Shawn Molnar recently drove for
Sympatico.ca the MINI Countryman JCW prototype but reserves final judgment:
If you write cheques with your heart, then you may want to distance yourself from Mini’s new Countryman JCW. Of course, if you write cheques with your brain, this car may still hold power over your pocketbook because it delivers the efficiency, practicality and utility to make it a well-rounded daily driver.
When sitting beside its nearest competitors, this Mini has the performance to thrash at Subaru’s WRX hatchback, the efficiency to best Hyundai’s respected Tucson, and enough style and verve to obliterate the Tiguan. If you can swallow that expected steep price tag of 45,000 Canadian dollars. In fact, this Mini's closest competition may come from within the fold: the $31,150 Countryman S model offers plenty of driving excitement at a bargain value next to the JCW.
We will reserve our final judgement until we've driven the production model . . .
