You’re waking up on a Monday, but this isn’t a regular start to the week—you’ve booked a weeks’ worth a vacation time, and the next seven days are all yours. What to do with it? Well, load up that brand new MINI Countryman and take a little road trip down to your favorite spot in Big Pine Key, of course.
This is the first time you’ve taken ‘er out on the open road. Let’s make a little road diary, and show the folks out there why this is one of the best small SUVs out there—especially for a road trip.
First, We Need to Pack
The best way to ensure you get the most out of your road trip is to have a plan in place. Big Pine may only be about three hours from Coral Springs, but there’s no sense in messing around, and you’re excited to test out one of the features that first drew you to the Countryman: the cargo space.
With seating space for five and a trunk volume of 17.6 cubic feet, this model is officially the least miniature MINI—that’s right, it’s the most spacious out of the entire fleet. To literally top it off, you sprung for the roof rack for even more storage, so you can even bring your paddleboard.
The wife and kids are visiting the grandparents in Rhode Island though, so you’ve got room to fold those back seats down to make use of the full 47.6 cubes of total cargo space—lucky, because you’re gonna need to bring all the coolers you own to transport all the yellowtail you’re planning to bring back with you.
With all your clothes and coolers finally loaded in, it’s time for the fun to begin: let’s hit the road.
Out On the Road
It’s Friday, so you spent a half day working, and by the time you finish gathering supplies and getting ready for the trip, and it’s getting to be early evening. You might have gotten a late start on the trip, but at least you get to enjoy that glorious sunset while you drive.
Turning out onto the 869, you still can’t help but admire that signature MINI go-kart style of driving, made all the better by the ALL4 all-wheel drive, which exerts confident road grip. You might need it too, because you sprung for the John Cooper Works package. Named for the famous automaker who changed the face of racing, it comes with the souped-up TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder, and is capable of zero to 60 in under 5 seconds. The wife wanted the sensible plug-in hybrid Cooper Countryman, but you just can’t beat the feeling of that acceleration.
Despite its uproarious engine, the Countryman JCW still pulls a respectable 30 MPG, according to official sources, making this a small SUV with some of the best gas mileage.
Using the Apple CarPlay capacity, you throw on your favorite Spotify playlist and zip south, making it down to I-75 in record time. Before you know it, you’re past Miramar, then Hialeah Gardens, lakes and quiet suburbs zipping by on the right, before twisting through South Miami and breaking southwest before you finally join Highway 1. After that, a quick jaunt through the country is all it takes before you’re greeted by the sparkling waters of the Gulf. The sun sets as you cross the first bridge into Key Largo.
For the Long Haul
After a quick detour to stop by Arthur’s Island Kitchen, it’s time to complete the journey.
With the stars now shining down through the panoramic roof, you continue speeding down the 1 (not too fast, though—don’t need another ticket, do we?) The MINI navigation on the trademark circular display glows a soothing blue that reminds you of the ocean. At 8.8 inches, it’s another aspect of this car that isn’t so mini.
The acres of head and legroom mean you have no problem stretching out, putting this ride in the running for comfiest cars you’ve owned. Since it’s such an affordable luxury car, you decided to drop a little extra cheddar for the Iconic Trim 2.0— Jimi Hendrix’s signature squeal coming out of the Harmon Kardon premium sound system makes you feel like you’re at Woodstock ’69, but then you realize the crowd there probably didn’t have premium heated leather seats.
You realize, try as you might, you can’t help but push the pedal through the floor, so, finally, you begrudgingly relent and turn on the adaptive cruise control when you see the sign for Layton. One of your coworkers has a brother on the police force there, and he warned you they don’t mess around.
Your Countryman keeps perfect pace with the cars ahead of you as you make your way over Conch Key, past Sombrero Beach, and through Bahia Honda State Park. You can hear the waves lapping gently against the bridge supports as the moon drags the tide in, and you feel a little thrill, knowing you’ll be waking up to the ocean view tomorrow. You’ve almost made it.
Finally, We Arrive
The Overseas Highway curves north after crossing over Spanish Harbor Channel, signifying the end of your journey to the quaint island hamlet of Big Pine Key, a town of only about 5,000. Instead of following this curve, you hang a left instead onto Long Beach Drive and check into The Barnacle, a cute little bed and breakfast facing the Gulf. Even on a Friday night, Big Pine is pretty quiet by this hour, lacking the oversaturation of dive bars and nightlife you find on Key West, which lies just another half hour to the west.
Satisfied with your road trip in your sporty small SUV, you grab your clothes and head into the B&B, your mind alight with the week’s possibilities, and more confident than ever before that this is just the first of many adventures in your MINI Cooper Countryman.
One of the Best Compact SUVs Just Got Even Better
This doesn’t have to just be a fantasy. At Braman MINI of Miami, we have all sorts of MINI models available. If you’re looking for the best small luxury SUV in Miami, you need not look any further.
If you want to feel that signature rush that only a MINI can provide, give us a call at (786) 374-2201 to set up and appointment for a test drive, or stop on by our Miami MINI dealership located at 2060 Biscayne Boulevard.
If you’ve taken a road trip in your MINI Cooper recently, we’d love to hear about it, so let us know in the comments!
