The tiny brand of MINI is currently experiencing sales figures so spectacularly poor they verge on the comical. To put the nine-month total of 21,862 MINI deliveries in perspective, BMW’s enormous, three-row luxury SUV, the X7, sold almost the same number of units (21,769) during the same period. The X3 and X5 models, meanwhile, outsold the entire MINI USA lineup by more than double. This is the context for the brand’s latest offering, the 2026 Countryman S ALL4 Oxford Edition.
Introduced as a clear-cut strategy to simply move units, and priced $4,000 less than the Classic Style Signature Plus trim, the Oxford Edition is a desperate yet fiscally responsible attempt to lure in budget-conscious consumers.
Priced at an MSRP of $34,900, this special Countryman bundles together a generous amount of desirable extras that should have probably been standard all along. Buyers get tinted glass, active driver assistance systems, and a predictable monochromatic theme. And so, black mirror caps, a black roof, and 18-inch black Asteroid Spoke wheels. Color options include the bold Blazing Blue, the surprisingly basic Nanuq White, and the classically racy Chili Red.
Mechanically, the Countryman S ALL4 Oxford Edition retains the least exciting of the available powertrains. It pushes a modest 241 HP and 400 Nm of torque through the standard all-wheel-drive system. This setup delivers a perfectly adequate 0-60 mph sprint in 6.2 seconds. For real performance, customers could opt for the electric Countryman SE. It boasts a punchier dual-motor setup with 308 HP, achieving 60 mph in 5.4 seconds.
But the real tragedy of the MINI brand’s current struggle is the self-inflicted wound of politics and platform sharing. The fully electric Cooper and the handsome new Aceman are currently barred from the USA market. Thanks to tariffs imposed by the administration, importing these China-made, zero-emission models makes little financial sense. The Aceman, designed to boost MINI USA sales, is stuck in limbo. It’s leaving the brand to peddle slightly discounted Countryman models.
