Mini Countryman vs Ford Transit Custom

What's the difference?

The new Mini Countryman John Cooper Works in Favoured trim offers everything you’d expect it to - the iconic Mini styling, a powerful driving performance and a well-equipped cabin. It’s a wonderfully quick urban dweller that you can park anywhere but is just as happy on the open-road. For me, this is pure fun and offers more personality than a lot of its rivals.

There’s a lot to like here as it provides spacious and comfortable seating for up to five tall adults combined with a huge load volume, one-tonne-plus payload rating, 2500kg towing capacity, peerless safety and an appealing price. It sets a high benchmark for buyers wanting work-and-play practicality and with its sporty good looks and energetic performance is worthy of consideration as a genuine alternative to a conventional van, ute or US pick-up.

It's a case of the 'not-so-mini' when it comes to the new Countryman because it now stands at 4447mm in length, 1843mm in width and 1645mm in height. That's 170mm longer and 21mm wider than the previous generation!

But the Countryman still has all of the fun styling you’d expect in a Mini and it’s that iconic styling that sets this car apart from its rivals. It knows its fun and isn't afraid to show it.

Our Mini Countryman gets JCW badging across the body of the car, including its wheels but it's the chequered flag motif across the grille that reminds you what’s under the bonnet.

Unfortunately, our test model is finished in the rather boring 'Midnight Black II' but the range of colours and customisations available on the Countryman will help make it feel like your own.

Head inside and there's a hefty mix of materials in the cabin space. You’ve got a thick and rough-textured weave/knit across the dash, doors and tops of the sports seats but that’s then mixed with a black synthetic upholstery and plastics everywhere else.

The red stitching and accents won’t land with everyone but it certainly creates a fun atmosphere.

There are some lovely design highlights with rose gold metal accents in the door handles and air vents. A panoramic sunroof adds some much needed airiness and I adore the way you still get a ‘turn-key’ experience despite having keyless start with the starter knob.

The round media screen isn't as well-integrated as before but it looks gorgeous and the different drive modes give you a range of colours to further customise the cabin.

Our test vehicle rides on the LWB Transit Custom’s 3500mm wheelbase and its external dimensions of 5450mm length, 1999mm width and a height of 1985mm, which means it can comfortably access underground or multi-storey car parks. A 12.1-metre turning circle is more compact than 1500-class US pick-ups and closer to Ranger/HiLux-sized utes.

The front-wheel drive chassis platform has smooth-riding four-coil suspension with MacPherson struts up front and an independent rear. Steering is rack and pinion and there’s a quartet of powerful disc brakes.

It’s arguably the best-looking mid-sized van on the market with aggressive frontal styling, wedge-shaped side contours and protruding wheel arches that shroud its alloy wheels.

The interior has a spacious and airy feel, with a stylish mix of contrasting two-tone grey surfaces throughout. This is enhanced with bright blue highlights courtesy of the dual ‘racing’ stripe pattern on the fabric seat facings, which provides visual cohesion with the external stripes.

The cabin of the Mini Countryman doesn't feel like it belongs in a small SUV. The legroom is still best up front but the second row offers more than enough space for taller adults. It will be most comfortable for four rather than five adults, though.

The electric front seats have large side bolstering and decent padding but they are on the firmer side. You get a little bit of fatigue on a longer trip but around town they’re great and the massage function on the driver's seat is strong.

The rear seat is even firmer than the front and set like a stadium seat, so it won't be as comfy for adults on a longer trip. The fold-down armrest adds some bolstering.

While the storage looks a little odd at first, all of the cubbies are quite functional. There's a lot of them, too, and the dual shelves underneath the starter-knob are particularly handy for your larger 'small' items, like phones and sunnies case. This is where the wireless charging pad is, too.

The glove box can fit a manual and the little centre console is kind of adorable but still fit all of my keys and wallet.

The sliding armrest is a nice touch and there's a couple of USB-C ports underneath it. There are two large cupholders, two drink holders and small storage bins in the doors.

In the rear you get a drink bottle holder in each door, two map pockets, two USB-C ports and two cupholders.

The circular multimedia screen looks great and once you get used to how the menus are accessed and the little shortcuts, it’s a fairly simple system to use while on the go.

The touchscreen is fairly responsive but you'll need to do wide swipes across to switch the menu screens.

I’m not a massive fan of having to access a screen for most of your functions but do like the way climate control remains on the screen at all times and it's just the fan function that needs a couple of extra toggles.

The multimedia system is run by Android Automotive and has wired and wireless phone mirroring. The Apple CarPlay maintained a steady connection this week with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and the built-in sat nav is easy to use.

