Design language

How to design cars for a global brand

Mark Tisshaw — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:54:20 GMT

A global approach to selling cars is one that brings with it a whole host of problems for the design department. Just ask General Motors design chief Ed Welburn.

GM has long been a worldwide brand, but only now in his ninth year in the job is Welburn succeeding in the seemingly straightforward task of getting all Chevrolet models to wear the same badge.

“We’ve only just got on top of the Chevrolet bow tie,” he told me in GM’s hometown of Detroit last week. “There were some countries that had their own design… There were different colours, shapes, sizes; uniting all the Chevrolets around the world with the same bowtie sounds simple, but it’s not easy.”

Chevrolet’s announcement in Detroit that it would be letting younger buyers influence its designs may end up giving Welburn one less thing to worry about, given he has to oversee the design of everything from Korean city cars to full-size American trucks in his job.

“I like it,” Welburn said on the new marketing/design strategy. “It’s not new to do this kind of research… what’s new and interesting is the dialogue we’re getting back. It’s richer and deeper.”

So, were the two Detroit concepts a glimpse into the future of Chevy designs? “We can’t just afford to go out there and play and not deliver,” said Welburn. “Chevy must connect with young people, this is very important for the future. Maybe we’ll make this, maybe we won’t; maybe there’s something even better in the design studio. What’s important is that we connect with young people.”

Welburn believes Chevrolet design is only now beginning to have “energy”. “There was a time not that long ago when Chevrolets were a commodity, and overly practical,” he said. “All that changed with the Camaro concept. That lit a fire in the company for spirited designs. Every Chevy since has taken that energy.”

But Welburn believes his biggest impending challenge (post bow-tie) is getting real market differences between GM products, without ending up with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ face.

“We can’t just take a used Opel to Brazil, take the badges off, put a bow tie on and all of a sudden it’s a Chevy. I want to end up with something with a little more personality than what VW does...”

Volkswagen wings it

Hilton Holloway — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:34:00 GMT

Last week I got to see the new Skoda Citigo in the flesh. Skoda's chief designer Josef Caban, boasted that the Citigo not only had different nose and tail styling, but also had a completely different bodyside pressing to its VW Up sister car.

I looked hard at the Skoda and, aside from the obvious difference in the shape of the rear window, thought that the two cars looked remarkably similar. Indeed, the distinctive chamfer running along the top of the door - which gives the car a distinct flavour in the metal - is the same on both cars. Why did Skoda use the same strong styling feature as VW?

                                 Skoda Citigo

Then the penny dropped. It seems all three of the VW Group city cars - including Seat's new Mii - use the same front wing pressing. In theory, that shouldn't be a huge hurdle to overcome when trying to make the cars look as individual as possible.

However, this front wing has a very distinct chamfered styling feature running around the base of the A-pillar. This means the wing's chamfer has to be repeated down the top of the door skin and, inevitably, into the rear quarter panel.

                                     Seat Mii

Even worse, the corporate wing's headlamp cutout has dictated part of the Skoda's headlamp shape, much of the front corner of the bumper and the ridge along the bottom half of the door skin. The latter, as you can see in the picture, is dictated by the edge pressed around the wheel arch.

All in all, the decision to use the same front wing has completely undermined the room for stylistic differentiation. All that effort that went into Skoda changing the side pressing and designing its own front bumper was undermined.

Still, VW has form in this area. Remember the Mk3 Golf and the headlamp's rather odd straight outside edge? That was a consequence of VW bosses insistence on using the same front wing on both the Golf and Jetta.

                                 Volkswagen Up

Mondeo goes global

Hilton Holloway — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:05:20 GMT

Before the Ford Evos concept was unveiled at Frankfurt, I attended the press event in Berlin. It was particularly useful because, unlike in the Frankfurt scrum, it was possible to pin down Ford’s design bosses on a one-to-one basis.

If you can ignore the impressive gullwing arrangement and the coupe layout, much of what’s left is Ford’s new Mondeo. The real thing will be unveiled at the Detroit show next January, where this car replaces the Mazda 6-based Ford Fusion on the US market.

