When winter driving is fun

Sometimes I pray for snow. Sometimes I pray for ice. Sometimes I pray for a good time behind the wheel with the crappiest weather imaginable. This was one of those weeks — and why? Because I had the MINI Countryman S All4.

Normally I curse Old Man Winter with a vengeance. I’m a warm-weather kinda gal, and winter and I do not get along. However, strap me in behind the wheel of a proper AWD ride and I’ll be quite content to embark on a snowy journey, wherever the road may lead.

It was pretty much a snow-free, frigid week from the moment I collected the MINI Countryman S All4, which bummed me out. Here I was in MINI’s newest model that finally offered a fantastic AWD system, and I couldn’t even try it out. For years, North Americans have been hounding BMW and MINI to create an AWD version of the much-loved hatch.

I remember nearly 2 years ago, while at a BMW press dinner, there was whisperings of an AWD MINI. Well, not whisperings, really. The CEO at the time told us outright that it was in the works. And I remember being overjoyed, to the point where my husband thought I’d gone a bit loopy.

Why get so excited about an AWD MINI? Well, for starters they made it bigger.

Now, hush all you diehard MINI fans. It’s not THAT much bigger. Park it next to a Clubman or coupe Cooper and you’ll see it’s not that large at all. What they’ve done is essentially fatten it up, give it a bit of a bum, a higher ride height and a beefier, more aggressive front end — and I love it all.

It still has the tried and true soul of a MINI, truly it does, but it can take on so much more — both on the road and in the back seats!

Finally, we were 4 large adults in a MINI and the backseat passengers weren’t complaining that their legs were going numb. Glorious! The Countryman features a 2+2 seating arrangement. There are 2 captain’s seats in the back that are fully adjustable, and a neat little central rail system that lets you arrange cup holders, glasses cases and whatever other doodads MINI offers wherever you want them to be. Oh, and the uber cool mood lighting runs along that railing too. Groovy.

Make no mistake about it; my next car will be a MINI. Much to C’s dismay, we will own a MINI one day, hopefully in the near future. And I have to say, I think the Countryman started to grow on him. At least, he complained about it less this time around.

I was willing to “settle” for the Clubman. Eventually, C and I do plan to procreate (scary, I know) and we will need to cart around a mini Miranda sooner or later, and unfortunately the setup of the coupe Cooper S just isn’t practical for a baby seat, nor is the tiny trunk. So, I’d settled on getting a Cooper Clubman S with the suicide door and the barn-door trunk for easy access.

And then the Countryman appeared and it was like the heavens had opened up. I swear I heard the “ahhhhhh” as soon as I laid eyes on the 4 doors of the Countryman.

I really didn’t think I could love a MINI any more than I already did.

But, oh I do!

Blissfully, the end of last week, this weekend and even today we were bombarded with snow and ice and all the nastiness of winter. And I got to put the Countryman S All4 to the test — and I wasn’t disappointed.

I’m an AWD snob. I’ll admit it straight out. I own a Subaru WRX and I also owned a base Impreza a few years ago. I love the Subaru symmetrical AWD system. There’s really nothing like it. So, the moment I get behind the wheel of another manufacturer’s AWD model, I’m already passing judgement; there’s no way it can rival the Subie.

In most cases, this is true.

However, I was pleasantly surprised with the Countryman S All4.

While it is a front-biased system (meaning it is generally working in FWD) it still works brilliantly as an AWD system. There is a certain amount of understeer in slippery situations, however, as soon as that front end goes the system realizes and pushes 50% of the torque to the rear and you’re snapped back in line with where you wanted to go, almost as if you pulled the handbrake — fabulous.

And while I never appreciate a “nanny mode” in which the power is cut — the engineers at BMW clearly understand drivers and blissfully made it quite simple to turn OFF the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control, aka Winter Granny Driver system) so you can have a bit of fun in the snow and really put the Countryman to the test.

I only wish for one thing (which will never happen with a MINI); I wish it were heavier. I know, an odd request. But there were moments on the highway when I was changing lanes through snowy grooves and slushy piles where I wish the MINI Countryman S All4 had a bit of a bigger gut to really pound through the nastiness.

After putting it through slush, snow, ice, and even rain I think it’s safe to say BMW has truly made the MINI brand better. They’ve opened up MINI to a whole new market of buyers. Not just family buyers but also those who want a safe winter vehicle. And just because it’s small doesn’t mean it isn’t safe. The Countryman was awarded “Top Safety Pick” by the IIHS. It received top ratings for front, side, rollover and rear impact protection. Even the roof strength rating is triple that of the federal standard. So, bigger isn’t always better — remember that.

I know some might say I’m a bit bias when it comes to MINI (I am in love after all), but you have to trust me on this one. Just take one out for a test drive, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

I know I was so sad about giving the Countryman back this morning that I kept the key as a souvenir.

Ah, the joy of key fobs and leaving them in your purse all the time… Oops.

Drive on,
– M.

~ by drivingmsmiranda on March 7, 2011.