It’s been so long since I’ve had a Mini test vehicle, I wasn’t even doing luggage tests yet. So it is certainly momentous that the Mini brand makes its luggage test debut with the biggest damn Mini ever,” the 2025 Mini Countryman. The last-generation Countryman wasn’t actually, um, mini, but this one is 5.1 inches longer than that. And therefore, it’s 13.1 inches longer than the original Mini Countryman that people harped on for being too damn big.
But this is a luggage test, and being too damn big has never been an issue. In fact, it could very well illuminate why Mini keeps embiggening the thing in the first place. Official cargo specs are indeed up massively, from 17.6 to 25 cubic feet with the back seat raised. Given BMW’s sketchy history of cargo volumes, however, I have no idea what exactly that’s measuring and if those are like-to-like measurements. And again, I didn’t test the last generation. As such, any comparisons will be kept to other subcompact luxury SUVs, but mostly the mechanically related BMW X1 that has a fraction more cargo space on paper.
Here is the cargo area. The length alone is enough of a cue that this sure is a different sort of Mini. It’s also a pretty boxy space, which is always good for a luggage test.
Now, there are two factors that will result in several tests here.
First, it has a rigid cargo cover. That means I’ll be testing with and without it in place.
Second, there is an enormous underfloor cargo space that expands the trunk to a tremendous degree. It’s also covered by a floorboard that props itself up so you don’t have to leave it outside of the car.
The BMW X1 has basically the same underfloor space, but in the vehicle I tested, it was filled with a spare tire. That’s a $250 standalone option in the Mini.
As such, I will also be testing with and without this underfloor space to show how much cargo space you lose by opting for the security of that spare tire. I also strongly suspect that the electric Mini Countryman will lack this space and the spare tire.
As with every Luggage Test, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two black roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller green roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife’s fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).
Test 1: Cargo Cover and High Floor/Spare Tire
This would be the four biggest bags (the blue one is behind the stacked medium black ones). This is slightly worse than the X1 could manage (all but one of those medium bags), and the best I can tell, it’s because the Mini’s cargo area is about 2 inches shorter in length.
I should probably note that the cargo cover couldn’t actually be secured when the bags were stacked like this, but it was still in the car and still hiding your stuff from prying eyes, so whatever.
Test 2: No Cargo Cover and High Floor/Spare Tire
Removing the cargo cover let me stack the green bag up top. I don’t love this, but the big pop-up head restraints keep it from flying forward and there’s still an OK amount of rear visibility. That would disappear if I put a bag up top on the right side, though it couldn’t be the fancy bag. The liftgate wouldn’t close with it there.
For comparison, the X1 could fit all the bags. Again, this is because its added length allowed for a different Tetris combination that allowed everything to fit and maintain rear visibility.
Test 3: Cargo Cover and Low Floor/No Spare Tire
Now we’re talking. This is all the bags but the fancy bag. This is excellent for a subcompact SUV.
Test 4: No Cargo Cover and Low Floor/No Spare Tire
This is all the bags, plus a decent amount of space left over for some other type of bag. You could fit something at the end there, or put the big gray bag on its belly and put something on top. That’s a heckuva lot of space.
Now, this doesn’t come close to the segment-best Mercedes GLB. It’s also almost certainly not as good as an X1 without the spare tire. But, I strongly suspect this is about on par with the Volvo XC40 (though easier to load) and better than everything else in the segment. Even with the spare tire, this is a very useful cargo area … and not especially mini.
