My thoughts on the 2013 Mini Cooper Countryman S All 4, With the 1.6L turbo charged 4 cylinder engine, and 6 speed manual transmission:
Brand names mean a lot in society these days, for better or for worse. Just google the word “Supreme”, and get ready for you jaw to hit the floor at the sight of a white t-shirt selling for around $100. But what happens if you distance the product from it’s name? Does it make it better? In this case, it does.

Mini Cooper started making cars for the common man of Britain. With the goal of small, light-weight cars, they soon became a cultural Icon. So iconic, the original Mini Cooper was named the second most influential car of the 1900s, only behind the Ford Model T. But have they lost their way? Yeah, kinda.

The 2013 Mini Cooper Countryman s All 4 (I’ll be referring to this car as the All 4 for the rest of this review) has strayed far from the idea of a basic every-man’s car. The All4 comes with heated seats, four doors, all-wheel drive, traction control, power everything, and every other gadget and gizmo you could want. But that’s not what Mini used to be about. Mini’s have gotten taller, fatter, and well if I’m honest: less mini.

But I really liked the car. The All 4 had a fair amount of power, was very comfortable to be in, and was up to the standards of any other modern car. The only flaw I found, was the name. Had the All4 been named something else, besides Mini, I would have been okay with the car. It’s like the 8th fast and furious movie. As an action movie, it was: Fun, action packed, and funny at the right times. But as a Fast and Furious film, they rarely ever talked about cars. There were no cars in the film I’d want as a hot wheels version, and no catch phrases every Honda civic driver will buy as a sticker. The All 4 as a standalone car is great, but when put under the Mini brand, I can’t help but feel it isn’t worthy of the name.