Mini sales in the U.S. were up substantially last year. So, it makes sense that the brand would want to capitalize on this trend by bringing new vehicles to market that fit into more people's lives. With consumers demonstrating clear preferences for SUVs of all sizes, that's the logical segment to target.
Recently, Mini showed off the Concept Aceman as a sign of a proper small SUV to come. That leaves room for the well-established Countryman to grow. And grow is exactly what it's doing as part of a redesign for 2025, gaining more than five inches in length and two inches in height over the outgoing model.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The new 2025 Mini Countryman made its international debut in Munich last year, and Mini chose Portugal as the venue for the first drives by the media. I spent a day behind the wheel of a high-spec 2025 Countryman John Cooper Works ALL4 edition to see whether Mini's biggest SUV is good enough to make up for its increasingly oxymoronic branding.
When the 2025 Mini Countryman arrives at U.S. dealers later this year, it'll be available in three model series. The base version is the Countryman S ALL4, with a starting price of $38,900. The all-electric Countryman SE starts at $45,200, while the Countryman John Cooper Works ALL4 has a base price of $46,900. The destination charge adds another $995 to those values.
I drove a John Cooper Works (JCW) edition, an eponymous trim honoring the man who, in the 1960s, earned Mini a reputation for racing. Appropriately, the JCW trim is not only the most expensive version of the 2025 Countryman but also its sportiest.
The new Countryman isn't just larger. It's significantly different looking than the previous generation of the SUV. Though still carrying many hallmark Mini design elements, like an upright face, pert headlights, and a two-tone roof, the new Countryman looks more grown up than before.
Substantial changes await you on the inside. Mini interiors are always a bit different, but the all-new generation of Minis arriving in 2025 represents a particular departure, most notably thanks to the new 9.4-inch circular touchscreen display in the middle of the dashboard. That touchscreen uses OLED technology that enables the round shape while providing super-dark blacks with excellent contrast.
Mini's designers really leaned into the quality of that display, creating a software experience that is bright, dynamic, and fun to match the rest of the interior. The car still offers a good selection of physical controls, centrally located under the display and continuing Mini's tradition of chunky toggles.
A woven textile made of recycled materials covers the dashboard, bringing an element of sustainability to the cabin while adding depth and character to an interior that is not lacking either.
But it isn't just flashy. The front and rear seats are comfortable, with adequate bolstering up front for lively driving antics. The rear seats are less sculpted, but there's generous headroom and a panoramic sunroof above. Legroom is limited, but fitting three adults across the rear bench is realistic, at least for short trips.
And with 25 cubic feet of cargo space behind the back seats, a Countryman is ready for lengthy adventures.
That soon-to-be-iconic circular OLED touchscreen is running Mini's latest infotainment system, Mini Operating System 9. Mini completely redesigned the software to take advantage of the new shape of things. Controls and indicators wrap perfectly around the edges of the screen, while numerous pages of information fill the center portion.
You can swipe left or right to cycle through pages, including navigation, trip information, media, climate control, etc. While each is visually compelling, progress from one to the next is unfortunately sluggish. Even toggling between drive modes takes longer than it should, a shortcoming that I hope Mini can fix before this car shows up at U.S. dealerships in the spring of 2024.
Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard. Still, those who rely on these smartphone projection platforms will have to make do with a rectangular experience on the beautiful circular display.
While the Countryman doesn't have a traditional gauge cluster behind the steering wheel, it does feature a pop-up display situated high on the dashboard, as on the prior-generation Countryman. It's not quite a head-up display, as it's too low to be in your line of sight. Still, it is better positioned than your average gauge cluster and has just enough space to inform you of essential information like speed, navigation, and advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) status.
Regarding ADAS, the Mini Countryman offers niceties like a surround-view camera for parking, adaptive cruise control with full-stop, and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. Optional upgrades, including an automatic lane change function and hands-free traffic jam assistance, ramp things up even further.
My test vehicle's adaptive cruise control worked smoothly on the highways outside of Lisbon, while the lane-centering assistance kept me centered and true in my lane.
Photo: Tim Stevens
An early challenge anyone driving a 2025 Mini Countryman JCW ALL4 will face is choosing a driving mode. The temptation is to go straight for Go Kart, the SUV's raciest option, but it's hard to know if that's best with seven more choices.
Vivid is similarly engaging if a bit more polite, and there's also Green if you want to keep things as environmentally friendly as possible. I started in Core, the basic driving mode, and even then, I was immediately taken by how responsive the JCW was.
That's largely thanks to the steering. The Countryman has a relatively small-diameter steering wheel paired with a razor-sharp steering ratio, making this SUV move like something much smaller. But it doesn't hide the Countryman's weight. Even in JCW trim, the suspension is tuned for comfort, allowing a fair bit of motion and body roll that isn't quite in keeping with the traditional Mini vibe. However, it is what you'd expect from a crossover SUV.
Acceleration response from the 312 horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is on the tame side in Core mode, but switch up to Go Kart, and you get an altogether different experience. In Go Kart, the engine is significantly louder (artificially augmented by the sound system) and much quicker to respond to inputs from your right foot.
That power goes to the ground through an ALL4 all-wheel-drive system and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) that is occasionally sluggish to respond to gear requests but is nice and smooth when cruising through traffic.
And the Countryman can calm right down for lower-speed runs, too. Only some road noise from the 19-inch wheels and tires spoils the fun. There's a surprising amount of wind noise on the highway, too.
The 2025 Mini Countryman John Cooper Works ALL4 is yet another step away from that iconic Mini that started it all. Still, it's an inevitable evolution that the brand must make to respond to the needs of modern consumers.
But modern Minis aren't really about needs. They're more about wants, and with a starting price of nearly $48,000, you'll undoubtedly have to want one of these Countryman JCWs to pay almost as much as you might for an Alfa Romeo Stelvio, BMW X1 M35i, or Mercedes-AMG GLB.
But that premium comes with many rewards, including a striking interior and a driving character that belies the SUV's size without being too harsh. While it can be calm, the 2025 Mini Countryman JCW is anything but tame, and that's what makes it such a charmer.
Tim Stevens is a veteran automotive and technology journalist with over 25 years of experience covering everything from smartphones to supercars. In addition to JDPower.com, his expert perspectives have appeared in numerous national and international outlets including print, online, and broadcast television.
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