The new MINI Countryman is completely electric and ready to steal sales from the Smart #1.
BMW Group today unveiled not just the all-new, all-electric MINI Cooper, but also a new and electric MINI Countryman crossover SUV too. This is the first ever pure electric Countryman since BMW Group started offering the model back in 2010.
The MINI Countryman E has an output of 204hp and 250Nm of torque with a range of 462km while the MINI Countryman SE ALL4 has a total output of 313hp and 494Nm of torque and a range of 433km. That’s right, the dual motor variant has a lower overall range.
The MINI Countryman has been a pretty huge success in Malaysia as a locally-assembled PHEV, so it might be the biggest priority for MINI Malaysia as soon as production models are ready. This will be the first MINI model to be produced in Germany, previous BMW Group MINIs were made at Oxford, UK and Born, Netherlands.
The new MINI Countryman is 4,433mm long, 1,843mm wide, 1,656mm tall, which is considerably larger than its predecessor. Styling follows the cues of the new Cooper – angular and clean bodywork with slim panel gaps outside with a cabin built around the new circular OLED infotainment system. That being said, the Countryman’s styling has a few more SUV-inspired tweaks and don’t carry circular headlights seen on the Cooper model.
There are some other similarities worth talking about, such as the three light signatures that can be toggled on the front LED daytime running lights and rear taillight LEDs.
The minimalist look of the new Countryman helps to reduce its drag coefficient to just 0.26cd. The proportions haven’t changed much but MINI are emphasizing a trim-defined look in this generation.
The ‘Essential’ trim is the basic version of the car that comes with certain parts in a new ‘Vibrant Silver’ colour. ‘Classic’ trim is mostly an interior upgrade. ‘Favoured’ trim allows you to finish the roof in Vibrant Silver to match the grille. The JCW trim is the sportiest looking, with high gloss black finishing, red and black stripes and a contrasting roof in Chili Red.
As with the new Cooper models, the interior is a major talking point. The cabin in designed around a new 240mm touch-enabled OLED display running MINI Operating System 9. This system features all the cars primary functions in a smartphone-like menu system.
A lot of the cabin is covered in a special recycled fabric and there are lot of interesting new components and switchgear. The new interior is also roomier with 3cm more shoulder and elbow area for those in front and 2.5cm more for those in the back. Plus, the rear row of seats can be adjusted by up to 13cm in terms of length, allowing for flexibility between rear passenger legroom and cargo space. The rear seats also get 12-degrees of backrest adjustment. The cargo area expands from 460L to 1450L with the rear seats folded down. There’s an underfloor compartment in the boot for all the charging equipment.
