Cutesy SUV grows up, with an electric variant offered from the outset On sale Late 2023 Price from £35,000 (est)
Darren Moss darren.moss@haymarket.com
IN THE WORLD of professional boxing, just 3kg is enough to change which division a fighter competes in, so a couple of trips to the gym buffet could mean facing Big Bruce rather than Flyweight Frank. In the same vein, the fact that the next Mini Countryman will be slightly bigger than today’s car opens up a proverbial can of worms, suddenly putting it in competition with a long list of family SUV rivals.
The new car’s greater length should bring rear seat passengers more leg room than today’s car, as well as more space in the boot for their luggage. And it’ll need it; the current Countryman is practical by the standards of other small SUVs such as the Ford Puma and Skoda Kamiq, but the new model needs to hold its corner against the larger Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai.
The new Countryman will share its underpinnings with the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Coupé, as well as the X1 small SUV, and like the latter, it’ll be available in pure electric form from the outset. In fact, the electric Countryman will use the same dual-motor set-up as the iX1 electric SUV, one powering the front wheels, the other the rears.
That means 309bhp in total and a 5.7sec 0-62mph sprint, and sharing the iX1’s 64.7kWh (usable capacity) battery should give the Countryman an official range of 272 miles.That puts it a little way behind rival electric SUVs such as the Genesis GV60, Tesla Model Y and updated Volvo XC40 Recharge.
Charging the Countryman EV (electric vehicle) from 10-80% could take as little as 29 minutes if you can find a charging point capable of delivering the car’s maximum rate of 130kW. It’s worth noting that some electric SUV rivals can charge even faster, though.
Unlike the current Countryman, there will be no plug-in hybrid options for the new model. Petrol engines will be offered, though, in 168bhp 1.5-litre and 215bhp 2.0-litre forms, both of which feature fuel-saving mild hybrid technology. It’s expected that a sporty range-topping John Cooper Works model will join the line-up shortly after launch, packing at least 250bhp and flaunting more muscular styling. Indeed, prototypes have been seen sporting large air intakes and quad-tip exhausts.
Inside, the new Countryman is expected to look similar to the all-new Mini hatchback, itself due to go on sale later this year.That means the car’s central infotainment system – presented in the current Countryman on a rectangular screen insi
