2019 S Countryman- To buy or not to buy

We have a 2017 cooper petrol. It’s all been working as it should from new so I think the s should be the same . When we ordered are car we could have all4 and it hasn’t got a filter in the exhaust like they use on diesels and now fit to petrols . We ordered with chilli pack so got a good level of kit on it but this has been changed so be careful what you spec . We have the LED headlights that are fantastic if you can afford them.
Have you driven the 1.5 T petrol as it is very good and can pull are 1450 kg caravan saving you money to spend on extras .
What problems have you been told about if it the old model then don’t worry as they are much better than them as we had one a few years ago. You should be able to get a 48 hour test drive .
Hope this helps and make sure you get a good discount we used carwow for a quote the a local dealer matched it .

I have a 2019MY Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV, love it - and have come to it from very luxurious big SUV’s. I would advise that you need to analyze what you use the car for before deciding which version to go for as issues and running cost vary with engines and complexity.
I would suggest that if you do lots of miles a day stop start heavy traffic runs with a bit of motorway then go for the petrol engine or the PHEV - there aren’t( yet)any Particulate Filter issues nor Adblu to add like there are with the diesels when they do short runs with lots of stopping and starting. If you are pounding motorways day in day out then for sure you are the ideal candidate for the diesel powered car, if you do a couple of miles to the office/ station/school run/ shopping run then consider the Plug In Hybrid, especially if you have off street parking where you can charge it up at home.
I don’t think that there any “must have” extras as these things are often a personal decision but I agree that the LED headlights are fantastic on dark nights out in the country, less so under street lights in town. The heated front screen is worthwhile having for frosty mornings if you don’t garage the car. I was advised not to bother with the full leather upholstery as BMW’s leather looks like the leather from a Munich Taxi (looks more like plastic/faux leather) and also creases easily. I have had full leather interiors in all my previous cars in the last 30 years and I have to say that the part leather, part cloth in my Countryman is very nice and is what came as standard from the factory. I have an all black interior but also ticked the opening panoramic roof option which is nice even though I think I have opened the front section probably 3 times since June 2018, it does make the interior a lot lighter. I added nearly £7000 of options to my car though so it is heavily optioned. One option I have regretted having though - the all black contrast roof! I’ve had them on cars before but none of the previous cars seemed to get as hot inside as the Countryman does on a sunny day and I put it down to the black roof - I should have gone for white or red!
One thing for sure - the 1.5 petrol engine is more than powerful enough to haul along the weight of the PHEV even if it is a bit thirsty on go juice when running in petrol mode ( so more reason to use the fully electric mode more!)
Another thing, while it isn’t the hi-tech’est automatic gearbox it is well suited to the car, is smooth and jerk free, manuals are so 20th century these days and autos are often more economical on fuel too with modern electronics controlling them and they are a godsend in city stop start driving!

We have had our new 2019 Countryman S All4 for a little over a month. I must say I am pleasantly surprised.

Only issues are (so far) really idiotic decision that there is no option for heated steering wheel. Same idiocy that they did no include front parking sensors as standard. It is very low (regardless of its crossover capability) that they should be there or at least the cutouts to ease an aftermarket install. OR better yet, a dealer install that integrates into the rear sensors.

Still, having said all that, and after adding the Dinan Elite it REALLY runs great. Good in snow as well. Of course, we will be swapping out the RunFlats when they are done unless by some miracle there is a new generation that is quiet.

LED lighting is very good as are our leather seats. Very comfy. I did have to give up my android phone for an iphone so the CarPlay works and by George, it really does work well as does the touch screen. Heads up display is nice and it feels very solid. Too bad the nav from the iphone does not display on the HUD. Still the internal Nav is not bad at all.

I personally cannot figure out the rear door locks. Have to go back and unlock the car again if i do not open them first but that may just be a setting and my lack of research.

Vision is very good but I did end up getting the euro anti-blind spot wing mirrors since no Blindspot tech came with my car. Wish I had opted for the adaptive cruise control. Oh well it is a drivers car, not an autonomous vehicle.

Transmission is great, engine revs well, power when you need it, roomy and not like everything else on the street.

We had a loaded GLC300.. it was nice and you could make it get up and go but it was just not as fun...

Just one man's opinion...

I too have a PHEV (Cooper S E All4). It's a 2018 model and apart from the abysmal lack of Android support I'm very pleased with it.

Depending on the green incentives where you live and your driving pattern it might make sense. Goes like a little rocket up to moderate speeds (around 100km/h 60MPH), and makes perfect sense for me as I do a lot of trips within electric range. For someone who makes a lot of long, high speed trips, it wouldn't. If you like performance at higher speed you'd be better off going for the 4-cylinder, 2-litre Cooper S or JCW, while if you want a more economical car over longer distances, and don't care too much about performance, the regular, 3, cylinder 1.5-litre or diesel Cooper would make more sense and are nippy enough for most drivers.

The 3 cylinder engine is a gem and has won awards for its quiet smoothness and flexibility. It is also economical, but don't expect miracles when hauling around a car like the Countryman PHEV, which weighs over 1700kgs. As an added bonus the 3 cylinder makes a lovely noise when revved, though not quite as good as the crackles and pops of the JCW 4 cylinder!

Technically, the newer Minis are much better than the previous generations and are now simply re-skinned BMWs.