(January 21, 2010) Early in 2011 Mini lovers will be able to chose the convenience of four doors.

The 2011 Mini Countryman, the fourth model in Mini's expanding lineup, will go on sale next winter offering four doors, a wide-opening rear lid and even greater freedom of space than current models offer.

And to make the Countryman even more attractive, it will come with optional all-wheel drive.

Inside, four individual seats will be standard equipment, but a three-passenger bench seat will be available as a no-cost option.

The Countryman, which will have slightly larger body dimensions than current models, will not be inexpensive, expected to start at $29,000.

The Mini Countryman is needed in the U.S. and globally to reverse a sales decline of the minicars after their marketing momentum, which allowed premium pricing for what are econboxes, ran out of fuel as the Great Recession took hold during the past 18 months. Last year, worldwide Mini sales came in at 216,538, a roughly 7 percent drop in a depressed industry. In the U.S., volumes were off 16 percent, falling to 45,225, but that was still better than the industry overall drop of 24 percent, officials point out.

Country is still extremely small for the U.S. mass market and, at first glance, it appears to be just a renaming and repackaging of existing models, although executives say it is a new platform.