MINI Countryman SUV (2010-2016) - Reliability & safety
High-quality interior not reflected in the MINI Countryman's poor Driver Power score
Very good Euro NCAP crash-test scores and excellent safety kit make the MINI Countryman a safe car. It’s proven to be well built inside and generally reliable, but has a long way to go to beat the level of customer satisfaction enjoyed by the Skoda Yeti.
MINI Countryman reliability
Buyers and owners will be pleased with MINI's brand performance in the 2015 Driver Power survey - it took 16th place out of the 32 manufacturers surveyed. Although it may be a mid-table result, it's a 14-place jump from 30th in 2014.
The Countryman itself suffered a rather poor performance in the owner satisfaction survey. The bulky crossover only managed 113th place in the 2015 results. Granted, it is an improvement compared to its 146th place in the previous year's results, but still not much to shout about. Reliability was one of the car's better scores, at 97th, but its low ease of driving and practicality scores seem to be at odds with the Countryman's size and MINI heritage.
On the upside, the Countryman’s engines have all been used across the MINI range, where they’ve been generally reliable, and it’s the same story for all the major components. The car’s switches and other interior fittings are all high quality, while the electrical problems that affected earlier MINIs have been mostly ironed out.
Carbuyer readers who’ve driven the MINI are a fairly happy bunch, mainly rating the Countryman as a reliable car with only minor problems. The biggest complaints concern fuel consumption, which is frequently reported as being much heavier than the official figures. Other problems (reported before the 2014 facelift) include some niggling rattles, an engine fan continuously running after the engine has been switched off and a failed temperature sensor. However, one reader praised MINI for having an unbeatable service package.
MINI Countryman safety
The Countryman is a safe car and received a five-star rating in Euro NCAP’s crash tests. However, some areas, such as adult occupant protection, saw it underperform compared to rivals. Its driver protection rating was 84%, compared to the Skoda Yeti’s 92% and the Nissan Qashqai’s 88%. The Countryman’s child protection score was 83%, the same as the Qashqai and slightly higher than the Yeti.
Standard safety equipment includes multiple airbags, central locking, stability control and a tyre-pressure monitoring system. There are also ISOFIX child-seat mounts in the back.
