What Kiwis will see from the spread laid out in Australia won’t be revealed until next year.

KIWIS keen to discover if the new third-generation Mini Countryman will reach here in the same guises as it will enter Australia are set to be left hanging for some yet.

The two markets often share product variants and regional management - including the public relations effort contacted for comment for this story - operates from Melbourne.

Countryman release timing for here also seems to gell with what’s going on across the Tasman.

However, for now, it’s only the neighbour who is getting the skinny what’s coming and for how much.

The nub of that share is that the car is arriving across the Tasman with major upgrades for a price increase.

Potentially, that might be also be the case for here. But at the moment it’s all conjecture.

The response from Mini’s communications department was simply that nothing will be shared with us until 2024. So, next month at the earliest.

Says a brand spokesperson from across the ditch: ‘It is already public knowledge that the Mini Countryman C and JCW (John Cooper Works) is confirmed for quarter one 2024 for NZ. We have also confirmed the (electric) Mini Cooper E and SE, and Mini Countryman S, E and SE is coming Q3 2024.

“We won’t have anything further to share until 2024.”

Unveiled internationally in September, the third generation Countryman is quite a bit larger than the current type - to point where, at 4433mm in length, 1843mm wide and 1656mm tall, and riding on a 2692mm wheelbase, it’s the biggest in class. 

Nonetheless Mini still positions it as a small SUV.

In Australia, the price of entry has risen by $1226 ($A1140), with the Countryman C Core kicking in at $NZ53,798/ $A49,990 plus on-road costs.

The one-model-up Cooper C Classic costs $NZ57,027/$A52,990 plus on-road costs – $NZ4455/$A4140 more than the previous Cooper Classic, which was the entry-level model. Mini charges $NZ60,256/$A55,990 plus on-road costs for the Countryman C Favoured.

In all-wheel-drive form, the Mini Countryman S All4 starts from $NZ63,484/$A58,990 plus on-road costs (Classic), before rising to $NZ66,713/$A61,990 plus on-road costs (Favoured) and $NZ68,865/$A63,990 plus on-road costs (JCW Sport).

All versions have LED headlights, a 9.4-inch round OLED infotainment touchscreen – housing wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities – and a centre-mounted gear selector.

Petrol powertrain choices are two turbocharged petrol engines – a 1.5-litre three-cylinder (producing 115kW/230Nm) which drives the front wheels, and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder (developing 150kW/300Nm) with that all-wheel-drive system.

The sole transmission choice is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.