MINI Countryman Untamed Edition: Why North America Gets the Better Car

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The MINI Countryman Untamed Edition looks identical in Los Angeles, London and Munich. Underneath, it’s three different cars. In the US, every Untamed gets the lift, the all-terrain tires and a tow hitch as standard. In the UK, only one of four powertrains gets the lift, and it isn’t the petrol S ALL4. In mainland Europe, a petrol or diesel Untamed gets no lift at all.

The surprises don’t stop there. In the UK, the electric SE, the only British Untamed with the full hardware, costs just £250 more than the petrol S. Europe’s version can tow more than America’s, despite having less capability as standard. And going Untamed costs roughly the same on both sides of the Atlantic, even though American buyers get significantly more for their money.

We covered the car itself and US pricing. Now that MINI USA, MINI UK and MINI Germany have all published their details, here’s how the three markets compare.

The specification split at a glance

	United States	United Kingdom	Europe (Germany)
Variants	S ALL4, SE ALL4	C, S, E, SE (no diesel)	C, D, S ALL4, E, SE ALL4 (market dependent)
15 mm suspension lift	Standard on both	SE only	Electric models only (E, SE ALL4)
Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tyres	Standard	Optional on S and SE	Optional
Tow hitch	Standard, factory fitted	Optional	Optional
Towing capacity	3,500 lb	Up to 2,000 kg	Up to 2,000 kg
Roof load (driving / parked)	165 lb / 661 lb	75 kg / 300 kg	75 kg / 300 kg
AUTOHOME roof tent	MINI Dealers, approx $5,000	Bought directly from AUTOHOME	Separately available

What doesn’t change

The design and interior are the same everywhere. Every Untamed Edition gets the vertical Dark Steel grille, the underbody protection elements, the textured matt black films, the C-pillar mountain logo and the 19-inch Untamed Edition Spoke wheels. Inside, every car gets the same Vescin Nightshade Blue sport seats, with Vescin Vintage Brown and Vescin Black as alternatives. MINI UK calls them JCW sports seats, but that’s a naming convention, not different hardware.

The colour palette is global too. Hideaway Grey and Nomad Blue are joined by Nanuq White and Midnight Black. Frozen Nomad Blue, the first matt finish in MINI series production, arrives worldwide at the same time.

The differences are all mechanical, and they’re the ones that matter.

North America: the complete version

North America gets the Untamed Edition as MINI clearly intended it. Both US models, the Countryman S ALL4 and the all-electric SE ALL4, come with the 15 mm lift, the Untamed-specific chassis calibration and Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tires on 19-inch Untamed Edition Spoke wheels as standard. A factory trailer hitch is also standard, rated to tow 3,500 pounds.

There’s no front-wheel-drive Untamed in the US, which removes the awkward mismatch elsewhere between the off-road look and the drivetrain underneath. Every American Untamed has ALL4, the lift and the tires. It’s the only market where you can’t accidentally buy the costume without the hardware.

United Kingdom: one fully realised car

The UK gets four powertrains, the C, S, E and SE, but the hardware is spread thin. MINI UK fits the 15 mm lift only to the SE. The all-terrain tires are optional, and only on the S and SE. The C and the front-drive E get the Untamed design and interior, but neither the lift nor the tyres.

That makes the SE the only UK Untamed with the full specification, and the pricing makes the case for it. At £40,775, the SE is just £250 more than the petrol S at £40,525. For that, the SE gets the lift the S doesn’t, plus electric running costs. If you’re buying an Untamed in Britain for what it can do, rather than how it looks, the SE is the obvious choice.

The tow bar is optional, rated at 2,000 kg. The AUTOHOME roof tent is sold directly by AUTOHOME rather than through MINI retailers.

Europe: the lift is for EVs only

Mainland Europe has the broadest range of powertrains, with the C, D, S ALL4, E and SE ALL4 depending on market, and the narrowest hardware spread. The 15 mm lift is only offered on the electric E and SE ALL4. The all-terrain tyres are optional across the board, and the tow bar is optional too.

MINI hasn’t explained the split. Our read, and it is analysis rather than anything MINI has said, is that it comes down to CO2. A taller Countryman on knobbier tyres carries more drag and rolling resistance, which would push WLTP emissions up on the petrol and diesel cars as every gram counts against EU fleet targets. An EV pays for the same changes in range, not grams and there’s no regulation against losing a mile or two of range.

The result is that a European Countryman C or D Untamed on standard tyres is mechanically very close to the regular car. It’s the F60 Untamed formula again: a strong design edition wearing an adventurous name.

One other difference worth noting. The tow rating of up to 2,000 kg works out to roughly 4,400 pounds, comfortably above the US figure of 3,500 pounds. However that reflects different rating standards on each side of the Atlantic rather than different hardware.

Pricing by market

Market	Model	Price
United States	Countryman S ALL4 Untamed Edition	$43,900 ($45,250 with $1,350 destination)
United States	Countryman SE ALL4 Untamed Edition	$50,000 (est)
United Kingdom	Countryman C Untamed Edition	£33,595 OTR
United Kingdom	Countryman E Untamed Edition	£37,255 OTR
United Kingdom	Countryman S Untamed Edition	£40,525 OTR
United Kingdom	Countryman SE Untamed Edition	£40,775 OTR
Germany	Untamed Edition supplement	€4,700 over the base model

Comparing across currencies is never clean, but the structure tells a story. In the US, the Untamed content itself costs $1,600. It does require Iconic Trim with the Comfort Package Plus ($3,400), so the real step up from a base $38,900 S ALL4 is $5,000. In Germany, the Untamed Edition is a flat €4,700 supplement, including VAT. Switzerland follows the same pattern at CHF 4,990.

On that basis, the headline cost of going Untamed is broadly similar in the US and Europe. What that money buys isn’t. An American buyer gets the lift, the tyres and the hitch included. A German buyer of a petrol or diesel Untamed gets neither the lift nor, unless they pay extra, the tires.

Our take

The Untamed Edition is the rare MINI that works best in America. That makes sense, given that it was tested in the Rocky Mountains, revealed at Lake Tahoe and debuted in the Nevada desert at the Rebelle Rally. Given what we heard at the car’s launch, MINI built this car primarily for North American buyers, and the US spec reflects that, with no front-drive versions, no lift-less versions and no tyre option to forget to tick.

In the UK and Europe, the Untamed is a more nuanced proposition. Buy the E or SE, add the all-terrain tires, and you get essentially the same car Americans do. Buy anything else and you get a very handsome Countryman with an off-road look it can’t fully back up. The design is identical everywhere. The capability isn’t.

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