Production will be limited to 100 units only.
Having had little done to it since debuting on local soil just under two years ago, BMW has unveiled a new off-road inspired version of the Mini Countryman called the Rugged.
Available on the entry-level C and flagship Cooper S models, but not on the all-electric Cooper SE, the Rugged mainly comes with cosmetic changes in a limited edition capacity of 100 units.
Changes outside
Aesthetically, these include 18-inch Frozen Midnight Y-spoke alloys wrapped in all-terrain tyres, a mountain decal on the C-pillar, and a choice of four colours: Nanuq White, Melting Silver, Legend Grey and Smokey Grey
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As an option, a number of accessories can be fitted, namely roof rails, a roof box or a roof mounted bicycle carrier.
No special interior touches
Inside, no changes, apart from all weather floor mats, have been taken place, with the same being applicable to the list of standard features.
This means the Countryman continues to have items such as the 9.4-inch OLED infotainment display, Head-Up Display, a wireless smartphone charger, dual-zone climate control and the driver mode selector with four settings: Green, Core, Trail and Go-Kart.
Petrol power only
Up front, BMW has kept the same engine choices as the normal Countryman C and Cooper S, namely the 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol and the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol.
While both are matched to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, in the C, the unit develops 115kW/230Nm and 150kW/300Nm in the Cooper S.
As before, the C is front-wheel drive and will do 0-100 km/h in nine seconds before topping out at 212 km/h.
Fitted with the ALL4 all-wheel drive system, the Cooper S Rugged will get from 0-100 km/h in 7.4 seconds, and reach a v-max of 228 km/h.
Price
Now available, the Rugged can be specified on the Classic trim level of the C and Cooper S, or on the Favoured version of the latter.
Included in its price tag is a five-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
- Countryman C Classic Rugged – R833 903
- Countryman Cooper S Classic Rugged – R953 928
- Countryman Cooper S Favoured Rugged – R989 938
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