The Mini Countryman is a nice car, but shame about the price

OK, let’s put our cards on the table. We like Minis and dearly love some of them, but we do have certain reservations about the brand. Some of them are cutesy, some girly, some mad and some manly. However, none are cheap.

The original idea of Sir Alec Issigonis’ Mini was as a ‘people’s car’ in the same way as the Beetle, as envisaged by Hitler and brought to reality by Ferdinand Porsche, under the umbrella handle Volkswagen as a car for the ranks of idealised National Socialists and their families.

Both vehicles more than fulfilled their brief as a cheap and effective form of transportation for the masses.