To inject some cheer in this year’s festive period, nearly all automobile players in India have had something unique to offer. The list includes discounts, freebies and special editions of models. The latest to join that bandwagon is the British marque Mini. It has launched a model called the Countryman Black Edition. Based on the Cooper S JCW Inspired variant, the limited-run model wears a price tag of Rs 42.4 lakh (ex-showroom India). Simple math reveals that it costs Rs 1 lakh more than the standard Cooper S JCW Inspired.

Do you want to guess which colour forms the bases of all the bespoke design cues in the newly introduced Countryman derivative? Yes! It is black. And its availability is restricted to just 24 units across India. What Mini has done to create it is garnish the range-topping variant with a bunch of black-coloured accessories, including a grille, carbon fibre ORVM caps, trim rings on headlamps and taillamps, bonnet stripes, roof rails and the rear Countryman lettering. Lastly, the only exterior paint you can have is yes, black!

The rest of the package remains unchanged, including performance figures. Propulsion comes courtesy of a 2.0-litre, turbo-petrol engine that puts out 189bhp/280Nm, and 8-speed automatic transmission. The setup is enough for a 0-100kmph sprint time of 7.5 seconds, and yet Mini claims a maximum mileage of 14.41kmpl.

As far as the list of features is concerned, the Countryman Black Edition gets John Cooper Works Aerodynamics Kit, LED headlamps, automatic tailgate, panorama glass roof, front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera. Indoors, Mini’s range-topping compact SUV gets sports seats in the front, dual-zone climate control, a head-up display, an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system mated to a Harman Kardon sound system and wireless mobile charger.

So, is the Black Edition worth the extra amount? If you consider only the additions it gets over the standard JCW Inspired trim, then no. However, if you rope in its extremely-limited availability, then definitely yes. In India, the Mini Countryman rivals the likes of the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA and the Volvo XC40. Out of the lot, which one would you choose?