2023 Mini Countryman is a ride on the wild side

2023 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4 vs. 2023 BMW X1 xDrive28i: A little bit of fun.

This week: 2023 Mini Cooper S Countryman

Price: $45,250 as tested. Iconic trim adds Harman Kardon stereo, folding mirrors, and parking assist for $4,900; and Untamed edition adds lots of interior and exterior touches for $1,500.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes that it’s “more practical than other Mini models, so many ways to personalize, lengthy complimentary maintenance,” but not that it’s “less practical than other subcompact SUVs, fails Mini’s fun-driving mission, some driver assists are notably absent.”

Marketer’s pitch: “Designed to drive you wild.”

Reality: A super fun ride with a little bit of passenger room as well.

What’s not new: Just when I think I’ve become so jaded from testing cars — “Oh, yay. Another new car to drive this week. Wow.” — it’s time to get back in a Mini. And then life gets turned up a notch.

Looking into my schedule, I saw the BMW X1 would come the following week. Sounds like a perfect pairing — two different approaches to fun little SUVs from two fairly distinct sides of the same company.

And it may be primed to be a bargain, as the Countryman gets a redesign for 2024 and adds an all-electric model. One can only hope it has some range when it arrives at the end of next year.

On the road: I’m not sure exactly what Mini does to make their cars so fun — I’m a writer, not an engineer — but I hope they keep doing it.

The Mini Cooper Countryman roared through the country roads of Chester County so athletically that the neighbors are beyond annoyed now. Pop it into the right gear and the Countryman will offer just the right kind of energy to zip up the hill, around the bend, and then into the S curve.

Highways are not bad. They’re quite bumpy in Sport mode, but Midrange evens that out nicely.

Sport mode offers the best performance, but Midrange is fine as well.

Up to speed: With just 189 horses, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine in the S Countryman is not going to win any races. The zero-to-60 is just 7.1 seconds, according to Motor Trend, healthy but not the fastest out there. (Let’s not discuss the 134-horsepower base three-cylinder, please.)

But the rally ride in the Countryman — driving energetically on the old roads, away from traffic and the rest of humanity — almost can’t be beat. The engine picks up nicely on small hills and out of turns.

The only downside may be a bit of lag from the start or accelerating from about 10 mph in second gear.

Shifty: The Countryman really wants you to do the shifting. The experience is so much better this way. The joystick shifter borrowed from parent company BMW is easy to control and close at hand. Paddles are also available on the steering wheel.

The 8-speed unit functions nicely, with gears that are set right where you need to get the most out of the four-cylinder engine, save for the aforementioned second-gear start.

Driver’s Seat: Mini puts you up close to the windshield and right near the controls and gauges, and it’s a very nice feeling indeed. The speedometer and tachometer still look like they’ve been bolted atop the steering column — in true rally car fashion — and they’re easy to read and handsome.

The seat itself is comfortable and supportive, and the driving position is probably one of my favorites. Of course I’m only 5-foot-10, so that’s easy for me to say.

The toggle controls along the console for the starter, Sport mode, and other functions add a nice retro touch.

Friends and stuff: Ahhh, a Mini you can stretch out in. The rear seat provides excellent accommodations, with plenty of legroom, headroom, and foot room. The seat itself is comfortable as well, and the center seat not so bad.

Cargo space is 17.2 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 47.4 with the seat folded.

Play some tunes: The stereo interface is in the cool, round screen in the center console. It would be cooler if the screen could make use of more of the window like in olden days but it’s a small price to pay.

A dial on the dashboard controls the volume and a knob-and-button system handle everything else on the console. It’s probably one of the best setups for keeping one’s eyes on the road.

Sound from the system is pretty good, about an A- creeping toward an A.

Keeping warm and cool: Dials control the temperature and fan speed and buttons control the rest.

Fuel economy: I averaged about 20 mpg, which is the worst I’d seen in any Mini in a long while.

Where it’s built: Born, Netherlands.

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the Countryman’s reliability to be a 3 to of 5.

Next week: How does the BMW X1 compare?