Rounding out the interior is the large 505L boot and if you want more storage options, the back row has a 40/20/40 split-fold.

The loading space has a small lip, and a handy storage compartment underneath the floor which holds the tyre repair kit and other items you don’t want rolling around. JCWs get a hands-free powered tailgate, which is always handy after a big shopping trip.

With its 2167kg kerb weight and 3225kg GVM, our test vehicle has a big 1058kg payload rating, so it’s a genuine ‘one tonner’ designed to carry a full crew and heaps of cargo. Up to 155kg of that can be carried on the cleverly-designed trio of roof racks, which lie flat when not in use but in seconds can be rotated to an upright position and locked in place.

It’s also rated to tow up to 2500kg of braked trailer and with its sizeable 5725kg GCM (or how much weight it can legally carry and tow at the same time) it can legally carry its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight, which is impressive for a 2.0-litre powertrain.

Standard cargo bay access is through rear barn-doors, but an optional swing-up tailgate is available. These doors open to 180 degrees to optimise loading access and the hinges have enough resistance to keep them open in light winds.

The cargo bay, which is separated from the cabin by a moulded composite bulkhead, has a huge load volume of 4.3 cubic metres which is about 70 per cent of that available in conventional two-seater vans.

Its 2004mm of load-floor length and 1392mm between the wheel-housings also allows it to carry either a standard Aussie pallet or Euro pallet if required, secured by a choice of six load-anchorage points.

The load floor is protected by a composite liner, the walls and doors are neatly lined to mid-height and bright LEDs on the roof provide ample illumination.

There’s generous room not only for the driver and front passenger but also those seated behind. The large sliding doors and assist handles on each side provide easy access to the rear bench seat where even tall people are treated to ample kneeroom, given I’m 186cm and have more than 100mm of knee clearance from the driver’s seat set in my position.

There’s also ample shoulder and headroom, combined with a carpeted and flat floor which with no transmission tunnel provides welcome floor space for those seated in the centre. It feels much like the rear seat of a US pick-up.

Front cabin storage includes a bottle-holder and bin in each front door, plus bottle/cupholders on each side of the dash, a large open storage area in the dash-pad, upper and lower lidded glove boxes and two more bottle/cupholders in the centre console.

Rear passengers also get a bottle-holder and bin in each sliding door, plus there’s considerable storage space under the bench seat with a removable frame at the front to retain items.

The only missing item that could make this well-designed cabin even better would be an assist-handle on the left-side A-pillar to help front passengers of shorter stature to climb aboard. Yes, we did have complaints.

The Transit Custom Sport Double Cab comes standard with the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel and eight-speed automatic as all other (non-electric) Transit Customs, for a list price of $62,990. Our example is finished in 'Magnetic', which is a metallic 'Prestige Paint' option that adds $700 to this price.

For that spend, the standard equipment list includes 17-inch matt black alloy wheels with 215/60R17 tyres and a steel spare, LED headlights with DRL signatures, LED tail-lights, a unique Sports grille, dual ‘racing’ body-stripes and side decals, a unique Sports body kit (including a rear spoiler) plus soft-close sliding side-doors.

Step inside using the smart keyless entry/start and you’ll find a carpeted floor, 'Sports' seating with blue accent stripes, dual fold-down armrests on the driver and front passenger bucket seats, dual-zone climate control, a lidded upper glove box, six front and two rear USB ports, a centre console with 12V socket and wireless phone-charging, a moulded composite bulkhead with internal window, pop-out latch-style windows in the sliding side-doors and more.

The driver also gets a 12-inch colour digital instrument cluster with configurable display plus there’s a 13-inch colour touchscreen display for the multimedia system which includes four-speaker audio, digital radio, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto/Bluetooth connectivity and 'SYNC' voice-activated commands.

The JCW Countryman is an all-wheel-drive with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission. It has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine that produces up to 233kW of power and 400Nm of torque. This model has a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 5.4-seconds!

There are eight drive 'experience' modes you can choose from, comprising 'Core', 'Green', 'Go Kart' (very fun), 'Personal', 'Timeless', 'Vivid', 'Balance' and 'Trail'.

The 'EcoBlue' 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine produces 125kW of power at 3500rpm with peak torque of 390Nm tapped between 1750-2500rpm. It uses AdBlue to minimise emissions.

The eight-speed torque converter automatic provides the option of sequential manual-shifting using the column-mounted stalk, which can be preferable in some situations when hauling heavy loads. It also offers five drive modes comprising 'Normal' (default), 'Eco', 'Sport', 'Slippery' and 'Tow/Haul'.