Although the Evos is identifiably a development of the current Ford design language, it has also flipped some ideas through 180 degrees. Gone are the huge headlamps of Ford’s current models, (described in Berlin by Ford design global boss J Mays as being of ‘absurd proportions’) replaced by super-slim ‘laser cut’ lamps.

Much of the swooping surfaces on the side of the car, including the ‘light catch’ along the bottom of the door and the hump over the rear wheel, will make it onto the Mk4 Mondeo.

‘The market is littered with manufacturers of the mainstream, but the mainstream customer is visually premium’ Mays explained, also promising a ‘strong technical interior’.

‘Visually premium’ customers are those of us exposed to top-level product design such as that pioneered by Apple and now the minimum requirement for the world of digital media.

I suggest to Mays that Ford was guilty of chopping and changing its design language every few years. Ford was very influenced by the restrained ‘bauhaus’ design seen on the Audi TT and then on mainstream products such as the 1997 Passat and Audi A6. What he calls a ‘teutonic phase’ – which sired the Focus 2 and previous Fiesta – was ‘too rational.’

Kinetic design – which created the current Fiesta and Focus – was, he says, intended to reflect the much-admired dynamic abilities of Ford’s cars. However, Mays clearly feels that the current Focus probably goes a little too far. ‘Premium design doesn’t need to scream’ he told the assembled hacks.

The upshot seems to be that Ford’s new global design DNA is trying to carve a neat line between the quality signals given off by classic ‘teutonic’ styling and the desire to incorporate fluid, sensuous, surfaces. It’s interesting to see how, by contrast, Peugeot’s new 508 is going for the full Teutonic look to try and signal long-term quality. But then the French car isn’t designed to sell globally and has probably got more to prove.

Incidentally, while at the unveil, an amusing thought struck me. The name Mondeo was created from the Latin ‘Mundus’ which roughly means ‘world’. This is because the first, 1993, Mondeo was also intended to be a global vehicle. So calling this car a ‘global Mondeo’ is a bit like calling it a ‘global world’ car.

A post modern weekend in Stuttgart

Hilton Holloway — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:39:00 GMT

The last three weeks have gone by in something of a blur. The run-in to the Frankfurt motor show inevitably means trips to the Continent for an early view and private briefing on some of the star exhibits. I spent a whole week in Germany, with a flight every day, in order to get up close and personal with the new 911, new Ford Evos concept and the Fisker Surf.

There are some considerable fringe benefits, however, one of which was dinner at the new(ish) Porsche museum in Stuttgart. As impressive as the new 991-series 911 is, it was very hard not be distracted by the exhibits and very frustrating not to have more time to look around.

             Ultra-rare Porsche 918 in the Stuttgart museum

I did manage a quick look around and got lucky, finding three of my all-time favourite oddities parked next to each other. As an ex-914 owner (not for very long, admittedly) I was delighted to see the ultra-rare 918. From the outside, it looked like a plain-jane early 914, but under the skin was a water-cooled, 3.0-litre, flat-eight engine.

With 296bhp on tap, and far better handling than a period 911, it’s a great pity that only two were made, though one was given to Ferdinand Porsche as a birthday present. I’m a big supporter of the 914 which, for a long period, was airbrushed out of Porsche history, despite sharing much of its running gear with the 911 and being the fastest-selling Porsche until the 1990s. (Incidentally, anybody know what happened to CTV 81K, my old 914?).

It’s easy to forget just how bad things were for Porsche at the end of the 1980s. In the UK, sales slumped 63 per cent in less than a year. The Boxster concept was a 1993 back-to-basics proposal that marked the beginning of a new era for the maker. Seeing it in the flesh for the first time was a surprise. It is remarkably dainty and, surely, a pointer at the size of the upcoming ‘baby Boxster’.

            Boxster concept helped to revitalise Porsche

Easily the highlight of the evening, however, was the made Panamericana concept, rumoured to have been produced for Ferry Porsche’s 80th birthday in 1989. I was a student when it appeared and was blown away by it. Truth is, I’m still in awe of it.

        The Panamericana concept from the late 1980s

You might argue that the beach-buggyesque Panamericana was a fine example of the Post Modernism, a movement which had a great love of bright colours (check out the pink zip that held on the Panamericana’s roof), whimsy and a cartoonish take on high-tech.

