Mini Countryman VS Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
Mini Countryman
Likes
- Cute styling inside and out
- Responsive engine
- Practical
Dislikes
- High urban fuel consumption
- Visibility restricted while driving
- No shifting paddles
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
Likes
- Very capable 4WD
- Versatile Super Select II 4WD system
- No-nonsense set-up
Dislikes
- Still feels old
- Firm ride
- Quite sluggish
Summary
Mini Countryman
The Countryman is Mini’s SUV and the new-generation model has grown in size making it the biggest Mini ever made. But even then it’s still a small SUV.
We’ve tested the Countryman S All4 in the Favoured grade to find out if it could be the ideal urban little SUV.
In this review we rate the Countryman S All4 Favoured for what it’s like to drive and how fuel efficient it is, how practical and spacious the cabin is for people and their stuff, check out the safety equipment, list its features and weigh up the value-for-money.
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| Safety rating | — |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.0L |
| Fuel Type | Pulp |
| Fuel Efficiency | 7.6L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR is the top-spec wagon in an updated line-up.
The next-gen performance-enhanced Pajero Sport is expected here in 2025 but, in the meantime, Mitsubishi looks determined to squeeze the last bit of sales juice out of the current line-up as the entire range has now undergone a notable refresh including the introduction of 18-inch alloys, design tweaks to the front and rear, as well as new styling inside and new exterior paint choices.
Is this upgraded Pajero Sport a noteworthy rival for the likes of the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X and, more importantly, does it represent a solid buy?
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Read on.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.4L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Fuel Efficiency | 8L/100km |
| Seating | 7 seats |
Verdict
Mini Countryman8/10
The Mini Countryman S All4 Favoured is cute, practical, fun to drive, good value and has the latest safety tech. But its urban fuel consumption is high for a small SUV. If you are staying mainly in the city the electric Countryman might make this already excellent SUV just about perfect for you and your urban lifestyle.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport7.5/10
The Pajero Sport is reasonable on-road, more than satisfactory as a daily driver and it’s still a very effective 4WD.
This is a proven touring vehicle and while this update treatment doesn’t add a whole lot to the Pajero Sport package – and nothing in terms of power, torque or performance in general – it’s easily enough to tempt those who aren’t patient enough to wait for the next-generation version to arrive here.
Design
Mini Countryman
The Mini Countryman S Favoured’s design is so interesting it’s easier to make a list of things about it which aren’t interesting. The list: i) tyres, ii) windscreen wipers, iii) seat belts.
That’s pretty much it. I mean they’re interesting in that we can’t live without them but they're not cute like the headlights, pug-nosed bonnet, tiny windscreen and sad-faced grille.
Nor stunning like the cabin’s large central display. The first-ever circular OLED display in a car, by the way. And certainly not as intriguing as the way the interior door trim changes colour from the back to the front.
The Countryman S is all-wheel drive and Mini has given it a rugged look complete with All4 badging.
The Countryman S All4 comes in nine colours, ours is 'Smokey Green' and you can mix and match the colours with the roof and wing mirrors ('Vibrant Silver' on our car).
The test car's wheels are 20-inch alloy 'Windmill' design and although they aren’t the most intricate looking they're easy to clean.
Another interesting Countryman attribute is its size. This is the biggest Mini ever made at 4.44m long, 1.84m wide and 1.66m tall.
So, if you do decide to buy one be prepared for “not very mini, is it?” jokes delivered by unfunny people haunting petrol stations and shopping centre car parks.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
Most of the Pajero Sport’s latest round of upgrades is focused on styling refreshes, inside and out.
The upgraded interior in the GSR includes quilted two-tone burgundy and black synthetic leather upholstery.
This adds a welcome touch of understated class to an interior which is otherwise looking and feeling old.
The Pajero Sport now also has a three-spoke leather steering wheel and revised digital instrument display graphics, which may be difficult to discern for those unfamiliar with the previous renderings.
Outside, the GSR retains the distinctive Pajero Sport shape, albeit now with updated upper and lower grilles, front and rear bumper enhancements and black headlamp extensions (those are range-wide inclusions), as well as black door mirrors, door handles and tailgate handle.
Practicality
Mini Countryman
The Countryman is Mini’s SUV and the brand has clearly attempted to make the interior feel rugged and practical with touches like hard wearing materials and grippy surfaces, plus clever storage.
There are big door pockets with moulded compartments, shelves under the dashboard, a covered area between the driver and front passenger and four cupholders.
