When Mini hit the U.S. in 2002, it was a refreshing splash, a minicar that was fun to drive, had solid marketing behind it and, in Cooper S form, had performance to match. Over the past few years, the Mini brand has experienced several developments that have compromised what it means to be a Mini. For 2025, we now we have the worst offender posing as the redesigned 2025 Mini Countryman.
I once owned a used, first-generation Mini Cooper S with a six-speed and tons of options. It was my first lesson in the adage, “German cars are made to be leased, not owned.” It was by far the most troublesome car I have ever owned. Everything started going wrong at the classic 100,000-mile mark, yet I wax poetic every chance I get, not unlike folks into Alfa Romeos. Am I that much of a masochist? I never thought so, but here I am writing this and complaining about the size of every SUV test car that comes through our office.
The Mini Countryman has existed since the 2011 model year and quickly brought the Mini brand an upsize Mini utility with a dose of fun (and frustration) that Minis were known for. A 1.6-liter turbo-four was available, as was a six-speed manual, which helped transmit the Mini ethos on the pavement even though the model was given liberties beyond the mini ethos. For 2017, the Clubman was redesigned, now based on BMW’s X1 architecture. Visually, the packaging was familiar, but the new Clubman was eight inches longer. Oy! And then, the six-speed was laid to rest for 2020.
So, when does a Mini cease to be a Mini? The all-new 2025 Mini Countryman is now another five inches longer. Certainly its new interior dimensions will be more appreciated by rear-seat passengers, but one can’t help but feel the brand has been on a road to corruption due to the disappearance of the manual transmission (now even true for the Mini Cooper), the scaled-back availability of the S trim level/power, and the availability of expensive EV models that can’t make it from Phoenix to the City of Angels on a charge. Check out the current lineup of Mini Coopers sold in the U.S.:
- Mini Cooper two-door
- Mini Electric two-door
- Mini Convertible
- Mini Cooper S four-door
- Mini Countryman S ALL4
- Mini JCW Countryman ALL4
The 2025 Mini Countryman is slated to have an EV version, and it is possible that the electric Aceman may make it to our shores, but neither are on brand for what Crispin Porter + Bogusky taught us 20 years ago. Perhaps Mini merely gives BMW a more affordable entry point in the marketplace and Mini needs to exploit the Bimmer platforms to keep the brand viable? Yet Minis – at least in America – have not been known to be affordable when compared to its respective stateside competitors.
With the recent news of Porsche discontinuing the Boxter and Cayman, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the pocket-size brand has become an over-size transportation device because the world as we know it is simply not the same anymore.
