30.5 mpg. Very impressive! The next day’s trip was almost all Freeways, with a little slowing in some areas and the AC on the complete way. The total mile for this trip was 52.2 miles with an average speed of 48.2 mph. The total fuel used was only 1.276 gallons and a calculated mileage of 40.9 mpg! As amazing this was, the car I drove to Beverly Hills was even better. I needed a way to get to the Rental agency to pick-up the Countryman. I thought about driving one of our other cars, but then I would have to leave it somewhere overnight or drive back late in the day to pick it up. What I did was rented another car from a company close to home and dropped it off near Black and White. The car I drove was a ’10 Ford Fusion with the 2.5 liter inline 4. The mileage from home to the drop off was 52.1 miles and I made sure the tank was full before heading out. I filled up again before dropping the car off and only used 1.168 gallons and had a calculated mileage of 43.8 mpg.

I know this was long, but maybe it will help others struggling with the decision to purchase or trying to decide between the ‘S’ and base.

Mike

Soon to be Mini owner

 

Thanks for that excellent adventure, itsmeagain!

 

Beautiful picture of the Bell....

 

hey thanks for the review! i'm probably going to go with the base as well, for price, mpg, and "safety" reasons (ie., the safety of the money in my wallet ha )