Send Kristin an Hide full review. Rearward visibility is an issue for all Cooper models, however, as the low seating position and high beltline block sightlines. When you fold them down, they offer only a couple of extra inches of protection from a glaring sun. It achieved a 0-60 mph time of 8. Visibility in general is good, with the high seating position making even rearward sightlines acceptable despite the thick roof pillars. Compare the three trim levels. It's not so much what makes the Countryman like its cohorts that's interesting, however--it's what makes it different.
Either way, it remains a small front-drive car that understeers at its limits. The tiny sun visors in the Cooper coupe are practically useless. We fit an extra large cooler bag and a full paper grocery bag from Whole Foods, with enough space left over for a couple of hats and a picnic blanket. I've had a couple of other Minis with 2 and 3 doors and appreciated their spunky handling but if I had more than one passenger it was a hassle, seemed that no one else got how to work the front passenger seat for entering and exiting the car, so I had to do it felt like a chauffeur. Mini Yours introduces new customization options for upholstery, interior surfaces, and unique exterior colors such as Highclass Grey metallic and Laguna Green metallic, so buyers can create and design their Mini in detail.
What emerges is a diminutive two-seater— roughly five inches taller than a but 10. Both six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are available. The suit was filed in the U. We easily could have stashed a couple of weekend duffels if our travels were taking us a little farther. Combine that with poor visibility to the rear and the tiny rear windows, and you might start to panic a little if you get uncomfortable in tight spaces. The turbocharged John Cooper Works version has 208 hp and comes only with a stick.
The automatic deducts 1 mpg from both scores. Each Mini is also fully customizable, with standalone options that include the signature white or black racing stripes on the hood, to a bevy of packages that include Premium, Sport, Technology, Cold Weather, Mini Yours, and a John Cooper Works package. The rear seats are just as good, with ample headroom for six-footers, even with the optional sunroof installed. Looking at the Mini lineup in 2010, there were only three versions: the two-door Cooper coupe and convertible, and the three-door Clubman. The Mini is incredibly agile, completing the figure eight-in 26.
Great City Car it can zip through almost anything , smooth Highway cruising, amazing fuel economy all in all great package. Cargo space, on the other hand, isn't expansive. The two-tone Polar Beige Gravity leather seats in my test car helped disguise the tight feel by making the interior look light and airy. On the other hand, the Coupe turned in consistent sports-car stops—159 feet from 70 mph—and excellent grip: 0. The coupe is smooth and easy to drive — once you get past the initial anxiety of placing yourself inside what feels like an aquanaut dive helmet at a cheap Cancun resort.
Now with my 4-door, no more issues and I can actually fit 5 adults in it for short rides no road trips though! However, beware of those option boxes. Some high-tech gear you might expect isn't available, such as a rearview camera, blind-spot monitoring, or adaptive cruise control. A range of packages bundle some of these options together, including Premium, Sport, and Technology packages. Body styles: Hatch, convertible Engines: 1. I also experienced an unidentifiable rattle that mystified me the entire week I drove this car.
The car handles like a champ, takes corners like a pro and really turns heads. While the Mini Cooper coupe is unique in its design, its closest competitors. Each step up the Cooper line brings with it crisper suspension tuning and larger alloy wheels as standard equipment, but all Coopers are light, nimble, and ready companions on twisty roads. Combined with its punchy array of 1. With its size, the Countryman adds a healthy dose of practicality, too, with better off-road capability, four doors and four usable seats. Likewise, wind and road noise are above the norm. The 2012 Mini features the same cute good looks as it did upon launch nearly a decade ago.
There's also an active rear spoiler that pops up at speed. Speaking of the interior, it's more spacious and comfortable than you might guess given its small exterior dimensions. The rear buckets even slide on rails, trading cargo space for leg room as required. Inside, the Countryman is more similar to its smaller siblings, with all of the good quirky design, surprising roominess and bad odd ergonomics that brings. The John Cooper Works, the most powerful model in the range, rates 25 mpg city and 33 mpg highway.
In fact, the Countryman's design was the inspiration, or at least the predecessor, of the redesigns the rest of the lineup have seen recently. Run-flat tires and a tire pressure monitoring system are also included as standard equipment. Cargo space is fair in the hatch, at 23. Now optional is a rearview mirror with a digital compass, and Mini offers an eight-gear collapsible bike that weighs about 24 lbs that fits in the back of a Cooper hatch. This makes it a ready companion in fast switchbacks, rotating almost as well and as easily as a rear-wheel-drive car. Standard stability and traction control, corner brake control, anti-lock brakes, seven airbags, and more are all baked right in, helping it earn its top marks.
Show full review The 2012 Mini Cooper S coupe is a fun grown-up toy for people with sizable piggy banks and a notable lack of claustrophobia. Still, those limits are high and only reachable with the stability-control system turned off. Always found some flaw or got bored with the cars I'd chosen and traded them in. All versions of the Countryman can be upgraded with leather seats, heated seats, and a panoramic sunroof. Optional upgrades can spruce up the look and feel of the Cooper's interior, however. The Cooper S Countryman adds a turbocharger and a rating of 181 horsepower, while the Countryman John Cooper Works, due to be unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, is expected to generate up to 225 horsepower. All coupe trim levels require premium gas.