Welcome to the Mini that’s now a Maxi. And a racy one at that.
The brand new 2025 Mini JCW Countryman ALL4 might just be the most fun-loving SUV you can buy. And one that’s guaranteed to put a Julia Roberts-sized smile on your face every time you climb aboard.
How can you not love a ride that has a virtual puppy-dog called Spike as your driving assistant? Or has a huge, family-pizza-sized circular touchscreen in the center of the dash that flashes up a puma when you hit the gas.
And my favorite, a drive mode called Go-Kart that not only boosts power and firms-up suspension to go fast, but also emits a digitized “Woo Hoo” as if the car is saying “let’s play”.
Yes, this latest Countryman is now a full-fledged SUV. Based closely on BMW’s X1 M35i sport-ute and, for the first time for a Mini, built in Germany, it’s now longer, taller and wider than the last Countryman.
While Mini loyalists have been whining about the pumped-up, super-sized proportions, to me it’s another string on Mini’s always-evolving bow.
See it in the parking lot and it towers above regular sedans. Size-wise it’s similar to BMW’s X1, Mercedes’ GLA and Audi’s Q3 with a nose-to-tail length of 175 inches.
But the difference here is that the Mini stands out like Cyndi Lauper with a full pink hair-do. Especially with its funky two-tone paintwork.
For 2025 it gets a major makeover, but it still keeps those head-turning lines, with all those curves, lumps and bumps, rounded roof, unmistakable LED-ringed headlights and bold grille.
While this new-for-2025 Countryman line-up comes in S (base price $38,900) and all-electric SE (from $45,200), it’s the sporty JCW – short for John Cooper Works – that’s the equivalent of a triple espresso after a lifetime of decaf.
Pricewise, the JCW starts at a competitive $47,895 and with a few options, like 20-inch rims and bigger brakes, tops out at around $52,000.
Just like its BMW X1 sibling, this new JCW comes with a feisty 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder packing 308 horseys and 295 torques. It’s mated to a quick-shifting seven-speed dual-clutch automatic with DIY paddle shifters.
Pedal to the metal and the Mini can zip from stop light to 60 mph in a hair under five seconds. Hit that Go-Kart drive mode, and you get lots of piped-in engine roar to add to the adrenaline rush.
It really is a blast to drive, with a tower of power to make passing, or freeway merging a breeze, steering courtesy of a salami-thick wheel that’s as sharp as McDreamy’s scalpel, and brakes that can really stop time.
Standard all-wheel drive, grippy rubber at each corner, and BMW-tuned suspension help this latest JCW carve curves as if it’s running on invisible rails.
But it’s not all sportscar frenzy. Select “Green mode”, that’s accompanied by a soothing hummingbird graphic on that big screen, and everything quietens down, the suspension softens, the steering loses its sharp edge, and morning commutes become more genteel.
That gives you time to take in the new Countryman’s re-designed interior, which might just have been created by Mattel with input from Fisher-Price.
Take that amazing new touchscreen. It’s the world’s first 9.4-inch round OLED display and, while 9.4 inches doesn’t sound huge, sitting on the Mini’s dash it’s almost comically large.
But it’s what it does that will drop your jaw and have passengers gasping in amazement at its innovative technology that was surely created by the folks at Pixar.
Just explaining what it can do would fill the pages of a War & Peace. All the colors, cool graphics, its ability to stream movies or games, plus the clearest navigation graphics this side of an Apple retina display. Amazing.
Of course those SUV proportions mean comfy seating for five, generous rear legroom and a cavernous load area.
I loved every minute I spent with this new JCW Countryman. It really breaks the mold and delivers a fun-filled, playful, youthful, take on the traditional compact SUV formula.
As the Go-Kart drive mode says, “Woo-Hoo”.
