MINI Countryman SUV (2010-2016) - MPG, running costs & CO2

The MINI Countryman should be quite cheap to run, but there are some costly pitfalls to avoid. The diesel-engined Cooper D is significantly more efficient than the more heavily taxed petrols, but costs around £1,000 more than the petrol Cooper model. If you’re a low-mileage driver, you’ll need to do your sums to see if the diesel model is worth the premium. Performance enthusiasts won’t be surprised to learn that road tax and insurance get quite expensive on the sportier models.

Resale values are pretty reasonable – after three years or 36,000 miles of ownership, you should get back at least 45% of the Countryman’s original value when selling on. In contrast, a Nissan Qashqai is predicted to retain around 43%, while a Skoda Yeti could retain as much as 51% depending on model.

MINI Countryman MPG and CO2

The basic MINI One model can manage fuel economy of 49.6mpg, although road tax will cost £130 annually thanks to the petrol engine’s relatively high CO2 emissions of 134g/km. 

The Cooper D has a diesel engines that can return up to 67.3mpg economy and emit 111g/km of CO2 for free road tax in the first year and a £30 annual bill thereafter. The Cooper SD diesel model is almost as cheap to run, but also significantly quicker.

Fastest of all is the petrol-powered MINI Countryman John Cooper Works, which is also the least frugal, with fuel economy of 38.2mpg. CO2 emissions of 172g/km mean road tax will cost £225 every year.

Insurance group

The One model will be the cheapest to insure, falling into insurance groups 12 and 13. The Coopers start at group 16 for the petrol and diesel 1.6-litre engines, climbing to group 30 for the turbocharged 1.6-litre Cooper S.

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This means that if you avoid the very fastest models, the Countryman will hold its own for insurance costs against the Qashqai (which mostly falls into groups 17 to 19), but won’t be as cheap to insure as a Kia Soul or Skoda Yeti. Go for the John Cooper Works model and the insurance rating jumps to group 33.

Warranty

MINI offers a three-year/unlimited-mileage warranty on the Countryman, which is slightly more generous than those for the Skoda Yeti and Nissan Qashqai, which have 60,000-mile limits. None of them come close to the Kia Soul’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, however.

Servicing

Take out MINI’s TLC servicing plan within 60 days of delivery and you’ll receive fixed cost servicing, covering the first five years or 50,000 miles of ownership. MINI also offers the beefier TLC XL plan for £275. This covers servicing for a full eight years or 80,000 miles.