There are plenty of power outlets, too, with four type-C USB ports, two 12V outlets and a wireless phone charger.
If you were wondering how roomy the Countryman is, don’t fear, there’s plenty of space up front even for me at 189cm with wide seats and good elbow room. Space in the back is excellent with plenty of legroom and headroom. All up there are five seats on board.
If you’re going to be using the rear doors for passengers a lot, take a look at the size of the opening. It’s small and getting in and out might be a problem for older and less flexible people.
As for cargo space the Countryman has a 505L boot with all seats upright.
The Countryman’s BMW X1 twin offers better practicality and space, but lacks the cute, quirky looks. Having lived with both cars it’s clear the X1 makes a better family car.
Something to keep in mind if you’re looking for better practicality for about the same price, size and performance.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
The Pajero Sport cabin is practical, but now, as a result of the upgrade, it has more of a premium look and feel. Sure, it’s still on the wrong side of aged and it’s cramped, but at least it has a layer of gloss to it.
From front to back, it’s a well set-up space. The driver and front passenger seats (both power-adjustable) are very supportive, with a nice wrap-around feel to them. The other seats are also fine.
The reach- and height-adjustable steering wheel has paddle shifters for energetic shifting if you get the urge.
The dash and touchscreen media unit are nicely integrated, but that 8.0-inch screen is too small – and thankfully the likely introduction of a 9.0-inch screen in the 2025 Pajero Sport will sort out that issue.
The cabin’s familiar feel includes the fact that all buttons and dials are easy to locate and operate, even when you're bouncing around off-road.
The second row is comfortable and roomy enough, though the entire cabin tends towards the squeezy end of the spacious spectrum. Having said that, I slotted in behind my driving position and I had plenty of head, knee and foot room.
There are three top tether points, two ISOFIX anchors and a fold-down armrest with cupholders in the second row. There are USB charge points and a power socket in the back of the centre console bin.
Third-row seating is a bit of a straight-up-and-down affair with a flat seat base, but passengers back there – god bless ’em – have access to cupholders and air vents.
In terms of packability, the Pajero Sport’s cabin, as mentioned, is quite narrow compared to most of its rivals and there are plenty of other SUVs and 4WD wagons around that offer more room inside for people, gear and dogs.
With the third-row seats in use, boot space is listed as 131L. There are power sockets and tie-down points in that rear cargo area.
With the third row stowed away, there’s a claimed 502L of cargo space, which is pretty handy. With the second and third rows stowed, there’s a claimed 1488L.
Price and features
Mini Countryman
We have tested the Mini Countryman S All4 Favoured. In Mini-speak that means it sits in the middle of the Countryman line-up and it’s all-wheel drive. The list price is $61,990.
Coming standard are LED headlights, black roof rails, 20-inch alloy wheels, proximity unlocking, John Cooper Works seats, dual-zone climate control, heated power front seats, a heated sports steering wheel, a round OLED media display, a head-up display, sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and wireless phone charging. And by the way the interior colour which transitions from brown to blue is also standard on the Favoured.
The value is pretty good for what really is a prestige car and that means you’re comparing it to things like a Volvo XC40 and it’s not-so identical twin the BMW X1.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
As mentioned, the test vehicle is a GSR spec Pajero Sport, a seven-seat 4WD wagon with a price-tag of $64,840, before on-road costs.
But this test example has a bunch of accessories onboard – including a towbar kit ($1546), snorkel ($1103), electric brake controller ($710), roof rack/cross bars ($604), carpet mats ($249) and a towball ($42), pushing its price-tag up to the $69,094 mark, excluding on-road costs.
Standard features include an 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), digital radio, as well as three-zone climate-control, front and rear parking sensors and a power-operated tailgate.
The Pajero Sport packs a whole lot more, of course, and it compares evenly with most other similarly priced seven-seat 4WDs on the market.
Exterior paint choices include 'White Diamond', 'Terra Rossa', 'Graphite Grey' and 'Black Mica', but you can also choose from White Diamond with black roof, Terra Rossa with black roof, and the new Graphite Grey with black roof.
Under the bonnet
Mini Countryman
The Mini Countryman S has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine making 150kW and 300Nm - the same one powering the BMW X1.
This is a more powerful engine than the three-cylinder found in entry-grade Countryman C, but doesn’t have the grunt of the more hardcore Countryman JCW that sits above it in the range.