           Note the pink zip on the Panamericana's roof

The combination of this museum and the nearby Staatsgalerie (another prime Post Modern building) make a weekend in Stuttgart a compelling proposition.

Will people accept Audi's interior design revolution?

Chas Hallett — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:15:00 GMT

Bumped into Audi’s chief designer Stefan Sielaff the other day. As you do.

Anyway Herr Sielaff is an incredibly interesting chap, especially when it comes to assessing how our cars are going to change in the future.

Read more on Audi's all-new A3

He’s especially passionate about car interiors. Not that surprising when you consider his employer perhaps, but he reckons that cabins are going to change, largely because of what current and future technology allows.

Stefan revealed that he and his team are even beginning to wonder whether cars need a light switch anymore. Automatic lights are now so good and so commonplace that the rotary dial or wand controls are probably items that we could dispense with.

The bigger picture though is one where drivers have far more information in their eyeline, either through head up displays or far more complex binnacle information.

That means the traditional displays for heating, entertainment and all other functions currently located in the centre of the dash could easily be dispensed with - freeing up the dash to be simpler, more restrained and much lighter.

Sielaff has a worry though. And that’s whether we’ll take to such a radical departure from what has gone before. Despite increasing complexities, the dashboard as we know it has been similar for decades. And it’s going to take a big leap and lots of customer testing before a mainstream maker like Audi is prepared to take such a risk. After all, just digital speedo readouts are routinely rejected by customers.

Or is there now such complexity and functionality needed that a rethink like Audi’s design department is proposing is necessary to avoid overload? Interesting to see if it ever makes production.

Is this the most tasteless car in history?

Steve Sutcliffe — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:12:34 GMT

Just got sent a press release that reads: “G-POWER is proud to present one of the world’s most powerful BMW X6 M models - the X6 M TYPHOON S”

I was wondering whether it wasn’t some kind of wind up, sent to me by a colleague in Australia who, for some reason, thinks it’s quite amusing to photoshop 36in wheels on to Mercs and BMWs and point out how lacking in taste us Europeans are compared with your average Queenslander.

But no, the G-POWER X6 M TYPHOON S is for real, and it has 725bhp, 655lb ft and a top speed of around 190mph to prove it. It’ll also do 0-62mph in 4.2sec apparently, and costs about 13 grand more than your regular old run-of-the-mill £82k X6M.

What on earth will they think of next as a means of separating the over-paid, under-endowed louts of this world from their inherited gazillions?

What's not to like about the mini Mini? (Apart from the name...)

Chas Hallett — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:56:26 GMT

Calm down, calm down. I must admit I’m surprised by the amount of mud being slung at the Mini Rocketman on the forums.

I really like it and can’t wait to crawl all over it at next week’s Geneva show. It’s exactly the sort of car that Mini should be making.

Okay, it’s lardier than the Issigonis original but modern crash regulations, larger customers and changing buyer expectations means that BMW will never come out with a car quite like that. But as a modern interpretation it’s close enough I’d say.

I’m not an apologist for Mini either. I can understand the need for the Countryman but don’t really like the execution. I can’t stand the electric scooters and I hate the slightly naïve way in which Germans seem to be interpreting British culture - the name Rocketman for a start - and the silly associations with the swinging sixties – launches in Carnaby Street and the like.

Modern British design has come a long way since then but BMW seems to want to set it in aspic. But I do think that the Rocketman should go on sale as soon as possible. Not with that name though, of course.

Anything you'd like to ask Mazda's chief designer?

Jamie Corstorphine — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:40:00 GMT

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the Mazda MX-5. To celebrate Mazda organised a 4hr endurance race in Italy – consisting of teams from throughout the world, one of which included our own Matt Prior.

Mazda must have been happy with the result, because it’s repeating the event this year – with the small difference that the race is taking place on a frozen lake in Sweden and I’m one of the competitors.

The excuse this time? MX-5 total production has now exceeded 900,000. Apparently a Guinness World Record for a roadster.

The race is today, and currently we’ve qualified fourth, and beyond the amusement of racing a rear-wheel-drive car on ice, fitted with skinny spiked tyres, is that one of my team mates is Maeda-san, Mazda’s chief designer.

