The Mini family is about to get a new member with the upsized Countryman model.

Mini’s new model will be on the roads later this month in the UK.

The car has been described by some motoring journalists as either strange or risky.

The Countryman is different inasmuch as it is almost twice the size of a normal mini.

Tall and bulky with a bulging bonnet, it will also come with a 4x4 version for the patchy fields and slippery slopes of England.

Mini executives have said they will be pitching the car as an alternative vehicle for drivers who have chosen not to buy Minis in the past, mainly because they have been too small.