Dag, That’s Spendy: Mini JCW Countryman to Start at $35,550

Mini has released pricing on the newest addition to its performance lineup, the John Cooper Works Countryman. Mini's hot hatch crossover will start production this fall and go on sale shortly thereafter for a not-insignificant $35,550. While expensive for something its size, the JCW Countryman nevertheless slots just below the convertible and above the coupe in the Works lineup. Points in its favor: It's the only way to get the John Cooper Works go-fast goodies in a traditional five-door body and with all-wheel drive, which is standard—having four driven wheels certainly helped mitigate the torque steer typical of its brethren when we drove prototypes last winter. And relative to the coupe and convertible, the Countryman occupies a better perch on the pound-per-dollar scale we Americans traditionally use to guide vehicle purchases. Comparison Tests: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth vs. Mini John Cooper Works Official Photos and Info: 2013 Mini John Cooper Works GP Hatchback Instrumented Test: 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe Outside of the Mini showroom, the JCW 'Man is priced almost identically to the four-door $35,385 Volkswagen Golf R, which also comes with a six-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive. It's also priced similarly to any number of entry luxury sedans. This particular Countryman also ushers in some changes for the JCW lineup, namely a revised version of Mini's 1.6-liter turbo four and the first available automatic transmission. The quickest Countryman also can be fitted with 19-inch lightweight aluminum wheels, black or red leather-trimmed sport seats and interior trim bits, and red stripes, but no prices have been released yet for these items, nor has a (surely long) list of additional options. If you're interested, we'll simply advise that you go easy with the checkboxes. Read full story » from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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