A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic flips through gears quickly and smoothly. If only there were shifting paddles on the Countryman S so the driver could be a bit more involved.
As mentioned earlier the Countryman S is all-wheel drive which is great for extra traction but doesn’t make this little SUV a capable off-roader, so keep your adventures no wilder than dirt or gravel roads that aren’t too challenging.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
The Pajero Sport has a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine producing 133kW at 3500rpm and 430Nm at 2500rpm – and that’s matched to a eight-speed automatic transmission.
This is a solid but lacklustre combination – it’s agricultural, truck-like and it takes a heavy right foot to punch it off the mark. But overall, I don’t mind the driving experience.
This is a respectable and well-proven combination, more than a bit sluggish and far from dynamic, but it does the job.
The GSR has Mitsubishi’s 'Super Select II' 4WD (a full-time 4WD system), selectable off-road modes and a rear diff lock.
The Super Select dial is positioned at the rear of the shifter and enables the driver to switch from '2H' (two-wheel drive), '4H' (4WD high-range), '4HLc' (4WD High Range with locked centre diff) and '4LLc' (4WD Low Range with locked centre diff).
The driver is able to safely switch between 2WD (2H) and 4WD (4H, 4HLc) at speeds of up to 100km/h.
The GSR has a button-operated off-road mode system – with 'Gravel', 'Mud/Snow', 'Sand' or 'Rock' settings, each of which tweaks engine output, transmission settings and traction control to best suit the terrain. It also features hill descent control.
The 2025 Pajero Sport will have the new Triton’s twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine (producing 150kW and 470Nm) and it’ll be paired with an eight-speed auto.
Efficiency
Mini Countryman
Mini says the Countryman S should use 7.6L/100km of premium unleaded petrol after a combination of open and urban roads, but also says if you’re driving is restricted to just the city consumption will jump to 9.9L/100km. Our own testing was mainly urban and we measured 11.2L/100km at the fuel pump.
Thanks to a 45-litre tank, driving range between fills is around 450km using the official consumption figure and just over 400km using our real-world average.
The relatively heavy fuel consumption is a weakness in the Countryman S’s urban suitability. The three-cylinder Countryman C is more fuel efficient but the electric Countryman E is a much better alternative and only costs about $5000 more than our test car.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
The Pajero Sport has an official fuel consumption figure of 8.0L/100km on a combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle.
I recorded 9.8L/100km on this test. I did a lot of high- and low-range 4WDing and the Pajero Sport was never working hard.
The Pajero Sport has a 68L fuel tank, so, going by my on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 694km from a full tank.
Driving
Mini Countryman
The Mini Countryman S is a fun and comfortable car to drive with sporty handling. That 2.0-litre engine has plenty of oomph, the all-wheel drive offers flawless traction in rain and the transmission shifts decisively.
The drive mode list lets you flip through 'Experiences' using a switch under the media display. The Experiences range from 'Efficiency' for better fuel economy to 'Go Kart' which is a sport mode that shifts gears quicker or holds them to keep the engine in the most responsive rev range.
It would have been good if Mini gave the Countryman S Favourerd shifting paddles. I’m a fan of these, but they’re only available on the grade above.
If there is a downside it’s that visibility from the driver’s seat isn’t great and this comes down to the design of the vehicle which is undoubtedly cute but has small windows and blind spots caused by thick pillars. Even the All4 badge on the side of the car obstructs visibility through the window it’s fixed to.
The Countryman S isn’t tiny, either, at 4.44m long and 1.84m wide, and the visibility actually makes this small SUV feel larger than it is. You’ll get used to this as well. If you are concerned about the size, there are smaller Minis like the three-door which feels a lot more… mini.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
There have been no power, torque or driver-assist tech changes to this upgraded Pajero Sport – you’ll have to wait for the next-gen version for those – so no surprises lay in wait when driving.
But that’s okay, because the Pajero Sport in its current guise is a solid daily driver – not spectacular, but far from atrocious.
The Pajero Sport is 4840mm long (with a 2800mm wheelbase), 1815mm wide, 1835mm high and has a kerb weight of 2130kg.
Compared to other similarly-sized 4WD wagons, the Pajero Sport is narrower and has a higher centre of gravity, so it’s nimble – the turning circle is a respectable 11.2m – but it also feels a bit floaty on roads and tracks, but not despicably so.
