New MINI Countryman turns up the interior volume

MINI New Zealand has today announced the imminent arrival of their new baby – the new generation Countryman. ‘Baby’ is probably the wrong word to use as the heavily revised Countryman is actually bigger in wheelbase and interior space than the previous gen. vehicle.

MINI tell us the wheelbase is up by 75mm and that’s allowed extra space to seat five passengers (each in their own separate chair) as well as ballooning the luggage space up to 450 / 1,390 litres (rear seats up / down respectively). That’s 220 litres up on the earlier model Countryman.

As part of the BMW Group naturally the maximum MINI comes bundled with multiple driver assist options including active cruise, pedestrian warning with initial brake function, high beam assist and the nattily-named ‘speed limit information traffic sign recognition system’.

The range includes the Cooper with a 3-cylinder 1,499cc 100kW / 220Nm mill priced from $44,900 and the Cooper S, with a 4-cylinder 2-litre putting out 141kW and 280Nm, starting at $52,900.

But with MINI the chance to personalise with different paint schemes, stripes, interior fabrics and fascia finishes, and other equipment options means it’s unlikely you’ll ever meet anyone parked outside the school gate with a Countryman exactly the same as yours (phew!)

CarNut.kiwi will be filming an Event Report video from the NZ launch the new Countryman  next week. That’ll give us the opportunity to bring you our impressions of the new car and experience how it drives in glorious living (and moving) colour (and sound).