Mini goes large with a ‘compact’ SUV that’s bigger than a Nissan Qashqai
MODEL TESTEDC EXCLUSIVE
Price £31,835 Power 168bhp Torque 207lb ft 0-60mph 8.7sec 30-70mph 7.7sec Fuel economy 39.4mpg CO2 emissions 145g/km 70-0mph 56.4m
With this week’s road test subject, the BMW Group takes its third swing at the idea of a family-sized modern Mini. The Countryman SUV has been around as a model since 2010, but until now it has had the aura of a water-tester model – a gauge of the receptiveness to the idea of a bigger Mini.
With this third-generation model, however, there’s a certain newfound presence and gravitas about its appearance. That’s partly to do with the size of this ‘modern Maxi’, which has increased significantly. But it may also be to do with a change in attitude about the car from both the Mini and BMW Group management.
This car becomes the first Mini to be built in Germany, at BMW’s Leipzig plant, alongside the 1 Series and 2 Series. Accompanying the shift in production base comes a key reappraisal of powertrains too. Alongside three internal-combustion options, this is the first Countryman to go electric, broadening Mini’s zero-emissions segment coverage significantly.
The new Countryman leads a wholesale redefinition of the Mini showroom range for 2024. We’re getting not only new combustion-engined and electric ‘core’ Mini hatchbacks but also the Aceman electric crossover, which will fill the gap between Mini’s new smallest and largest models (the Clubman estate having been phased out).
Stand by, then, to find out what experience has taught BMW about what works – and what doesn’t – when it comes to maximising its enduringly successful Mini recipe.
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
This Countryman is 130mm longer and 60mm taller than the second-generation model. At 4444mm long, 1661mm tall and 2069mm across the mirrors, it’s now even longer than the Nissan Qashqai, as well as wider across the body and taller, counting our test car’s roof bars. So, having been a B-segment crossover-hatchback, the Countryman is now unashamedly C-segment size.
If the idea of such a large Mini doesn’t philosophically appeal to you, though, the design execution of it might just win you over in the metal. Despite its bulk, the Countryman does look like a Mini: one higher-waisted and much longer in profile than you’ve ever seen before but of broadly the right aspect to seem a natural enough fit at least in terms of design. Sq