For a performance SUV, the JCW Favoured has a lowish official combined (urban/extra-urban) fuel cycle figure of just 7.7L/100km and a large 54L fuel tank, giving you a theoretical driving range of up to 701km, which isn’t bad for such a little go-getter.

After doing a few bigger road trips this week, plus a long weekend in the city, my real-world usage has popped out at 7.9L/100km, which is excellent but expect it to be higher if you only do city driving.

Ford claims official combined average consumption of 8.0L/100km and the dash display was showing 8.7 when we stopped to refuel at the completion of our 274km test, which comprised the usual mix of suburban, city and highway driving of which about one third was hauling a heavy payload.

Our own numbers calculated from actual fuel bowser and tripmeter readings were close to these figures at 9.1, which is still excellent sub-10L/100km economy for a vehicle weighing more than two tonnes dealing with a variety of loads and roads.

Therefore, based on our consumption figure, it should deliver a real-world driving range of around 770km from its 70-litre tank.

Even if you don’t love the design, the power and performance of the turbo-petrol engine will win you over. It’s just pure unadulterated fun on the open road and in the city. You get a total hot-hatch experience, despite the Countryman being an SUV. 

The adaptive suspension feels a little stiff when you’re going over uneven road surfaces at higher speeds and road noise also creeps in, but around town this is a comfortable ride. 

Visibility is great, even in heavy rain with a child's car seat installed in the rear (we had a mix of weather on test). Thanks in no small part to the all-wheel drive system it felt sure-footed in the wet and I felt confident this car would do everything I asked of it.

The firm steering makes for a nimble on-road experience no matter the situation and you have gear-shifting paddles on the steering wheel.

There’s also a 'Boost' mode that wrangles the top performance out of the suspension, steering and engine for when you want more control.

You can park the Countryman just about anywhere and the 360-degree camera view system is excellent quality. It’s easy to park, even in small, tight car parks.

It’s spacious and comfortable with a car-like driving position, large left footrest and plenty of steering wheel/seat adjustability including 10-way power adjustment for the driver's seat including lumbar support.

This van is particularly well suited to long-distance driving, given the fold-down inboard and outboard armrests for the driver and front passenger seats. This ‘captain’s chair’ design provides ideal elbow support to minimise neck and shoulder strain during long days on the road.

The 2.0-litre turbo-diesel’s ample 390Nm of torque ensures spirited response regardless of drive mode, with the well-calibrated auto ensuring most driving occurs within the engine’s peak torque band which is right where you want it.

Ride quality and handling are excellent and remain consistent regardless of payloads. Although the driver’s rear view is minimal through the small bulkhead window, the large truck-style door mirrors combined with a reversing camera and active driver aids like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and parking sensors make it easy to live with in busy urban settings.

It’s also an effortless highway cruiser, with the engine only needing around 2000rpm to maintain 110km/h which is comfortably within its peak torque band. Most noise at these speeds, which is far from intrusive, comes from the tyres as engine and wind noise are negligible.

To test its GVM rating, we loaded 650kg into the cargo bay which combined with our two-man crew equalled a total payload of 830kg. Although sizeable, that was still more than 200kg shy of its legal limit.

The coil-spring rear suspension compressed 55mm under this loading, with long cone-shaped jounce-rubbers mounted on the chassis rails above being pressed into service to provide a second stage of weight support. This design is very effective in providing a smooth ride free of any jarring thuds over bumps when heavily loaded.

It made light work of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km-long set climb at 60km/h, easily hauling this heavy payload to the summit. Engine-braking on the way down, in a manually-selected second gear, was equally competent as no pedal-braking was required to stay below the 60km/h posted speed limit during this descent.

Our only driving criticism was an annoying rattle coming from the window in the right-side sliding-door (close to the driver's ear) and another emanating from the cargo bay over larger bumps.

The Transit Custom comes with a maximum five-star ANCAP rating (from testing in 2024) during which it achieved a premium 'Platinum' grading with a near-perfect 96 per cent score in the Commercial Van Safety Comparison for collision avoidance.

It features seven airbags including side-curtains for the rear seat, AEB with intersection assist, roll-over mitigation, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, trailer sway control, tyre pressure monitoring, front/rear parking sensors, a 180-degree reversing camera and lots more. Both outer rear seating positions have ISOFIX anchors and top-tether child seat restraint points.

The Countryman is offered with a five-year/unlimited km warranty which is pretty standard fare for a Euro model. You can pre-purchase a five year or up to 80,000km servicing plan for $2250, which is very competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are condition based, so your Mini will tell you when it needs to visit the workshop.

The vehicle is covered by a five year/unlimited km warranty.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/30,000km whichever occurs first. Capped-price servicing for the first four scheduled services up to four years/120,000km totals $1996 or $499 per service.