The first John Cooper Works Mini to come with all-wheel drive, the JCW Countryman will go on sale in the US with a starting price of $35,550, which includes a $700 destination and handling fee.
The 2013 John Cooper Works Countryman ALL4 (quite a mouthful) is powered by a newly developed 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which develops 208-horsepower and peak torque of 192 lb-ft, between 1,850 and 5,600 rpm.
Aside from the standard six-speed manual gearbox, the JCW Countryman ALL4 is also available with an optional six-speed automatic. In both forms it hits 60mph from rest in 7 seconds and tops out at 127mph.
The small crossover rides on 18-inch mag wheels and features a sports suspension with more firmly tuned springs and shocks, and bigger anti-roll bars. It is fractionally lower.
It also gets a Dynamic Stability Control system that includes traction control, while the sport button changes the engine’s responses, and adjusts the power assistance provided by the steering.
Other standard features include air conditioning, a Harman/Kardon audio system, xenon adaptive headlights, automatically dimming rear-view mirror and exterior mirrors, electrically operated glass sunroof, park distance control beeper and navigation.––Paul Duchene
