Yeti's Competition - Mini Countryman

[Bodge]

This thing is a disgrace, and goes against everything the Mini brand stands (stood) for. Why the hell does it have a Cooper badge on it?! A Cooper badge should mean sporty and exclusive, by putting a Cooper badge on any old turd you're ruining the brand image.

BMW have cut the heart out of the Mini image.

A Mini should be cheap, small, basic, quirky and fun. This thing is none of those.

Horaayyy let's make all cars the same......... Nice one BMW, keep pumping out generic bland crappy cars, I'm sure some brainless mugs will buy them if you make a good TV advert.

(Yes, I had a REAL Mini!)

[Sanqhar]

So how close does it get to the 180mm ground clearance of the Yeti?

tom

[900000]

So how close does it get to the 180mm ground clearance of the Yeti?

tom

All I could find is that the ground clearance is 10mm more than that of a normal MINI. And the standard MINI's clearance is apparently 120mm. So the Countryman's should be 130mm. As I said a Golf with (optional) 4wd.

[Trevorminor]

Another 'Emperor's New Clothes' BMW hits the road.

Yet another reason for Alec Issigonis to be spinning in his grave as BMW once more exploit the 'Mini' heritage.

From what I've read, the Yeti has little to fear. BMW pricing is likely to be much higher once the car is specced properly.

I don't think that people who buy 'Mini' as a brand generally have the faintest how good the Skoda range is. One or two of them were very upset when the Mini Cooper was roundly beaten by the Fabia VRS in tests by both Fifth Gear and TopGear!

They don't even get the idea of the original 1967 Mini 850 tucked in my garage as most modern Mini owners seem to buy their car as a fashion statement. I get well peeved when the media talk about the current Mini as having heritage stretching back more than 50 years. The only thing that the cars have in common is that most of them are/were made in Oxford. That is where the similarity ends.

I don't think I'll be swapping then :p

Edited 24 June, 2010 by Trevorminor

[richwarwicker]

I think it will be quite popular although will not really complete with the yeti as mini buyers want the car becuse it is a mini.

The local bmw/mini dealer sales staff comment on how often someone comes in to spend 16k on a mini and leaves having sepnt 21k.

21k on a mini, your taking the p*** aint you? for that kind of money i'd have a couple of high spec fiat 500s which almost have the same novelty factor,

Edit* a top spec 1.4 sport 16v 500 with leather, 16" alloys, sports pack etc will set you back £13000!

Edited 24 June, 2010 by richwarwicker

[alski]

This thing is a disgrace, and goes against everything the Mini brand stands (stood) for. Why the hell does it have a Cooper badge on it?! A Cooper badge should mean sporty and exclusive, by putting a Cooper badge on any old turd you're ruining the brand image.

BMW have cut the heart out of the Mini image.

A Mini should be cheap, small, basic, quirky and fun. This thing is none of those.

Horaayyy let's make all cars the same......... Nice one BMW, keep pumping out generic bland crappy cars, I'm sure some brainless mugs will buy them if you make a good TV advert.

(Yes, I had a REAL Mini!)

It may be a disgrace to the spirit & soul of what a Mini is. The point I was trying to make is that love it or loath it (and from the responses on here seems to be very much the latter) I think it wil sell by the bucketload through brand appeal, clever marketing or whatever and will appeal to part (but by no means all) of the target Yeti market. When I was at the Skoda dealership another couple were openly discussing merits / comparison between Yeti and Countryman.

Personally I'm leaning strongly towards a Yeti. My wife recently got a Q5 which I have to confess is (an expensive !) but great car. That said the interior quality of the interior and equipment is definitely on a par with the Audi. So am hopefull that we'll soon be a two car Q5 / Yeti family (so long as I can get latter with a panoramic roof).

[davecarter]

I've been a big fan of the BMW Mini and considered a Cooper S against the VW Golf GTI Mk V I eventually went for. One of the "problems" I had with the car was the fact that almost every one I saw on the road was being driven by a young female. Hence, the term "hairdressers car" was well suited to it. It may be a little silly to be put off a car for this reason but it did... I like my cars to have a little more macho character about them. Interior space and a dash that's a tad too quirky were the other reasons I opted for the GTI

They are, undoubtedly, a car for the "badge conscious" fashionistas. As a real competitor in the small SUV / Crossover market, I'm not so sure. I think the forthcoming roadster, coupe and Mini-Moke stand a better chance of being hits for the consumers the brand is targeted on.

Edited 25 June, 2010 by davecarter

[prodata]

I've been a big fan of the BMW Mini and considered a Cooper S ...

Me too, but what's totally put me off the Mini is its utterly gimmicky dash and instrumentation. (Not that the Yeti is any paragon of virtue when it comes to instruments, as has been widely discussed in various older threads here. But the Mini is in a different league of allowing (questionable) styling to dominate function.)

It's not that I'm averse to trying something different, but the alternative has got to work effectively, which the Mini plain doesn't - have you ever seen how they've tried to cram the satnav _inside_ the central speedo?

If they ever rethink the Mini with a dash version for grown-ups rather than feeling that they have to mimic the original Mini dash design in the grossest imitationist way, then I might seriously be interested - I'm sure that the fundamentals of the car are excellent - power (Cooper S at least) , emissions, road-holding, driving pleasure etc.

