Great automotive engineers are like magicians. Sometimes, the hand performing the flourish is there to distract you from the one making the trick work.
Until we drive it, we can’t tell you for certain that that’s what’s happening with the 2025 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman.
But, on paper, it’s likely the aggressive styling, bigger power figures, and enhanced sounds are Penn talking your ear off. And all the while, a little extra rubber is Teller improving the trademark Mini go-kart handling where you’re not looking.
Rugged Cute Look
Mini began rolling out variants of the 2025 Countryman in September, starting with a new all-electric variant.
Every bolt and stitch is new, but the theme isn’t. This is still the classic Mini blown up to the size of a conventional car and dressed in SUV clothes.
It wears the iconic Mini proportions but is more squared off and chunky to emphasize that this is the one you can handle a little roughly. Mini calls the Countryman an SUV and the Cooper a hatchback, but the difference is mostly size and attitude.
Mini says the Countryman “is now classified as an SUV in the U.S. market” thanks to size increases — an interesting note because they’ve always sold it as one.
John Cooper Works is Mini’s performance unit, and the JCW model gets a few visual differences so everyone around it knows it’s special. They include a larger grille, reshaped front and rear bumpers, and indentations that look like nostril air intakes above the grille.
Increased Power
The new JCW powertrain sounds the same as the old one on paper — it’s still a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The ALL4 all-wheel-drive (AWD) system distributes power to all four wheels.
But the new car has more of it, thanks to a bump from 301 to 312 horsepower. Torque is down slightly, falling to 295 lb-ft.
With slightly more power and slightly more size, the actual speed difference mostly washes out. Mini says it’s good for a zero-to-60 jump in 5.4 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph.
Though the engine may not perform much better, it will sound better. Mini has used every trick from exhaust flap systems to “racing-inspired engine sounds” played through the speakers to boost the auditory experience.
Go-Kart Handling And The Magician’s Other Hand
But no one buys a Mini for its straight-line speed. All the fun of owning one is in the handling. Tossing one into corners has always been one of the automotive world’s great pleasures.
Mini doesn’t explain any suspension changes, so we’re not sure they’ve done anything to enhance how the Countryman JCW handles its weight.
But they’ve done the simplest thing automotive engineers can do to improve handling. They’ve given it more tire. The new JCW rides on tires 245 mm wide — up from 225 in the last model.
That’s added contact patch, which means added grip and friction, which means added stability, which equates to added fun. Anyone who’s ever upgraded cars has learned the simple lesson that you can spend fortunes on engines and transmissions, but the best bang-for-buck improvement available is grippier tires.
There’s Penn with his hood scoops and horsepower shouting about what this car can do now. And there’s Teller with 20 mm of rubber actually making it more fun.
Driving modes include a “Go Kart Mode” for added cornering fun, though Mini doesn’t specify what selecting it does mechanically.
Retro-Inspired Interior
All the 2025 Mini models get a cabin inspired by the classic post-war Mini. They mimic that car’s simplicity with just a few elements. But they update it by making them digital.
A single, high-resolution round OLED display in the center handles all information and entertainment functions. There’s not even a driver’s instrument screen behind the steering wheel, but a head-up display projects speed and turn-by-turn directions in the driver’s view. A pill-shaped bar beneath it houses a few buttons, including the toggle for driving modes.
The dashboard itself is covered in recycled polyester. A projector on the back of the circular display “can be used to bathe the dashboard in atmospheric color schemes and patterns that correspond to the selected Experience Mode.” So yes, you can change the look of your dashboard in this one.
Limited Hands-Free Driving
We can’t imagine wanting to take our hands off the chunky steering wheel of a Mini with wide tires. But everyone gets tired of driving in traffic jams, we suppose. So Mini debuts a new Level 2 driving assistance system on the JCW Countryman.
Related: What Is Level 2 Autonomous?
The company explains, “For the first time, drivers in the MINI Countryman can take their hands off the steering wheel on highway-like routes at speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph), provided they continue to keep a close eye on traffic and remain ready to intervene at any time.”
