Car and Driver's Jared Gall, at the 11,459 mile mark with the 2011 MINI Countryman S All4 updates the long-term tests and it's not all pretty. Gall criticizes
A recurring gripe is the car’s ride, which many find too harsh for our rough roads
There’s another downside to the ride, this one with no balance in the “pros” column: rattles. Pair a relatively noodly body structure with a stiff suspension, and you’re going to stress a lot of interior plastics. While nothing has come visibly loose or fallen off (yet), numerous squeaks and rattles are cropping up around the interior of the Countryman.
Ultimately, however, he finds:
Aside from such quibbles, there’s not a lot of big-picture criticism of the Countryman, which, in a sense, validates the car. It’s a real, useful, everyday vehicle, and we’re using it as such. People get in the back seat. We pile our crap in the cargo area. Mini’s goal with this model was to build something with a wider skill set than the company’s other offerings; those are cars that look fashionable and (in the proper trim) move quickly, but otherwise aren’t particularly useful as practical transportation. The Countryman serves up real practicality with spunky driving dynamics. It’s like having a cook who can play guitar while he flips the burgers.
