Posts

2020 MINI Countryan Blackheath Launched – RM253,888 To Appeal To The Inner Goth

If you’ve ever had to hide your love of Minis due to their unashamedly loud & proud designs, you may be very excited to hear about this. MINI Malaysia has today announced that they will be making available just 48 units of the special Countryman Blackheath Edition which, as you guessed it, is inspired by the dark, brooding aesthetics of the Blackheath region of London.

In any case, the Blackheath is based on the Countryman Cooper S, and so it derives motivation from the same 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo mill, which sends the 192hp and 280Nm it generates to the front wheels via an 8-speed auto ‘box. The century sprint is wrangled in just 7.5-seconds, despite maintaining a miserly fuel economy rating of just 6.6L/100km. That low consumption figure is helped in part by a new drivetrain decoupling system, which works only in Mid & Green modes, that allows the Mini Blackheath to coast without hindrance.

Thanks to EEV incentives, the Blackheath retails at just RM253,888 in West Malaysia, while East Malaysia will receive it for RM256,852.50. That is, apparently, RM17,571 less than it would be without the EEV incentives, which is… helpful?

As it’s a special edition (the first of its kind for the Countryman here in Malaysia), there are a variety of aesthetic tweaks that set it apart from the pack. So there’s black trim for the headlights & taillights, the grille, the door handles, the badges, and even the ‘Countryman’ script on the tail. Even the bonnet stripes have been given a dark hue, finished in matte silver.

Down the side, the Blackheath rolls on 19-inch Circuit Spoke alloys, and sports a John Cooper Works aerodynamic bodykit for extra aggression. Grr.

The interior packs black headliner and sports seats which are, surprise, upholstered in Carbon Black Cross Punch leather upholstery. There’s more piano black throughout the cabin, though the ambient lighting offers 12 adjustable colours, though we suspect that’s mostly because there isn’t any literal black lighting available.

In the middle of the dash sits the 8.8-inch infotainment display, which runs a 12-speaker, 360-watt Harman/Kardon audio system. Connectivity is catered for via Apple Carplay only, with no support for Android Auto (yet). There’s also voice input available, powered by Mini, or by Siri if you have your iPhone hooked up.

Safety-wise, the Countryman Blackheath offers no changes over the Countryman Cooper S, and so you get the usual array of stability & traction controls, dynamic brake lights, ABS, EBD, electronic diff lock, auto hold function, driver drowsiness warning, reversing camera, runflat tyre with tyre pressure monitoring, airbags front and side, as well as head airbags for the four outer occupants. And there’s ISOFIX, of course.

You also get with the Countryman Blackheath the 4G-connected MINI Connected system, which includes Intelligent Emergency Call (it calls the emergency services in an accident), as well as MINI TeleServices. You also get the latest versions of MINI Connected app, which offers Concierge, MINI Online, as well as the Carplay we mentioned earlier. With MINI Online, you can check things like the car’s location, the fuel level, and other status updates of the car on your phone, wherever you might be. You know, in case you miss your MINI.

The Countryman Blackheath is covered by the same 4-year/unlimited mileage warranty, with free scheduled servicing for 4-years, as well as 5-years roadside assist.

Now might be a good time to come to the dark side.