Apart from being a complete petrol-head, he’s also responsible for a new design direction at Mazda. The second example of which is going to be at Geneva – a concept mid-size SUV, but it's a close-to-production CX-5.

So far I’ve discovered he’s a fan of small cars – he’d like Mazda to produce a car below the 2, and is considering whether the next-generation MX-5 should be nearer in size to the original.

Anyway, if you’ve got any questions on Mazda design (other than what exactly happened with the new 5) I can ask on your behalf during the driver changes.

I’ll be posting updates on our progress in the race on Twitter; I’m @JamieatAutocar.

Five-door Evoque makes sense

Steve Cropley — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:38:42 GMT

I’m really surprised how much the three and five-door Range Rover Evoques differ when you see them in the flesh, given how much commonality there is between the models.

Soon as I clapped eyes on the original concept, it came across as a completely new kind of Range Rover, amazingly stylish for something as belt-and-braces as an off-roader. But I fully expected the three-door layout to go by the board, just as the old Range Stormer concept did when it foreshadowed the RR Sport.

It’s a remarkable thing, much to be valued by car lovers, that this concept has made it into production. Not many years ago, car makers were in the business of juicing us up royally with amazing concepts, then producing something much quieter and usually much more ungainly.

Land Rover is right, however, to accompany the Evoque three-door with a (probably bigger-selling) five-door, because the two-wheel-drive, drive-to-school market has been ignored for far too long in Gaydon.

The five-door, amazingly, has a look all its own. It puts you in mind of the full-size RR, only better.

In fact, as we were standing in the studio, looking at the five-door, there was a suggestion – I’m not saying from whom – that the next Range Rover flagship might have quite a few overtones of the five-door Evoque! It’ll be pretty good if it does.

Where is Mini's UK design studio?

Julian Rendell — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:30:00 GMT

Fascinating evening in Soho last night absorbing Mini’s left-of-field scooter concepts, with a chance to talk to BMW’s talented design boss Adrian van Hooydonk.

Anyone in the area for the evening might have spotted evidence of the event — a stream of visitors into the Phonica record shop in Poland Street, which is crammed with rare vinyl and whose earthy basement was given over to the reveal.

Read more on Mini's UK design plans and the scooter concepts

Personally, I think the idea of a two-wheel Mini is okay. Britain has a rich heritage of ‘bikes and BMW, Honda and Suzuki successfully combine two- and four-wheel designs. Why not Mini?

But the general feeling on the night was that the designs presented were disappointing because they looked just like carbon copies of Vespas and Lambrettas. Van Hooydonk even admitted that “we don’t expect Vespa to like them”.

In a major sense they are true to Mini’s design heritage, which stems from that era when Italian scooters were motorising post-war Italy. And much of Mini’s heritage imagery — enthusiastically exploited by BMW — overlaps with ‘60 mods, whose transport of choice was/is a tweaked Lambretta.

But with BMW’s vast design resource, engineering and management skill, surely more innovative designs could have been penned for the 21st century?

The Mini scooters even looked bloated around the pillion and engine bay, in the way that the new Mini is a much-enlarged version of the Issigonis original. Van Hooydonk explained that this was deliberate: “It’s a kind of British bulldog, beefy feel to the design.”

The details are true to the Mini design palette — large circular speedo, low-set round-ish headlight and chrome finish on the front fairing. “These are our design language,” said van Hooydonk.

And he pointed out that feedback from various designers at last night’s event was “very positive”. You can’t ignore BMW’s brilliant commercial record in making new Mini a global sales success — so maybe these scooters are destined to be a sure-fire sales hit.

Interestingly, he also alluded to British design houses — refusing to name names — who are helping Mini.

But I still think that Mini needs more British design input — specifically an advanced design studio in London and more British designers in Munich — to keep Mini on the design straight and narrow.

Bentley and Rolls-Royce, for example, have international design staffs, but based in the UK and interpreting global design needs very successfully.

To me too many of Mini’s brand and design themes are inspired by a German view of Britishness, which is threatening to undermine Mini’s fundamental brand foundations.

Ford's global gamble

Hilton Holloway — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:07:26 GMT

When I saw the Mondeo’s recent nip-and-tuck it struck me just how similar it now looks to the US-market Ford Taurus.

