[Vaun]

Hi everyone, hope you are safe and well. I am always interested in going back to minis as my experience in the 5 door hatch (2009 to 2012 ish) was always brilliant, unfortunately my condition worsened and needed an automatic and comfort in getting in and out. So since then I’ve had qashqai, cmax, octavia and now a Mazda CX-5, my lease finishes September 2021, and like everything else in my life I take to researching early and thoroughly to heart.

I was wondering if anyone has 2020/2021 countryman and could comment on ride “comfort”. I am not bothered about handling, cornering, go-kart like steering etc, I want a comfy leather and easy to drive car, many might say don’t go with a Mini then, and I understand your point, but my heart does over rule my head sometimes.

I am a comedian and comedy actor and after lockdown no doubt, I will be travelling a lot again for work , so a comfortable car is essential.

 

any help would be appreciated.

Cheers, all the very best

Vaun

Topic

[vinalspin]

In 2019 I test drove a Countryman Cooper SD on 18’s and while it did handle very well the ride was surprisingly comfortable as were the excellent seats, the car I drove had lots of kit inc a centre armrest which I find a necessity and always helpful to ride comfort.

[mitch]

in the off topic there is a mini matters thread.may be useful.

i have the mini countryman cooper s auto exclusive with the comf/nav pack.

the leather seats are excellant the packs get you a centre arm rest and heated seats etc.

i have arthiritis etc in the knees hips and spine with a slipped disc thrown in for good measure i had a 3 dr mini cooper auto and swapped 6 months early because of my back getting worse ended up going for the countryman as the dealer was giving £500 off the ap, well that was the clincher it was joint top of my list anyway.

whilst ive not done many miles due to covid they have been comfy miles and the cooper s is still nippy, in fact i reckon the cooper would have sufficed.

the trims have changed slightly since i picked mine up last march but i dont think theyve messed with the ride.

[Vaun Earl Norman]

Hi,

lovely colour combo by the way, thanks for your feed back, with your conditions you would probably be the first to talk about being uncomfortable. Again thanks, car is really  lovely.

[Vaun Earl Norman]

Hi thanks also Vinal  Spin, sounds like it needs a test drive when things start getting back to normal.

[Noel]

I’ll second what @mitch said as I have almost the identical car to him, My wife has a spinal fusion and she is ok with the ride, not as smooth as previous Golf, but that had much smaller wheels.

if you want leather you have to get the “exclusive” trim which i think has slightly softer suspension than the “sport” trim,

Avoid the PHEV as the extra weight means the suspension is beefed up and stiffened too much

[Noel]

[Tharg]

@Vaun Earl Norman Well, Mitch and Noel are your experts on the Countryman; I can only give first-hand opinion on the Cooper S hatch, which is not an option for you anyway. However, it seems that all Minis have relatively firm suspension . Other owners find that going for smaller wheels with high-profile tyres can make a great difference to the ride. Moreover, avoid the runflat tyres completely. They appear to be made from solid stone! Be careful which variant you choose – on the hatch, the smaller wheels are only available on the “standard” models, not on the Exclusive or Sport. Not sure about the Countryman but worth checking.

I added the “Dynamic” suspension to mine but it makes little difference – hard or very hard are the only settings!

Of course, you may decide that Mini-dom is not for you and, for pure comfort, I have to say that you cannot beat a Skoda Superb. Had two of ’em. Brilliant.

[Author]

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