Mini Countryman VS Skoda Octavia
Mini Countryman
Likes
- Cute styling inside and out
- Responsive engine
- Practical
Dislikes
- High urban fuel consumption
- Visibility restricted while driving
- No shifting paddles
Skoda Octavia
Likes
- Neatly packaged with good features
- Attractive kerb-side presence
- Clever storage spaces
Dislikes
- On the smaller side for a 'mid-size' wagon
- No option packs
- Rear row tight for three adults
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.
Read more about
- Mini Countryman 2024 review: Electric
- Mini confirms 2024 Aceman electric SUV for Australia: Pint-sized Chinese-built EV on the way as a premium alternative to BYD Atto 3 and MG4
- Why there will be no EV version of the 2025 Mini Cooper five-door, and how the Aceman electric SUV could become the brand's global top-seller
| Safety rating | — |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.0L |
| Fuel Type | Pulp |
| Fuel Efficiency | 7.6L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Skoda Octavia
The Skoda Octavia Wagon has had a minor facelift in terms of its design and technology. We're family-testing the 110TSI Select, which is the base model and replaces the previous Style variant.
But in a world dominated by SUVs, is there room for the humble station wagon anymore? Let's find out.
Read more about
- New model to challenge Tesla Model Y's dominance? Electric car with more than 560km range due to arrive in Australia next year in the form of the 2025 Skoda Elroq
- European car price slashed by $10,000: Last examples of current-gen Skoda Superb on run-out as larger wagon alternative to Toyota Camry, Mazda6, Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord
- Sporty seven-seat family SUV matches iconic hot hatch for pace: New-look 2025 Skoda Kodiaq RS outpaces Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line and equals Golf GTI off the line
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 1.4L |
| Fuel Type | — |
| Fuel Efficiency | 6.2L/100km |
| Seating | 5 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.
Skoda Octavia8.3/10
Wagons are my favourite style of family car and the Skoda Octavia Select offers great value-for-money. It’s on the smaller side for passenger hauling but is still a comfortable ride and has great ongoing costs. This is one to consider if you don’t want a massive SUV but still need some space.
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.
Skoda Octavia
The Octavia wagon is sporty-looking with its compact dimensions and sharp pleating, particularly across the rear. The tail-lights have been restyled, as have the 18-inch alloy wheels.
The facelift also sees new dusk-sensing LED headlights replace the previous matrix LEDs, which admittedly is a bit of a downgrade as you miss out on the anti-dazzling feature matrix LEDs have but the dusk-sensing function is handy if you're a 'set and forget' type of headlight user.
The interior is downright nice and not even for a 'base model'. The dashboard gains some fabric and soft-touch grey accent panelling which creates interesting focal points and feel nice underhand.
The mix of black synthetic leather and mottled grey fabric upholstery creates a warm and friendly cabin space, however, fabric always makes my eye tick with my eight-year old around!
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.
Skoda Octavia
The Octavia wagon utilises the space available in its mid-sized body well but there's no hiding that it's on the smaller side for a family hauler.
Front passengers enjoy the most head- and legroom, and even with a co-pilot, you're not fighting for elbow room, either. The rear seat offers plenty of space behind my driving position but I'm 168cm tall and it might not be as comfortable if you're hitting 180cm or more.
The width of the rear seat makes it feel snug when the armrest is down and the door closed. However, it's the fixed storage cubby that sits on top of the transmission tunnel which spells trouble for any adult middle-seater.
The cubby houses two USB-C ports and collapsible drink bottle holders, making it a firm utility and storage space. So, it's best to think of the rear row as a two-seater.
All seats (except the middle) offer decent comfort with thick spongy padding, wide seat backs and long under-thigh support. The front seats have manual lumbar support adjustment which alleviates fatigue on longer journeys.
Storage is great throughout the car and both rows get two cup holders and two drink bottle holders, as well as storage bins in each door.
The glove box is large enough to hold a manual and some other bits and pieces but the middle console is on the small side. The large phone cubby that houses the wireless charging pad and two USB-C ports draws your attention away from this, though.
There is a drawer on the drivers side, as well as an umbrella holder in the driver's door and a brush (not sure what for) in the passenger door. A sunglasses holder rounds out the storage in the front.
The boot offers great capacity with its 640L (up from 600L for the sedan version) and the multiple luggage tie-down points and nets, as well as the ski-thru port open up your storage choices.
You miss out on a powered tailgate in the base model but the lid isn't hard to operate and you get a handy toggle to pull it down.