Although the two cars have very little in common, Ford is gently easing us towards the next-generation Mondeo, which will, like the new Focus, be a single model sold around the world.

Ford’s US arm has the lead responsibility for the next global Mondeo and so has to turn out a car that will be well received everywhere from New York to old York. Like the Focus, the styling will also have to be common the world over.

Some of the industry’s crystal ball gazers are arguing that design tastes are becoming increasingly globalised.

The rise of Apple as a vendor of cutting edge product design and the ubiquity of the mobile phone has convinced some that we are seeing a harmonizing of global taste for big ticket items.

The mass car makers certainly hope so. Premium makers have long benefited from being able to sell, without modification, the same vehicles all over the world.

Attempts to do this with mass-maker cars have never been too successful. GM tried in the early 1980s with the Cavalier/J-platform and Chrysler with cars derived from the Hillman Avenger. (Ever heard of the Plymouth Cricket? Me neither).

Usually, these projects foundered because of the extensive changes need to meet US regulations and the production problems of local assembly.

Ford made the most serious attempt at a modern world car with the 1993 Mondeo, which also sold in the US as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique. The clue was in the name (supposedly derived from Mundus, the Latin for ‘world’) and the project code, CDW27, signifing a C/D-sized World car.

Despite being a huge hit in Europe, the first Mondeo was a flop in the US. Its compact interior dimension were often blamed. Today, European cars have, at least, grown in size to match the US norm.

The US engineers on the next-generation Mondeo project have not only got to successfully replace the current Fusion and Taurus sedans for the US market, but also meet specific European tastes such as creating a convincing Mondeo estate and, most importantly, ensuring the handling remains to European tastes.

It’ll be interesting to see how Ford US manages to hit the Euro spot from a country where chasing the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry is the domestic automaker’s national sport.

Will the next Clio look as good as the DeZir concept?

Matt Saunders — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:31:00 GMT

The Renault DeZir concept is about as seductive as show cars get. When you see this 4.2-metre, all-electric, mid-engined sports car in the metal, as I did recently, you can’t help but be impressed. It’s that good looking.

And you can’t help but wonder why Renault doesn’t put it into production as soon as possible.

See Autocar's exclsuive studio pics of the stunning Renault DeZir concept

When you really think about it, of course, familiar questions loom into view. How and where would they make it? And who’d buy an £80,000 electric Renault sports car, after all? The answers are predictable enough.

But this Renault concept isn’t about the showroom – not directly, at least. As new design boss Laurens van den Acker puts it, “We need to make Renault a more passionate, emotional brand, with warmer, simpler and more desirable cars.”

The DeZir is the first step in van den Acker’s transformation of Renault design. Via a series of six concept cars due over the next two years, he will lead an effort to show the world how much better looking and more appealing the firm’s cars can be. The DeZir is just the start of the grand metamorphosis; an initial surge of inspiration.

Read the full story on the DeZir

However, here’s what’s really interesting about it: the initial sketch for the DeZir came from the notebook of a Renault exterior designer called Yann Jarsalle. Who’s also the chief exterior designer of the next, 2012 Clio – a car about which great things are being promised.

So the question is, if the next Clio has this concept car’s face, surfacing and style – if it even looks half this good, in fact – would you buy one?

And would you rather Renault made conventional but good-looking cars, which seems to be the way it’s headed, or challenging but riskier ones like the last Mégane and Vel Satis?

Teaser pics: yes or no?

Steve Sutcliffe — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:56:21 GMT

Hats off to Lamborghini’s charismatic boss Stephan Winklemann for talking sense – at last – when it comes to abandoning the pursuit of power and top speed.

But please Mr Winklemann, can you tell your PR team to stop issuing these tedious, slightly childish, largely irrelevant teaser pictures in the run up to every key motor show?

Read more on Lamborghini's new concept - and see the teaser pics

The latest one, sent out to the world’s press just a couple of days ago, shows what appears to be the engine cover for the new Batmobile; why else would it feature black and red paint? We have surmised on this website that it may be part of a concept that might eventually become the new Murcielago, which is a fair enough punt to make.

But if it actually is an engine cover, the fact that there are 10 holes in it would suggest that it is not a piece of the new Murcielago – which will have 12 cylinders – but instead part of the new Gallardo replacement – which of course has 10 cylinders.

