MINI Countryman review - Reliability & safety

The MINI Countryman exudes quality and feels well put-together, but while it’s too early to say how reliable it will prove to be, the petrol models’ engines are similar to the old car and we haven’t heard any horror stories. As a brand, a very low 12% of MINI owners reported an issue with their car in the first year of ownership in the 2023 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey.

How safe is the MINI Countryman?

The MINI Countryman is yet to be tested by Euro NCAP, but we’d expect it to perform well given it comes with a high level of safety equipment as standard, including lane departure warning, blind spot detection, forward and rear collision prevention and autonomous emergency braking.

What are the MINI Countryman service intervals?

MINI recommends getting its cars serviced every year, or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first. MINI offers a pay monthly service plan which allows you to spread your servicing costs over a longer period of time, making payments more digestible at £13.99 a month at the time of writing. This can be set up for any age of vehicle and includes fluid top-ups, seasonal car health checks, washing and vacuuming when you go in for a visit.

What is the warranty on the MINI Countryman?

The MINI Countryman comes with a three-year unlimited-mile warranty which is about the industry standard. MINI includes free roadside assistance cover as part of this package, too. The electric models come with a battery warranty lasting up to eight years or 100,000 miles.

MINI recommends booking its cars in for an end-of-warranty check, just before the warranty expires. Doing so ensures that any work that needs to be done is still covered for free under warranty. This can be combined with the car’s first MoT, which is also due once your car hits three years old.