S02E09 Mini XXL: Countryman E
The Mini – as its name suggests – has been a symbol of the small, agile city car for decades. The subject of my current test, the Countryman E, is an almost two-ton, five-door SUV, yet the resemblance is still noticeable.
The first Countryman was introduced in 2010 by Mini, which by then was part of the BMW group. They recognized the demand for a car that represented the brand’s traditional values but was larger and offered more space. The company tried to strengthen the model’s sporty identity in various ways, including numerous sporty versions and racing accessories, and even participated in the World Rally Championship with the Countryman WRC and in the Dakar Rally.
The Countryman is now in its third generation and is available for the first time with purely electric drivetrain. It is built on the same platform as several BMW models, with its closest relative being the iX1: in addition to the base, the battery pack, electric engine, and many other components are shared with its more angular sibling. However, the new Countryman has retained the stylistic features characteristic of the brand: its shape still resembles the original Mini from the 1960s, and the headlights, taillights, and round instrument cluster alone reveal what brand of car we are looking at. The Countryman has grown considerably in size, even compared to the first version, let alone the old Mini. The Countryman E is 4433 mm long, placing it in the same league as the Mercedes EQA and, of course, the BMW iX1.
The trunk is 460 liters, which can be considered spacious in this size category, but there is no frunk (front trunk) – although it would be nice to store the charging cables there.
The interior continues the series of brand-specific features: the round central display and the dashboard switches evoke the old Mini, even at the cost of not being the most practical to use. The large round display is stylish, but almost everything that runs on it is optimized for a rectangular screen, which must have been quite a challenge for the user interface designers. For example, phone mirroring appears in a square within a circular frame, which is not ideal, and a lot of screen space is wasted as a result. Unfortunately, this is not the system’s biggest flaw; for some reason, it is slow and does not work as quickly and smoothly as in other models of the group – I hope this can be fixed with a software update.
The relatively flat, “bus driver” angle of the steering wheel also comes from the old Mini, which took some getting used to but was not bothersome. More annoying is that when you get into the car, you first have to turn on the ignition with a knob on the center console before you can put it in gear and start driving. This is necessary because some customers supposedly want to imitate the ignition key, but I am not one of them and find this step completely unnecessary.
However, I like that the still extremely annoying, mandatory built-in speed limit warning system can be deactivated with a single move, namely by holding down the SET button on the left side of the steering wheel. So, the ritual at each start is as follows: open the door, turn on the ignition, shift gears, press the SET button, and the fun can begin.
Fortunately, the Countryman E has retained much of the sportiness and road-holding of the original Mini and its BMW relatives. It is easy and fun to drive, with the only limitation in the city being its slightly large size, but it is easy to park. On the highway – due to the shape of the car – wind noise is present, and the relatively high air resistance is confirmed by the 21 kWh highway consumption. This means that on longer trips, you need to stop to charge every 250 km, and the net 64.6 kWh battery can take a maximum charging power of 130 kW.
This is not ideal, but the car is not meant for this, just like other cars of similar size and nature. The true home of the Countryman E is urban and suburban driving, where it has a huge advantage: the 22 kW AC charging option, which is available as part of an equipment package. This is very useful when you stop somewhere for 1-2 hours, and the charging process – and all other important things related to the car – can be very well monitored in the Mini app.
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Who do I recommend it to? Fans of Mini’s unique style who need a car one size larger than the Cooper. The car is very cheerful inside and out, great for short distances, but if necessary, you can travel further with it.
Next week we will visit Vietnam, or rather, I will introduce you to a Vietnamese electric car, the Vinfast VF8 – stay tuned!
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Sources of graphs and charts: [1] BMW Group [2] carsized.com
Disclaimer: opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer and are not supported by any OEMs.