Well as I am coming up to nearly a week of ownership I thought I would share my first impressions, especially comparing it to my 06 Leon TDI Sport DSG (AMD map).
I have done the usual thing of since ordering it, reading every single
review I could get my hands on and some points I agree with, some I don't.
First the interior, yeah some of the switches are in barmy places but it does feel more special than the Leon. The doors are nicely trimmed in leather as well as half leather on the seats. The seats themselves are very nice and quite comfy but for my frame, the Leon seats offer more support though and I believe will be comfier over a larger distance. The dash is very upright and there is a very short distance to the pretty upright curved windscreen. The top of the vents and in some other places they have cut corners slightly and the plastics are hard and the fitment isn't great but overall a very nice place to be whether in the front or back. The front seats have loads of adjustment up and down and loads of headroom, so you can really crank the seat height up to give you a much better town driving position and being 6,2 it means I can just sit into my car rather than have to drop down. The back seats can slide back and forth on a rail to increase boot space or leg room. The boot is a Leon matching 350 with the seats back and 450 forward but there is a central rail(I'm assuming bracing bar) that means you cant really use the floor when that extra room is freed up. Oh the glove box is huuuuuge compare to the Leon, I can actually fit more than just my service book. One extra thing which is a little bit of a gimmick but I think works quite well is the ambient lighting. Behind the door handles, door pockets, centre rail etc is a subtle coloured light which you can change or leave it on cycle(through quite a lot of different colours) to give a little colour to the interior, I personally think it's a good addition. There is also under dash lighting on start up and shut down etc which is handy to look for things dropped in the footwell.
In regards to the car in general, it has good visibility due to it being a bit of a box all but the slightly large c-pillars restricting. All the door windows are fairly large and square so the car is quite airy compared to the Leon, especially in the rear. The doors are fairly short so it means they can be opened fairly wide for access and still nowhere near the car parked next to you. The boot access is huge and the lip not to high. The boot lid itself opens really high so I don't have to worry about smacking my head on it like I have done a few times with the Leon. The Cooper S bodykit I think makes the Countryman. I think the lesser models are a bit wishy washy especially at the rear with a rounded bumper and a single pea shooter exhaust. The front grill and deeper chin really does look quite mean for a fat Mini, I just wish they had kept the normal Mini's little bonnet scoop. The bonnet itself is a huge clam shell that fits over the headlights and has very effective bonnet lifters, something I missed on my Leon and I never got round to converting.
Just to highlight this is all at very sensible speeds. To handling and ride. I have read about how shocking the Mini's ride is on British roads but it is a bit of a mixed bag. The primary ride is better than my pre-FL Leon which probably isn't a surprise to whom that have owned them the only issue is, if you hit a an undulation mid corner you can find that the car shimmies a bit and with the steering being very quick, the car gets unsettled. Another bad point is the run flat tyres, this is the first car I have owned with run flats and the slightest imperfection or pot hole really thumps through the car. Handling wise the car is mad really. The steering is set up to be really quick and is fairly nervous around dead ahead. The turn in is absolutely spot on, go in a little to fast though and you can tell it has a slightly higher C of G than standard hatches as you have to let it settle before pushing on. but the 4WD system makes the car really neutral round a bend and actively helps to push the nose round a corner rather than wash wide. Traction is great as well and the all4 system does a great job shunting the power around without you noticing. There is a very busy junction near me on a slope. To get out in the Leon even in the dry half the time you get a little churp from the wheels as you pull away. I was amazed in the Mini in the wet as it just gripped and went, so very impressed with the 4wd system so far, bring on the snow.
Reet engine, transmission and performance, I can't do an exact performance comparison as I am left pottering for 1200miles to bed it in but I am impressed so far. The engine has buckets of character and sounds sporty under even gentle acceleration. It has tq
lower down in the range than I thought it might have making it easier to drive but with 170lbft ish standard and 191lbft with overboost at full throttle it is a far bit down on the Leon's 300lbft. Pick up is really good though and I have not found turbo lag once yet which in a biggish car with a small capacity turbo I am quite impressed. The auto box is a definite step back though being a tq convertor rather than twin clutch. It is sooo much smoother at town work and low speed manoeuvres but is pretty rubbish when you want to make progress. Flicking it into sports mode and using the paddles helps as it increases throttle response, increases steering weight and speeds up the gear changes but still doesn't hold a candle to DSG. Another aspect of sticking it in sport is the exhaust gets opened up and i'm assuming fuel gets dumped in the exhaust because everytime you come off the throttle it pops and bangs, not Astra Nurberg Bang but fun and noisey all the same(I'll attach a vid I found on youtube, sounds so much better though when the cars under load when driving than sat revving but you get the idea) Being cold at the moment I was averaging around 42mpg in the Leon on my work commute (about 50mpg when warmer) and I'm averaging around 33mpg in the Mini at the mo with only 300miles on the clock so it isn't too bad. I would hope when it's loosened up a bit it may improve.
This is the exhaust video I found on line showing the sports mode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjTRfruvZ_8
Hope this helps anyone thinking of buying one.