Also receiving awards are the Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Equus, Land Rover Range Rover, Lexus IS, MINI Countryman, Nissan Armada, Porsche Cayenne, Scion xB, Suzuki Kizashi and Volkswagen GTI.

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Just this morning I saw an ad for the new Mini Paceman, which is a derivation of the Mini Countryman, itself a derivation of the Mini Cooper.

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Ivan Drury, a senior analyst at Edmunds, points out the arrival of the four-door Mini Countryman kind of a station wagon, but one with a lot of prestige.

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Behind the wheel of the Mini Countryman is Guerlain Chicherit, famed world champion of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, who managed to launch a modified version of the vehicle off an 8-meter high ramp, do a full 360 degree back-flip, and land it back on all four tires.

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Behind the wheel of the Mini Countryman is Guerlain Chicherit, famed world champion of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, who managed to launch the the modified version of the vehicle off an 8-meter high ramp, do a full 360 degree back-flip, and land it back on all four tires.

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Small wagons like the Kia Soul, MINI Cooper Countryman, Nissan Cube and Scion xB stand out as particularly funky, yet no less utilitarian, modes of transport that are well suited for blossoming young families.

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The new Countryman is the largest Mini yet, and meant to look like an SUV, even offering all-wheel-drive.

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But with the one-size-bigger Countryman hitting dealerships now, and a Mini coupe and roadster coming soon, plus the likely Paceman crossover coupe, Mini to me is looking more and more like a wad of Silly Putty being stretched and deformed into too many shapes.

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