2013 Mini Countryman Gets Rear Bench as Standard, Bucket Seats a No-Cost Option

Since the brand’s revival more than 10 years ago, Minis always have been quirky little cars. Since the launch of the Countryman in Geneva some two-and-a-half years ago, little isn’t exactly the best description for the company’s lineup anymore. But with the brand’s insistence on bucket seats in the back, the quirk was still there. But a three-across bench seat was added to the option sheet for the 2012 model year, and now the bench will replace the buckets as standard equipment for 2013. The quirky rear bucket seats will be available as a no-cost option.

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• Long-Term Road Test Wrap-Up: 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4
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Mini said it made the decision because of the high take-rate of the bench-seat option. Considering the bench allows for one more small child or a mid-size pet to be stuffed in the back seat, we can understand the demand. But we also understand that a regulation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requiring specific rear-seat widths for three-seat benches was changed in 2010—under the old rules, the Countryman didn’t qualify for a bench; under the new rules, it does. Armed with a permit to carry three in the back, we wouldn’t be surprised if Mini does away with the twin-seat setup. So for you Countryman lovers with a rear bucket-seat fetish, get them while you can. They’re probably not going to be around forever.

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Jim Hall Duncan Hamilton Lewis Hamilton David Hampshire Sam Hanks