The upgraded tech is easy to use and looks great - always a good combo. There's not much in the way of customisation for the new multimedia touchscreen but the screen is responsive and the menus are easy to access.
There are also physical buttons which act as menu shortcuts and they're very helpful while on the go.
The satellite navigation and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto are simple to connect and the CarPlay maintained a steady connection for me.
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.
Skoda Octavia
There are three variants for the new Octavia wagon and the line-up begins with our test model, the Select grade, which is priced from $41,090 plus on-road costs. That said, Skoda is offering a national drive-away price of $43,990 at the time of writing. The Select is the first facelifted model to hit our market, with the rest following early next year.
Sadly, there aren’t all that many wagons left to compare the Octavia to and the nearest rival is the Mazda6 Sport wagon which is a smidge more affordable at $37,590 MSRP.
After that you have to jump up a few price brackets for a similarly sized wagon, like the Volvo V60 Ultra which sits at $74,990 MSRP.
The Skoda's facelift brings with it a host of new features that either used to be a part of an option pack or was only available on the top model.
The cabin now gets wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger with ventilation function and design tweaks to the dashboard, including an upgraded 13-inch multimedia screen (up from the previous 10-inch screen).
The safety sheet gets a look in, too, with the addition of rear collision warning, lane centering aid, emergency assist and adaptive cruise control with a stop and go function.
Otherwise the standard kit includes keyless start but annoyingly, not keyless entry (via a proximity key), satellite navigation, a 10-inch digital instrument cluster with upgraded software and dual-zone climate control. There are a total of five USB-C ports, including one mounted near the rearview mirror, rain-sensing wipers and dusk-sensing LED headlights.
For a base model, the Select offers great value for money.
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.
Skoda Octavia
Nothing has changed for the new Select base variant's engine and it's still a front-wheel drive with a smooth eight-speed automatic transmission.
The 1.4L four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine produces up to 110kW of power and 250Nm of torque, which easily moves the mid-sized wagon around and the Select can do a 0-100km/h sprint in 8.6-seconds.
It's not crazy powerful but it has it where it counts.
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.
Skoda Octavia
The beauty of a mid-sized wagon with the Select's engine is that you get a low official combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle fuel figure of 5.8L/100km! And after mostly urban driving my real-world average came in at 6.5L/100km, which is a great result.
Based on the combined fuel consumption cycle and the 45L fuel tank, you should see a theoretical driving range of up to 775km and just under 700km based on our test result. Which isn't too shabby for those families who want to do the annual road trip.
The Octavia only likes to drink the good stuff though and will accept a min 95 RON premium unleaded petrol.
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.
Skoda Octavia
The Select wagon is responsive enough with its power delivery but you get the occasional lag when accelerating from rest.
Other than that, it’s very easy to keep your speed consistent on hills and you still feel like you have some power in reserve when you have to put your foot down.
The steering is soft but accurate and feels more relaxed at lower speeds because of it. So not what you'd call sports-nimble but it has friendly handling for newbies and seasoned drivers.
Suspension is on the firmer side and you notice the worst of the bumps in the road but it’s a pretty comfortable ride overall. The road noise creeps in, even at lower speeds, and that may annoy some but it wasn’t a bother for us.
The visibility is excellent because of the wide windows and narrow pillars. Despite sitting low, you don’t feel like you’re a bug when you’re next to a big SUV at the lights.
The Octavia is an easy wagon to park with front and rear parking sensors, and a clear reversing camera that features dynamic guidelines.
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.
Skoda Octavia
The Octavia has an maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2019 and features eight airbags which is great for a family wagon and includes the newer front centre airbag.
The facelift sees some new safety features including rear collision warning, lane centering aid, emergency assist and adaptive cruise control with stop and go function.
Other standard safety items include blind-spot monitoring, driver monitoring and alert, safe exit warning, LED DRLs, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure/keeping aids, seatbelt warning and a reversing camera.
None of the safety features are intrusive for daily driving, which I always like and you can easily fit a couple of big child seats in the rear with the two ISOFIX child seat points and three top tether anchor points.
The Octavia has AEB with pedestrian, cyclist and car detection and is operational from 5.0 to 80km/h (up to 250km/h for car).
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.
Skoda Octavia
The Skoda Octavia is now offered with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty which is competitive for the class and you can pre-purchase a seven-year servicing pack for a flat $3650.
Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first and you get roadside assistance renewed if you service on schedule at an authorised dealer.