[Agerbundsen]

That 4WD Mini has got to be the ugliest doghouse ever built. :'(

[davecarter]

That 4WD Mini has got to be the ugliest doghouse ever built.

No. I think the BMW X1 takes that crown. I followed one yesterday and it truly is horrendous! The Countryman comes a close second.

[lee67]

we were going to get a mini cooper....after weeks of looking, we decided to go for a yeti...and like mentioned above, the mini dash was a stumbling block for us, that speedo is TOOOOOOOOOOOO BIG....always had a soft spot for mini's tho...i even race one

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[900000]

Aye to the Countryman and X1 being the ugliest cars about. Both awful on the outside but as a package the Countryman by far the worst due to that teenager's bedroom interior. At least the X1 has a normal looking interior.

[CJJE]

Well the Countryman certainly polarises Skoda owner's opinions doesn't it!

I prefer the looks of the Yeti (although I've only seen photos of the Countryman yet) but am looking for a higher vehicle with flexible boot size, spare wheel, DAB radio and panoramic sunroof. 4WD and a high ground clearance is not needed.

Since Skoda won't supply at least 2 of my needs I am down to choosing between a Golf Plus, a Tiguan and a Countryman. At the moment the Countryman is winning!

Chris

[The Plumber]

Well the Countryman certainly polarises Skoda owner's opinions doesn't it!

I prefer the looks of the Yeti (although I've only seen photos of the Countryman yet) but am looking for a higher vehicle with flexible boot size, spare wheel, DAB radio and panoramic sunroof. 4WD and a high ground clearance is not needed.

Since Skoda won't supply at least 2 of my needs I am down to choosing between a Golf Plus, a Tiguan and a Countryman. At the moment the Countryman is winning!

Chris

There's a short advertising film on the mini web site

My link

Think personally I'll stick with 'PAT' but each to there own

Regards,

TP

TP

[Freshacre]

by far the worst due to that teenager's bedroom interior.

BL**DY BRILLIANT - this has to be the best description EVER of ANYTHING to do with a modern car. Well done, 9000000000000000. (a few noughts added in praise!!)

This is exactly right, and I'd never actually identified why I dislike Minis

[jakebullet]

OVERPRICED,OVERRATED this cano not come close to matching the YETI, look at some of the pictures that owners have posted there in no cpmaring the two.. One for the ladies that lunch me thinks,.,.. cannot wait until my beats arrives have been told that is should be in the UK by early next week,, MINI not in the same league..

[jst_at_home]

I remember reading somewhere that the average mini buyer spends £2k on extras.

We did. My wife had a Mini One a few years ago. We did spend about £2k extra on things like lighting, stability control, sports seats.

It was the most unreliable car we have ever owned. We traded a Daewoo Matiz for it which never missed a beat and traded the Mini for another Matiz whcih likewise was 100% reliable.

Mini is no competition for Yeti in our book.

John

[PeteVRS]

I think the countryman looks great. But I note on the official video clip they show a time lapse of the boot being filled with... pineapples! So it can't be very big then!

[900000]

Well MINI released lots of official info on this car. And the ground clearance has finally been listed too: it is 149mm.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/14/mini-dishes-out-more-info-on-countryman-including-complete-specs/

[Trevorminor]

Autocar have now got first drive impressions on their website and seem pretty lukewarm to the Countryman.

The forum linked to the report is none too supportive of the car either.

[davecarter]

Now, this IS a car that's trying to pretend to be something it's not. The more I read about this, the more it convinces me this variant on the Mini just doesn't work.

[Chins]

Well in answer to some of the other posts. Yes buyers of the Yeti will look at the Countryman. We have an option on both a Yeti and Countryman and on Monday will make our decision.

Both cars have their pros and cons. I am looking at either the Countryman Cooper S AWD vs the Yeti Elegance 4x4 170bhp. Mini's diesel is too underpowered for us hence the Cooper S. The Yeti spec for Spec is £4k cheaper, but obviously it will be worth more in 3 yrs. if I have a critism of Skoda its their ability to make the interior feel of a lower grade to VW. I run our small fleet at work and bought one guy the Octavia VRS which I drive occasionally. I've got a MKVI Golf and can feel the difference on the switches on the steering wheel etc. Its subtle but very noticable.

This car is for my wife and I have a feeling we will be going for the yeti due to its higher driving position. I have to say I fancy the Mini.

[yellowyeller]

The Countryman will be launched in a couple of weeks, it will be interesting to see one "in the flesh" next to a Yeti. Looking at photo's I'm in 2 minds whether it's pug ugly or not. One thing is certain though, it is considerably pricier than the SM - having tried to spec one on the Mini configurator, I reckon c. £3k more like-for-like. Anybody considering one?

[Trevorminor]

Received a Mini Countryman brochure yesterday.

And we complain about the one from Skoda UK.....

I might go and take a look at the local Mini dealers though - I'll just make sure I park my SM somewhere obvious though. Might be a laugh.

I've just checked the configurator and the nearest I can get to my Yeti is £24,490 and that results in a 1.6 diesel with 35hp less!

Edited 4 September, 2010 by Trevorminor