Review: One Week with the 2025 MINI Countryman S

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We’ve driven the new Countryman on many occasions across two continents. However we’ve never lived with it day to day until this week. How does that change our opinion and how does it compare with the previous generation? It turns out a lot and rather well.

We’re not going to spend a lot of time giving you the back story on the all new Countryman as we’ve done that for over a year now. However for those that may have missed it head to our review section for all the detail you could ever want about MINI’s latest crossover.

With all that out of the way, it’s time to make a rather bold claim. The 2025 MINI Countryman S is the most refined, comfortable and capable MINI ever made. This may surprise some of you. We haven’t held our tongue when it comes to calling out MINI for a few decisions they’ve made or even early shortcomings in MINI’s new software. But almost every critique we’ve had (except for the deletion of the manual transmission) is something that MINI can change or iterate on. That modern approach is great but requires you to get the foundational aspects of driving right. And that’s where MINI has excelled.

Those 20″ wheels are a bit divisive but definitely help with proportions.

2025 MINI Countryman S: Dramatic Performance Increases

MINI and more specifically MINI USA has substantially upped the performance capabilities of the new Countryman. Previously the S All4 model offered 189 hp, 206 lb-ft and a 0-60 time of 7 seconds. The North American spec 2025 Countryman S All4 packs 241 hp, 295 lb-ft and gets to 60 in 6.2 seconds. Let that sink in for a moment.

The new Countryman S has 52 hp more and a staggering 89 more ft lbs or torque. In fact that torque number is identical to the new JCW. This gives the S and the JCW a very similar feel from 0-30 and makes the new S model a substantially more capable car in a straight line.

The other aspect that largely goes unnoticed is the much more advanced DSC system and how it works seamlessly with the All4 system. Despite the massive increase in output, torque steer and loss of traction at the front has been noticeably reduced. What’s happening is that the system is able to transfer torque to the rear so quickly that the driver barely registers a loss of grip. It’s a big change over the previous F60 model and a very welcome one.

Blazing Blue is a highly saturated, striking blue that may be a little loud for some.

2025 MINI Countryman S: BMW Levels of Refinement

MINI has made enormous changes to elements of the car while retaining the general suspension layout and B48 engine (albeit with a new tune). Which makes the way the car drives and how you operate it so surprising. From the moment you press the accelerator and turn the wheel you realize that MINI has listened to feedback.

Power delivery is more linear and the transmission is a massive step forward in refinement. Shifts feel buttery smooth and it’s rarely flustered. While our test car didn’t come with shift paddles (sadly they aren’t available in the US currently) the transmission felt almost telepathic at times. More than once we noticed it downshifting ahead of corners (keeping the engine in it’s ideal power band) by using GPS data and predicting what was needed.

Even more impressive is that none of this refinement changes in Gokart mode or even the transmission’s secret sport mode “L”. Where the previous version could become a bit jerky and confused at times, the new DCT is unflappable and always ready.

MINI engineers have focused on being more holistic in the tuning of key components from axles, steering and dampers. This is combined with more sophisticated processors controlling the dynamic control systems and a more direct steering rack ratio of 55 mm of rack travel per turn, creates a more fluid and reactive driving experience. For the driver this means the new Countryman’s steering delivers a more natural build of resistance allowing more information come through the wheel.

The blue interior dash and doors from the Favoured isn’t for everyone and doesn’t match the hue of Blazing Blue to our eyes.

2025 MINI Countryman: Comfort

Despite this new found performance we found the 2025 Countryman S to be far and away the most comfortable MINI we’ve ever tested. Even with 20″ wheels our MINI test car felt more comfortable than our 2023 MINI Countryman S with 18″ wheels.

Thanks to enormous attention paid to the suspension dynamics, rebound rates and damping, MINI has finally created a car that feels unbothered on most broken pavement and better able to stay composed. Potholes are still potholes and smaller wheels will be more comfortable, but the improvement in ride quality is impressive.

Another area is seat comfort. While the thigh bolsters are greatly missed by those of us over 6ft, the overall comfort of the seats is slightly higher. The Vescin material is much higher quality than the leatherette or even the standard leather and provides a more supple feel.

Finally the rear seat width and legroom as noticeably increased making three adults in the back a much easier option in a pinch.

2025 MINI Countryman: MINI OS9 & New Tech

We’ve recently gone into great detail on MINI’s new found reliance on technology and if it’s negatively impacting the driving experience. In our initial experiences the answer is no. But there are caveats.

MINI OS9 needs bug fixes, refinements and even subtle interface tweaks. But the good news is that the foundational experience and its UX is intuitive and mostly follows UI patterns that will immediately feel familiar.

And the bugs and needed refinement? MINI is actively working to address all of those issues. And we have little doubt OS9 will slowly but surely become excellent because of it.

One glaring issue that needs sorting is the brand’s subscription services. As it stands the only thing currently offered (in the US) is MINI Connected Plus at $9.99 a month. The problem is that it’s not entirely clear what it actually is beyond features that your phone already delivers – likely much better. Instead we’d love to see MINI offer features like Spike or AirConsole for $1 a month dropping the barrier of entry and getting people using it. As it stands we can’t imagine Connected Plus will see much adoption.

Yes the tech is new and not yet perfect. But there’s nothing here that can’t be sorted through iteration and refinement. The OLED screen is excellent and even the software itself has gotten noticeably faster since we drove early production examples. In other words this gorgeous OLED display and the software inside of it is starting to live up to its early promise.

One Week Conclusions

Since the moment we first drove the new Countryman on Portuguese coastal roads, we’ve been impressed. But getting it on the roads we know and in the daily situations that are familiar has made it even more clear just how much of a jump the brand has taken with this new car.

Yes it’s heavier, bigger and no it doesn’t have shift paddles (in the US). But get behind the wheel of the Countryman S and you quickly forget about most of that. There’s a quality in the driving dynamics, design, tech and even materials used (well most of them) that makes this new car feel like a giant step for the brand.

Note: Big thank to MINI of Glencoe for the support with this test. Finding a well stocks Countryman S in MINI USA’s fleet and they stepped in just in time. If you’re in the Chicago region, check their stock of new MINIs including several Countryman models similar to what you see here.

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