The Pajero Sport is reasonable on sealed surfaces, although it is sluggish, noisy and there’s quite a lot of body-roll through sharp turns, especially compared to some of its more refined rivals, such as the Ford Everest.
But it is a very capable off-roader, mostly because the driver has access to a raft of technical advantages engineered into the Pajero Sport aimed at making 4WDing a safer challenge.
One of the major points of difference it has with its rivals is Super Select II 4WD. You can switch, via a dial to the rear of the auto shifter, from 2H into 4H (four-wheel drive, high-range), if you're not already driving with 4H engaged, and that gives you the best traction possible in low-grip conditions, which you may face on rough back-roads and dirt tracks peppered with loose rocks and potholes.
There's no risk of transmission wind-up because the centre diff is open when 4H is engaged in the Pajero Sport, so Super Select II 4WD adds an extra element of safety and sure-footedness to your driving experience.
Then turn the dial to 4HLc (four-wheel drive, high-range, locked centre diff) and you're ready to take on more difficult terrain but at lower speeds, because the centre diff is no longer open.
If you want to tackle even harder stuff than high-range territory, turn the dial to 4LLc (four-wheel drive, low-range, locked centre diff) and the Pajero Sport has an opportunity to excel in low-speed, low-range four-wheel driving.
Turn the dial to 4HLc and you're ready to take on more difficult terrain but at lower speeds.
So, along with decent high- and low-range gearing and a centre diff-lock – activated when 4HLc (4WD high-range, locked centre diff) or 4LLc (4WD low-range, locked centre diff) is selected – the Pajero Sport has a rear diff lock, which is engaged/disengaged via a button in front of the shifter and this further help you to easily maintain safe forward momentum.
Hill descent control sustains a controlled low speed of 3.0-4.0km/h all the way down steeper, longer hills.
The GSR also has selectable off-road modes, including Gravel, Sand, Mud/Snow (when in high-range 4WD) and Rock (when in low-range 4WD).
Each of these modes adjusts engine output, transmission settings and braking, the aim being the acquisition of superior traction to suit specific conditions and terrains.
The Pajero Sport is riding on Toyo Open Country A32 all-terrains (265/60R18 110H), which are decent tyres, but it would perform even better with more aggressive rubber.
Wheel travel is adequate, ground clearance (218mm) is reasonable, although you still have to mind your driving line through rough terrain and be mindful of this 4WD’s approach (30 degrees), departure (24.2) and ramp-over (23.1) angles. Wading depth is listed as 700mm.
While it’s never been regarded as a tow rig in the same vein as something like the Toyota LandCruiser or the Nissan Patrol, the Pajero Sport offers sensible claimed towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked) and 3100kg (braked).
Payload is listed as 645kg (so about standard for this size 4WD wagon), gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 2775kg and gross combined mass (GCM) is 5565kg.
Safety
Mini Countryman
The Mini Countryman S has yet to be assessed by ANCAP, but its BMW X1 twin scored the maximum five-star score in 2022 and we’d have no reason to suspect the Mini won’t achieve a high mark.
Coming standard is AEB, blind-spot warning, lane keeping assistance and rear cross-traffic alert with braking.
There are front airbags, curtain airbags covering both rows and a centre airbag between the driver and front passenger.
For child seats you’ll find two ISOFIX points and three top tether anchor mounts across the second row.
The lack of a spare tyre is disappointing but there is a puncture repair kit that’s easy to use.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
The Pajero Sport range did have the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, but that expired in January 2023.
As standard it has dual front airbags, driver knee, front-side and curtain airbags, as well as two ISOFIX points and three top tether points for child seats/baby capsules in the second row.
Driver-assist tech includes AEB, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning/intervention, hill descent control, trailer stability assist and more.
Ownership
Mini Countryman
The Countryman is covered by Mini’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. When it comes to servicing the car will let you know when it’s needed and although there’s no capped pricing servicing costs Mini does have a five-year/80,000km plan for $2275.
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
The Pajero Sport has a 10-year/200,000km manufacturer’s warranty as long as you get it serviced as per the schedule at an authorised Mitsubishi dealer.
Mitsubishi’s 10-year capped price servicing applies – with prices ranging from $399 to $999 – and servicing is scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km whichever occurs first. Check with your dealership for up-to-date servicing costs.
All Pajero Sports come with 12-months roadside assistance, but that can be extended to four years if the vehicle is serviced at an authorised Mitsubishi dealer in line with the official service schedule.