I'm a huge fan of brand Mini because of its unique old world design & reliability. Its such a small brand which was only present in Europe where small cars are still a fashion. In Americas we still use big gas guzzling cars and Mini is out of comparison and that too when its generally a 2 door coupe.
Little that I knew Mini transformed in a big way after the BMW's acquisition of Mini. The first Mini model with 5 door / 5 seater, Countryman hit the market in 2011 and the response was pretty nice. Mini is again becoming a style statement, but this time along with utilities like a good boot space. Countryman also is the first Mini to come up with ALL4 all wheel drive feature which Americans are fond of. I still feel the interior of the Mini can be little more serious than just being comical.
Mini Countryman became a big news when legendary Pro-drive Design firm decided to prepare a Countryman based on the WRC specifications. It was a total surprise when I knew Mini once won WRC !!. Once a car competes in WRC that means the car is solid in many aspects. Eg: Mitsubishi Evolution, Subaru WRX, Citroen DS3, Peugeot, Skoda, Ford Fiesta etc etc and all these cars had very solid sales in the past which shows the reliability. These days Mini is available in India and that shows how far the brand is accepted and reliable (Indian roads are good testing facilities). Pro-Drive came up with the following design for WRC 2011, cuteee ..
But I truly believe the popularity of a car reach its heights when local technicians / mechanics work on a model to customize it for their customers. Because generally people spend money on things they like a lot and want to make them better. Here's a classic example of that, a company called AirRex from Taiwan developed a product specifically for Mini Countryman and the feature allows the driver to lift / drop the car couple of inches based on the requirements. One of the defects people reported when Countryman was released, is the body roll of the car compared to old Minis' because this car is taller and wider. Of-course you can get a JCW package ( John Cooper Works ) with sport struts, but that's not just enough when you are hitting 120 miles and taking a hairpin. Here's a beautiful video of AirRex on the play
Pro-Drive Test Version
Daniel Sordo - WRC driver tests the car in Germany
