Mini Countryman VS Renault Kadjar

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.

People talk about French design being good. Well if you want to see just how good take a look at the Nissan Qashqai, because the Kadjar is fundamentally the same SUV with Renault’s design spin applied.

Yep, as I mentioned about 15 seconds ago, Renault and Nissan are part of an alliance that allows them to share the same cars, but each brand has room to ‘make it their own’ with styling that delivers a very different look, inside and out.

Now, the Qashqai is not an ugly car, but I think the Kadjar is more stylish and premium looking in the same way the larger Renault Koleos SUV is gorgeous compared to the relatively straight-laced Nissan X-Trail it’s based on.

There’s no doubt the Kadjar is a Renault thanks to the giant diamond logo on the plunging grille. I like the way the front bumper rises up into the bonnet like it’s all one piece, but I’m not completely sold on the rear of the car which looks a bit like its shirt is tucked into the back of its pants, which makes no sense unless you look at the images.

Still, the tail-lights have a prestige feel and the Kadjar model name spelled out across the tailgate is a confident statement, also adopted recently by other brands such as Volkswagen (T-Cross) and Ford (Puma).  

Telling the Intens apart from the other two grades is fairly easy, it has 19-inch wheels (the others have 17-inch rims), there’s the enormous glass roof, and it also has a chrome effect on the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and around the fog lights. It’s a more premium look.

That higher-end feel goes into the cabin as well with the Intens’ black leather upholstery and colourful ambient lighting. The touchscreen is tiny, though, and there isn’t a great deal inside that you don’t get in the entry-grade Kadjar’s cabin, which is also almost as stylish.

The Kadjar is classified as a small SUV, which means nothing really when it comes to wondering if it’s going to fit in your garage or in the tiny parking spaces we’re faced with in the city.

So, I’ve mapped it out for you. The Kadjar’s dimensions are, 4449mm long, 2058 mm across (including the wing mirrors), and 1612mm tall. 

Another interesting thing – each B-pillar is adorned with a little French flag. I’m not sure if they're a sign of Gallic national pride or to remind everybody that meets the Kadjar that Renaults are French.

Either way, you don’t see this type of thing on other cars and for many buyers the appeal of a Renault is having a car that’s not like everybody else’s.