{"id":84832,"date":"2026-02-11T07:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T12:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84832"},"modified":"2026-02-11T07:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T12:20:14","slug":"mini-diesel-countryman-mount-fuji-photoshoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84832","title":{"rendered":"MINI Takes The Diesel Countryman To Mount Fuji"},"content":{"rendered":"

Increasingly strict emissions regulations have forced automakers to drop diesel engines from the small car segment. While the Countryman may seem like an exception, it belongs to a different category, as it\u2019s far from small. At 4.4 meters (174.5 inches) long, the biggest MINI ever is a full-fledged compact vehicle by modern standards.<\/p>\n

Even so, the \u201cU25\u201d generation is likely the last Countryman to offer a diesel engine. Given the European Union\u2019s push for lower emissions, it\u2019s probably the final diesel-powered MINI ever. To remind us that the Countryman D is still around, the BMW-owned automaker took the diesel crossover to Japan for a new photoshoot.<\/p>\n

The not-so-mini MINI appears in Blazing Blue<\/a> with the Favoured trim level. It rides on arguably one of the nicest wheel designs offered by the Oxford-based marque: the 18-inch, two-tone \u201cSlide Spoke.\u201d As you can easily tell, whoever configured this Countryman clearly splurged on options. The crossover also features a contrasting Vibrant Silver finish for the roof and mirror caps.<\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Eagle-eyed readers will notice the right-hand-drive layout, which makes sense given the Japanese license plate. MINI took the Countryman D<\/a> to Mount Fuji. Japan is one of the few remaining countries outside the EU where diesels are still relevant in 2026. On the Old Continent, they\u2019re a dying breed, accounting for just 7.7% of new vehicle sales last year, according to data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers\u2019 Association. Diesels were outsold by both plug-in hybrids (9.6% share) and pure EVs (19.5% share).<\/p>\n

Under the Countryman D\u2019s hood is the familiar B47 engine found in BMW\u2019s compact cars. The turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder features a mild-hybrid setup and produces 161 horsepower and 400 Newton-meters (295 pound-feet) of torque. It\u2019s an excellent choice for mile crunchers who primarily drive outside the city.<\/p>\n

MINI no longer offers a plug-in hybrid Countryman, so if efficiency is your priority, the choice comes down to the diesel or the fully electric model<\/a>. However, many customers don\u2019t have that option, as the diesel variant is forbidden fruit in several markets, including the United States.<\/p>\n

The Countryman D can sip just 4.6 liters per 100 kilometers (51.1 miles per gallon) in the WLTP combined cycle. As you\u2019d expect, it\u2019s neither particularly quick nor especially fast: 0 to 62 mph (100 km\/h) takes 8.5 seconds, and top speed is 129 mph (208 km\/h). If performance is what you\u2019re after, the hot John Cooper Works<\/a> is the better fit.<\/p>\n

Although the Countryman is the last diesel MINI standing, parent company BMW isn\u2019t abandoning diesel engines. The next-generation X5 and the 7 Series facelift arriving this year will still offer diesels, as will the 5 Series facelift and the new X7 when they debut in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Increasingly strict emissions regulations have forced automakers to drop diesel engines from the small car segment. While the Countryman may seem like an exception, it belongs to a different category, as it\u2019s far from small. At 4.4 meters (174.5 inches) long, the biggest MINI ever is a full-fledged compact vehicle by modern standards. Even so, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/84833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}