We recently brought you the news of BMW starting the assembly of the Mini range in India instead of the CBU route to keep a tab on the price tag of its iconic range of cars and the company has quietly added another member to family. The latest entrant is the Mini Cooper D Countryman which is the first diesel powered Mini from the company. The diesel Countryman is available on BMW dealerships right way and is available in two variants to suit your needs.
The Mini Cooper D Countryman is available for Rs.25.6 lakhs and the Mini Cooper D Countryman High is on sale for Rs.28.9 lakhs woth both the prices reflecting ex-showroom prices, Mumbai. To achoeve this competitive price tag, both these models will be brought into India via the CKD route and assembled at the Chennai facility of the German Company. The iconic Mini range till now has had just the petrol powered Mini range in India on offer.
The heart of both the variants is the same 1.6 litre oil burner which has a maximum power output of 122PS with the peak torque being rated at 270Nm, making it quite the swift mover. BMW had recently launched the Mini One Countryman in India for Rs.23.5 lakhs which is also made via the CKD route. But the top end Mini, the Cooper S Countryman is still brought via the CBU route, primarily because the demand for the top end model is not high and it is the entry level variants which get the lion’s share of sales.
This launch comes right after Mercedes Benz previewed their upcoming A-Class at a private event in Mumbai. The Mercedes A-Class will be launched on the 30th of May and the Mini lineup will surely feel the heat of it. The absence of a diesel motor would have hurted the compsny big time but now it seems slightly better equipped to take on the competition. The difference between the two models will be the level of equipment they’ll offer. It’s the battle between the iconic car, the Mini and the modern one, the A-Class. In either case, a German wins.