2020 Mini Cooper S on 2040-cars

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Mini might build a sedan because it's running out of shapes

Rumors suggest we could soon see a Mini with a trunk to haul your junk. Autocar cites unnamed insiders who claim the sedan is part of the brand's plan for upmarket growth. There's even a possibility the new model could use the Riley moniker in reference to the Elf (pictured above) from the 1960s, which was a Mini with a tiny trunk. The Mini sedan would use BMW's front-wheel-drive platform that underpins the X1 and Clubman and might share the wheelbase and frontend styling with the Clubman as well, according to Autocar. Mini's execs think the four-door would perform especially well in North America and China, where there's less demand for hatchbacks. Ralph Mahler, vice president of Mini's product management, hinted at the possibility of the four-door to Autocar. "For example, in Asia and the US, the sedan segment is very big. This is very interesting to us, of course," he said. Mahler admits that many people don't know about the Mini-based vehicles with trunks from the '60s, like the Riley Elf, so it would be hard to market the new model on that heritage. This could be the perfect time to add a Mini sedan to the lineup, and it might not be a completely new idea for the brand under its BMW stewardship; a rumor from 2012 shows that Mini's bosses considered a four-door at least once before. The company launched new versions of its Hardtop, Convertible, and Clubman, and even added four-door and all-wheel-drive versions of the Hardtop to further blur the lines between that car, the Clubman, and the Countryman. The next-generation Countryman crossover should debut later this year, and the brand reportedly cancelled the Superleggera Vision roadster and Rocketman compact, as Mini has chosen to go big with its new models and its lineup breadth. There are only so many versions of a hatchback a company can make, and the short-lived Mini Coupe wasn't exactly a huge success. If Mini is going to try a new body style, a sedan actually makes some sense, even if we'll probably prefer the look and practicality of the hatches. Related Video:

BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

2025 Mini Countryman First Drive Review: Mini no more

CASCAIS, Portugal — LetÂ’s cut straight to the issue of size. If the original Mini was a sporting beagle ready for the hunt, the reborn version that hit the world stage in 2001 may have been an English bulldog, albeit bred in Germany, its parents being the engineers and coffers of BMW. From there, the Mini brand has grown in size in regular increments, culminating with the 2025 Mini Countryman thatÂ’s the subject of this review. The first Countryman that we first tested in 2011 was comparatively large for the brand, but was suitably mini by SUV standards. Its stocky proportions moved it well into the working dog class. And then the second-generation Mini Countryman debuted for the 2017 model year, gaining 8 inches in length and more than 5 inches of width over its predecessor. We described it as “still in keeping with the brand's ethos from the very beginning when Alec Issigonis created a car that was microscopic on the outside but disproportionately spacious inside.” Nevertheless, it was starting too look a little husky, if you catch our drift. Consider the 2025 Mini Countryman a mastiff, then. Compared to the second-gen Countryman it replaces (which, as we already pointed out was much larger than the first edition), the new version is 5.1 inches longer, 2.4 inches taller and 0.8 inch wider. This translates into additional interior space for passengers and cargo, but adds an awful lot of visual and physical girth to something wearing a badge that literally calls out a diminutive size. The proportions are well considered, but parked next to the old car, the new Countryman sticks out like a sore thumb. Literally, like one thatÂ’s swollen post-accidental-hammer strike. When the full Countryman model lineup is available Stateside, a base model may well be included, but at least for the start of 2025 production the lineup will start with an S edition for $39,895 that will have 241 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. WeÂ’re not driving that today. Instead, the subject of this review will be the only other gas-powered Countryman: the high-performance John Cooper Works edition or JCW. The new Countryman JCW starts at $47,895 and is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that spins out 312 ponies (up from 301) and 295 pound-feet of torque (unfortunately down from 331) to all four tires through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and MiniÂ’s ALL4 all-wheel-drive system.