Is it possible to call any MINI the perfect highway car? In a word, no. But our 2023 MINI Countryman Untamed Edition may just be the perfect highway MINI. Recently we’ve been pilling on the highway miles in our Countryman and have come away impressed with ability to effortlessly consume 100s of miles at a time.

For starters this is a car that is well screwed together with no rattles or noises after 8,000 miles. But that’s not surprising – MINIs tend to be well built these days. The real surprise is the comfort that the F60 offers at speed over long distances. In 8th gear at well over 80 mph (where legal), our Countryman feels hardly taxed and certainly relaxed. Not something we’ve ever said about any of our previous seven MINIs.

mini countryman

Thanks to the longer wheelbase than most MINIs it also consumes broken pavement and potholes much more elegantly than any MINI before it.

Efficiency? We’re seeing anywhere from 30-33 mpg depending on the highway speeds we’re able to achieve. That’s not class leading but for an all wheel drive performance car it’s more than respectable.

Issues? Other than a seat tether that came off recently (and was promptly fixed) there’s nothing to report. Yes the ride would be nicer with non-runflats and we’d love to have optioned Adaptive Cruise but it’s hard to fault this car as a daily driver.