THE MINI, owned by BMW, has been considered a British icon as early as the 1960s. The company got the Cooper name in some of its performance models in a partnership with racing legend John Cooper.
From the al l iance, the performance version of the Morris Mini-Minor, the Austin Seven or Austin Mini, the Countryman, Moke, 1275GT and Clubman spawned off the name Cooper.
Anyone can easily relate a Mini Cooper to the car used in the comedy series and movies of Mr Bean, where actor Rowan Atkinson drives a 1976 British Leyland Mini 1000 or even the action packed movie, Ital ian Job. The original Italian Job in 1969 featured the Mk1 Austin Mini Cooper S, while the newer 2003 film featured the Mini Cooper S.
BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd introduced the Mini Cooper S Countryman to Malaysians at the end of 2014. The Countryman was the first Mini with four doors.
We had the opportunity to test drive the special-edition model called Mini Countryman Park Lane. The Countryman Park Lane is based on the Cooper S Countryman with several styling upgrades.
The Countryman Park Lane is a front wheel drive, running on a 1.6-litre four-cylinder Mini TwinPower turbo engine hooked on a six-speed torque converter automatic transmission with paddle shifts.
The engine delivers 190 horsepower at 5,500 to 6,500 rpm and 240 Newton Meter of torque at 1,600 to 5,000 rpm. It has an overboost function that can momentarily bring torque up to 260 Nm at 1,700 to 4,500 rpm.
It is about 1,789mm in width and 4,110mm long, with a 2,595mm wheelbase.
The Countryman Park Lane sports an Earl Grey metallic body paint, combined with an Oak Red finish on the roof, exterior mirror caps and racing stripes. The wheels are 18-inch light alloy Turbo Fan Dark Grey.
The exterior of the car is added with the Mini ALL4 bodykits and silver body elements for the front and rear apron as well as the side sills. The interior gets the exclusive “Park Lane” emblems on the side scuttles, cockpit and entry sills.
The Mini Countryman Park Lane lends its name from one of the most distinguished addresses in London called Park Lane. On a British Monopoly board, Park Lane is the second most expensive property square, after Mayfair.
It is limited to 88 units in Malaysia with a price tag of RM253,888.00 without insurance, and it comes with the latest MINI four-year unlimited mileage warranty with free scheduled service programme.
The Countryman Park Lane is also equipped with an Ambient Lighting package and a Mini Visual Boost infotainment system with a 6.5-inch LCD display screen. The latter offers MINI Streetwise navigation, Sport Instruments, Force Meter and MINI Vital Statistics applications.
Mini claimed that the Countryman Park Lane is capable of sprinting from zero to 100 kph in 7.8 seconds with a top speed of 212 kph. It also claims that the car consumes an average 7.5 litres per 100 km. It weighs about 1,335kg and has a minimum of 350 litres of cargo space, which can be increased to 1,170 litres with the backseats folded.
Every Countryman Park Lane comes with four-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), traction and stability control, front side-mounted airbags, front and rear head curtain airbags, daytime running lights, front fog/ driving lights and a post-collision safety system.
THE DRIVE
We tested the Countryman Park Lane through highways as well city, rough and bumpy with little potholes road tracks. The car gripped very well on high-speed corners but the suspension, despite being very stiff, was comfortable compared to aftermarket adjustable shocks.
The Countryman Park Lane is a very powerful car thanks to the 1.6-litre four-cylinder Mini TwinPower turbo engine. While cruising at 80kph to 100kph, the tyre sound became noticeable and we can feel that the engine was eagerly waiting to unleash its true potential. Without even pressing 50 per cent of the accelerator, it can easily go over the speed limit.
It has a fuel tank capacity of about 47 litres. We managed to drive slightly over 400km on it. While cruising on a highway, we recorded about 6.7 litres per 100km and after a pedal-to-the-metal driving, it consumed about 12.3 litres per 100km. On an average city driving, it clocked about 7.4 litres to 8.4 litres per 100km.
The design of switches and the hand brake lever in the interior, make it feel like the cockpit of an airplane or even a race track car. Mini is very generous with the spaces available in the car. It can easily fit a six footer with more than enough leg and head rooms.
For a 467-litre trunk, it can easily fits in a 26-inch luggage bag without even folding the back seats. Certainly this Countryman Park Lane is not a “mini” given the ample space.
We find that Mini did a great job with the 12-colour ambient lighting. It can easily find a colour to suit driver’s mood.
The car can easily manoeuvres into any parking spot thanks to its 38.1 ft turning circle.
The leather finishing all over the interior makes the Countryman Park Lane feel so luxurious, comfortable and sporty.
However, there is a few areas the Countryman Park Lane that can be improved. For one, its sound system, which has the mid range sound and treble but is short of the bass effect. Perhaps a small sub-woofer can easily solve the problem.
Besides that, we find that the side mirror is positioned slightly lower compared with other cars and that the gear change drags occasionally. And we certainly think that the Countryman Park Lane should include powered front seats.
Overall, the Mini Cooper Countryman Park Lane is a very powerful, spacious, luxurious, comfortable, fuel economical and a safe sporty car to drive.