New Mini Countryman and new Volkswagen Tiguan vs Volvo XC40: costs

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

The Mini Countryman is the cheapest option if you plan to buy outright, with a list price that undercuts those of its rivals by a couple of grand. That remains the case after discounts if you’re prepared to haggle or buy online through our New Car Deals service.

The Countryman will also be the cheapest to own for private buyers over three years, mainly because it’s predicted to lose value at a slower rate than its rivals.

There were, however, some cracking PCP finance deals to be had with the Volvo XC40 at the time of writing, and these might tempt you to go down this route instead.

With the manufacturer contributing £4000 to the deposit on our Core model, this results in the lowest payments of £419 per month, compared with £502 for the Countryman and £551 for the Volkswagen Tiguan (which gets a much smaller deposit contribution of £750). In each case, this is based on a three-year deal with a £3600 deposit and a 10,000-mile annual limit.

For company car drivers, the cheaper Countryman’s lower benefit-in-kind tax rating means it costs the least per month when paying through a salary sacrifice,

‘The Countryman costs the least to buy outright and will be the cheapest to run for private buyers’ with the XC40 being £20 per month more than the Tiguan.

All three are pretty close when it comes to fuel costs, with the Tiguan’s real-world fuel economy figure of 38.1mpg edging ahead of the Countryman’s 37.2mpg and the XC40’s 35.6mpg on our test route.

Standard features include keyless ignition and cruise control on all of our contenders, but only the Countryman has keyless entry, a heated steering wheel and faux-leather upholstery. To keep things simple, there are just three option packs for the Countryman, while the Tiguan can be tailored to suit with numerous packs and individual options. The XC40 has fewer options, but you can specify things like larger wheels and a Climate Pack (£700) that includes heating for the steering wheel, outer rear seats and windscreen.

These iterations of the Countryman and Tiguan are too new to have featured in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, but the XC40 was down in 22nd place out of 34 models in the family SUV class. Mini ranked third in the brand league table (out of 32), while Volvo was ninth. Volkswagen finished lower down in 22nd place.

All three cars come with an average three-year warranty, although there’s no mileage limit with the Countryman, whereas the others are capped at 60,000 miles.

The Countryman and Tiguan haven’t yet been tested for safety by Euro NCAP. The XC40 achieved the maximum five-star rating when it was tested back in 2018, showing a good level of protection for adults in a frontal impact. Each car comes with plenty of active safety aids.

Used alternative

2022 Audi Q5 45 TFSI

For similar money to any of the other cars here, you could get something larger and more upmarket in the form of a used Audi Q5. With a smooth and punchy 261bhp mild hybrid petrol engine under the bonnet, it’s good to drive and supremely refined; it’s a wonderfully relaxing car on long journeys. Its interior is one of the best in the class: classy and full of top-notch materials.

<< Previous | Next: Our verdict >>

Page 4 of 5