本文是一篇英国代写案例的要求节选，要求以Marketing Management专业角度来写一篇关于MINI Countryman的report

      Critically evaluate the marketing strategy (the unique marketing mix) used for the Mini Countryman

　　Please read the following as background material only:

　　MINI Countryman review

　　Fourth model in the MINI line-up has optional four-wheel drive - and doesn't look much like a MINI at all.

　　The Countryman is longer and taller than the existing three MINI body styles Photo: David Shepherd

　　By Andrew English

　　One of my schoolfriends's mother had a Countryman, that diminutive 1960s Mini shooting brake with woodie rear coachwork. The rear doors didn't shut too securely and once, on the school run, she roared away from the lights, dumping me and my friend, together with a surprised looking Labrador, on the road behind her.

　　The new MINI Countryman doesn't look a bit like that car unless it accidentally bit down on a CO2 capsule and swelled to enormous size. In fact virtually all visual connection with Sir Alec Issigonis's wizard wheels has been lost.

　　Historically minded folk will recall Sir Alec's Twini, the twin-engined 4x4 Mini designed to compete for military contracts. But there's no connection.

　　The BMW-designed Countryman is the 4x4 of snowy pavement, slippery grass and stability variety, not for hauling rocket launchers up the Kush to have a pop at the local Taliban. So don't go selling the Defender quite yet, this fourth MINI derivative (joining hatchback, convertible and Traveller/estate) will be more at home on retail park than rough shoot.

　　It's not altogether a bad looking car, if a bit bumptious. It's based on an new stretched floorpan, but uses a derivative of the existing MacPherson-strut front and multi-link independent rear suspension.

　　Normally front-wheel drive, the optional four-wheel drive is entirely automatic according to the predetermined software contained in the dynamic stability control. The centre propshaft spins continually and the rear wheels are electro-hydraulically clutched in and out, shifting up to 100 per cent of the engine's torque to the front or rear wheels. You can't switch it off (or on) for that matter.

　　The body is 1ft 3.5in longer than a standard MINI and comes in five-door hatchback configuration with the option of four seats, where the centre rear is removed in favour of an automotive equivalent of Batman's utility belt, an unelectrified track (despite what MINI blurbs say) onto which various (expensive) options can be clipped. With five seats the track is cut off behind the front seats like a victim of a mini Dr Beeching.

　　The rest of the cabin gets a much needed makeover, with softer plastics, better quality switches and a deal more love in the rear of the cabin, which is Spartan in other MINIs. There's room enough for four large adults, although the third rear seat is cramped, even for a child. The boot is quite small (350 litres), but the seats tilt and fold to create a 1,170-litre luggage bay, although the floor isn't flat. The insanely over-styled facia is still there, with a host of new features – if you like this stuff then this is better than ever.

　　This being MINI, there's a fantasy world of options, including a nifty bike rack, upholstery choices to shame a Rolls-Royce and wheels and tyres of such proportion that a dustbin lid with a rubber band would offer more ride comfort. Our test car had more than £6,500 of options on it – that's enough to buy a perfectly acceptable car. BMW's faustian pact with Apple is undimmed, with myriad iPhone connectivity and killer apps, which is great if you've got one but other phones are available.

　　The petrol option is the Hams Hall-built Peugeot/BMW 1.6-litre four pot, and the diesel is BMW's own four-pot twin-cam, which struggles to drink more than 50mpg however hard you drive it. Stop/start circuitry is standard, as is intelligent alternator charging, which happens on overrun rather than acceleration.

　　Nissan's new Juke is a natural rival to the Countryman, but MINI marketers spuriously claim the Qashqai is a better fit when the specification is taken into account – we'll see.

　　The blurb says go-kart handling, but on the road it feels like a MINI on stilts. The petrol Cooper S model is fast, but retains the steering and suspension settings of the hatchback and that's a mistake. Turn the wheel and the front instantly follows, but the rest of the body only catches up half a second later. It's bizarre and feels as though the car is pole dancing round your spine. The ride is busy as well, flapping ludicrously wide tyres over potholes and clambering over long undulations like dog on a cattle grid. Even at slow speeds the Countryman Cooper S is fussy and annoying. The brakes are also less than confidence-inspiring, needing a mighty push before the pads attack the rotors.