Fashionable baby SUV grows up to challenge the class above, while new engines and hybrid tech aim to broaden its appeal
Claire Evans Claire.Evans@haymarket.com
MID-2023
IF THE COUNTRYMAN were an item of clothing, it would be a Barbour jacket or a pair of Hunter wellies.As its name suggests, Mini’s SUV is all about complementing the active, rural lifestyle that many aspire to, even if they rarely manage to escape from the city.
And the next-generation Countryman literally builds on what its predecessor offered, by being around 200mm longer.The result should be more rear leg room and a bigger boot; in fact, it will be the biggest Mini ever offered, taking on the Nissan Qashqai this time around, instead of the smaller Juke.
On the outside, you can expect the Countryman’s retro styling to be tweaked rather than radically overhauled.The front end is likely to be more chiselled, with angular headlights, large air intakes and a pronounced front grille framed with thick chrome or black trim. Meanwhile, at the back, the tailgate will be flatter, with a more prominent name badge on it, and the lights appear to be smaller than before.
Bigger changes have taken place under the skin with the arrival of a more potent plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Cooper S E All4 variant. This combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 174bhp electric motor borrowed from the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, and, with 322bhp in total, it’s Mini’s most powerful and fastest model yet. It should be capable of demolishing the 0-62mph sprint in 5.8sec.
The plug-in hybrid’s 14.2kWh battery gives the new Countryman an official electric range of 55 miles, which is almost twice as far as the previous model could go. Charging is reasonably swift, too, taking two and a half hours using a 7kW home wallbox.
Alongside the Cooper S E, the new line-up will offer four other variants: a less sporty and more affordable PHEV with 241bhp, two turbo petrol options and a 2.0-litre diesel. Both of the petrol engines have 48V mild hybrid technology that will help improve fuel consumption. Meanwhile, a fully electric version is also promised, but no on-sale date or technical details have been revealed yet.
Prices are still to be confirmed, but the new Countryman is expected to start at around £32,000.That’s significantly more than you’ll pay for a Qashqai but puts it in line with premium-badged family SUVs such as the Audi Q3 and BMW X1.
SPRING BMW XM
If big is beautiful, the BMW XM could embark on a career as a supermodel. Not only is it absolutely massive, at just over 5.1m long, but it will also have the biggest price and power output of any
