► Changing times: a Mini with a big boot!
► We live with the Countryman JCW
► Read month 1 here

Pause for a moment to consider the notion of a photographer being able to sit comfortably in the boot of a Mini. A Mini! Okay, so Jordan Butters is a slender fellow, and the Mini Countryman isn’t any old Mini, but it still signifies changing times.

More usefully, the roominess of the car has been a boon as my son’s leg has been in plaster for a few weeks. The boot swallows his wheelchair easily once it’s collapsed. And the 40:20:40 split rear seats have allowed us to get his zimmer frame crammed in as well.

Although the Countryman is 130mm longer and 80mm taller than the old one, the boot is exactly the same size; the extra space has all gone into the rear legroom.

At 4444mm long, the latest-era Mini Countryman is no supermini: it’s bigger on the outside so it’s more useful on the inside.

Logbook: Mini Countryman JCW All4

Price: £41,575 (£47,375 as tested)
Performance: 1998cc turbocharged four-cylinder, 296bhp, 5.4sec 0-62mph, 155mph
Efficiency: 35.3mpg (official), 33.1mpg (tested), 180g/km CO2
Energy cost: 21.0p per mile
Miles this month: 2325
Total miles: 5832