The Aisin six-speed automatic is old tech. It’s two tiers below the rest of BMW’s automatic range and it doesn’t deliver the response or feedback that the DCT does in VW products. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel like MINI has finally found the correct car for this previously less-than-stellar transmission with the Countryman S. They’ve tweaked electronics and the transmission feels snappier and more at home in the larger, heavier R60.Yet it may recommend it:
Would I recommend the auto over the manual? On the All4 I’d come close. While I’d personally still opt for the manual (for greater feel, control etc) the automatic, for the first time, feels like a logical option. In the Countryman All4 it feels just a bit quicker to respond to a driver who likes to use the flappy paddles. But even if you don’t, the transmission is quick and competant enough to likely never prove frustrating to most enthusaist drivers. You don’t get the involvement and it’ll never quite be as rewarding as the manual (yes even with the lazy clutch in the All4) but it’s not a bad choice in the Countryman either.