Either way, this whole business of releasing moodily lit photos of bits of your forthcoming design concepts has become a teeny bit predictable of late. Maybe some kind of competition involving an anagram of the car’s new name might be more inviting.

Or, perhaps, you could just release a photograph of the whole car with a caption underneath that reads: “This is our new 12 cylinder car. It has a carbonfibre tub, weighs less than 1500kg, has more than 700bhp and, as you can quite clearly see, it looks the absolute dog’s b*llocks. And you can come see it for yourself at this month’s Paris motor show.

Then again, public relations were never exactly my forte.

What's going on in Mini's design studio?

Chas Hallett — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:24:00 GMT

So, what do you think of the sketches of the Mini Scooter concept that appeared today?

The news is that several of the real things will be gracing the Mini stand in Paris; all will be electric and all will “showcase distinctive features of the Mini design language”.

Read more on Mini's electric scooter concept

Yes, they’re a bit of fun but are they really demonstrating where the Mini brand is going? Or even what it is?

The recently launched Countryman is surely at the outer edge of what a Mini could and should be. But I’m not convinced that a scooter is, or should be, even on planet Mini.

It smacks more of a student’s final-year design project than anything else. At worst it’s what a German’s idea of ‘British culture’ is. Remember that all of Mini’s design team reside in Munich; there’s no design presence in the UK.

Up until now BMW has proved to be an excellent custodian of the Mini brand (and Rolls-Royce too for that matter). It clearly has to expand the range – for long-term viability if nothing else – but it can’t afford to miscue either.

What I’d like to see at the next motor show is a clue to a real car – the much-mooted mini Mini perhaps?

And don’t even get me started on the Smart scooter…

Read more on Smart's electric scooter concept

Was the new Mini Countryman a hit in London?

Hilton Holloway — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:20:00 GMT

This weekend I got my hands on the new Mini Countryman. There's been much head-scratching about this car. Firstly, it's not very Mini. Secondly, rather than just building a more compact Golf, the Countryman is masquerading as a kind of Los Angeles soft-roader.

If you've got a Saturday afternoon on your hands - and you like watching automotive exotica - the King's Road in Chelsea is a good place to spend time. It's also the spiritual home of the Mini as a 1960s fashion icon and still the UK's fashionista central.

So, in the interests of rigorous market research, I took the Countryman for a mid-afternoon bumble down the Kings Road to see if the target clientele noticed the newest and least mini Mini.

In this job you get to drive a lot of a brand new metal and, aside from the odd exception like the last Skyline GT-R, the man and woman in the street didn't pay much attention.

The Mini Countryman might not be a supercar, but it caused a wave of pointing and double takes the full length of the King's Road. Quite a few people pulled on their friends' arms to gain their attention and then started an arm waving discussion about the Countryman's design.

It was also funny to see the number of double takes, where people thought they were looking at a typical Mini and then realised that the proportions were wildly different.

Women seemed the most clued up about the Countryman (evidence of pent-up demand for a proper four-seat Mini?) but the type of people who stared ranged from a toff bloke in a lovely Bentley S1 Continental (who stopped his car in the middle of the road for a proper gawp) to a fashionable young women in a full headscarf who stared hard while trying not to look as if she was looking.

I drove on to a street in front of the British Museum and parked the Countryman up for a few hours outside my favourite cafe. The owner of the Camera Cafe owns an original Mini (in Japanese auto, air-con spec) and brought it along, so we could park the two Minis together and watch for passing reaction.

Again, the Countryman got significant attention from passers-by and was snapped by endless camera phones. Again it seemed the women were most enthusiastic, including two local mothers pram-pushing mothers, who immediately identified it as 'the new Mini 4x4'. A posh mum with her teenage daughter got out of her Mini cabrio and declared it 'very smart…much better than the [Clubman] estate.'

I can't say I'd like to do 300 miles on those stylised seats and this Cooper S's ride in broken central London was, at times, unacceptable. But the Countryman offers Golf leg, head and boot room in a much smaller package. The car still has much of the joy de vivre of the three-door and it just feels so damn handy in urban situations.

Based on my rigorous research, the Countryman will be a success. Just lose the jacked-up ride height and finesse the suspension tuning.