I didn't realize the Countryman was bigger than a midsized sedan until I parked next to one the other day. Walking back to my car something seemed off. Wait, that's a Mini??

None of the 'Mini's' are Mini. They're just BMW that bought the brand and builds cars loosely inspired on the original, with sizes ranging from 1.25 times the original all the way up to definitely non-Mini crossovers. Our company had one of the smaller ones as a lease car and even though it drove ok'ish it definitely didn't feel or drive like a small car. It was a way for BMW to appeal more to women (with that demographic BMW never really caught on) who loved the original Mini to bits. And then wealthy women want a larger but still trendy car.

BMW is hyper aggressive about the brand, including going after each and every use of the brand for the original cars, even when used in the context of spare parts.

I think about eight, ten years ago they stopped being mini when collision safety laws changed. They had to raise the hood for pedestrian safety (hitting legs and spinning heads into the windshield is not allowed) and raise the door height for side impact safety. The whole car got normal sized because of it and then they just kinda said fuck it.