MINI COUNTRYMAN
New Countryman is available with petrol or electric power, and an astonishing variety of clever features
That previous generation of electric Minis? Forget it. Everything has changed. The new line-up is crowned by a Countryman that’s bigger than its predecessor, and available in petrol and electric forms. We’ve driven the range-topping versions of both, but it’s not the driving we want to talk about first.
The new Minis capture your attention first and foremost with a wealth of digital talents, starting with the pizza-size centre display that is filled to the frameless rim with hi-res graphics. The circular touchscreen is the key interface. Its content can be individually arranged by swiping, zooming and touching on a vast selection of menus, widgets and apps. Areas are reserved for satnav, media, phone and climate control inputs, or one simple gesture is all it takes to activate the ‘toolbelt’ that lets you summon and position your choice of functions.
A toggle bar houses the push-button parking brake, start-stop key, volume control, gear selector and the switch for the Experience Modes – Mini’s version of BMW’s My Modes potpourri, in six manifestations. There is the retro Timeless mode modelled after a mid-’60s Austin-Rover dial, Trail mode for off-tarmac driving, Vivid mode inspired by the colour of the album cover the on-board avatar DJ is currently playing, Personal mode showing your favourite photograph or image, Green mode rewarding feather-footed drivers with bonus range points, and Go-Kart mode, which combines a go-faster vroom-vroom soundtrack with a brisker throttle response, the sportiest damper setting and a lax traction-control calibration. The Experience Modes also tweak the ambient lighting, tune the in-cab sound and play with the in-dash graphics.
There’s more – for instance, a digital colour picker that’s forever tweaking the cabin atmosphere by means of backlit panels. The available Harman Kardon surround sound system has a vast repertoire of tunes and jingles, some just for fun, others to accompany certain functions such as the indicators. Mini calls these acoustic exclamation marks Earcons, and you may be pleased to hear that the new Countryman has 30 of them ready to ring out whenever you open a door, or when the car recognises and welcomes its user from a distance.
THE FIRST HOUR
Sleek new design makes the previous model look fussy
That eye-catching huge round centre dial has so much going on… give me a moment
Love the lighting orchestration. Daring and definitely different
Go-Kart mode pulls out all the stops, Green mode dishes out over-the-air digital Valium in large quantities
With flat, passive cornering as if on an invisible induction loop, handling is now ultra-safe but unadventurous
