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Volvo EX30 and BYD Atto 3 get some strong competition! All-new 2024 Mini Countryman electric car breaks cover at last as the small EV SUV wars heat up

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Byron Mathioudakis
Contributing Journalist
1 Sep 2023
3 min read

The much-anticipated Mini Countryman Electric has just had its covers pulled off it in Munich – and BMW is expected to pull no punches when it comes to pricing and positioning.

Confirmed for Australia sometime early in the third quarter of next year (meaning July or August, 2024), this third-generation version is the first to go full-battery electric vehicle (EV).

And, unlike the very closely-related Mini Cooper Electric that also debuted today, the Countryman Electric will be made in Germany alongside its BMW iX1 cousin.

So, why is this relevant?

If Mini is able to price the Countryman Electric competitively, it could be very bad news for the likes of the promising new Volvo EX30 that kicks off from $59,990 (before on-road costs), as well as the hugely popular BYD Atto 3, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and coming Kia EV5.

Of course, it's too early for BMW Australia to announce pricing and specification details, but it has big plans for the Countryman Electric in the burgeoning EV market in this country. After all, the existing F60 launched in 2017 also happens to be the brand's second most popular model, after the hatch (which will be renamed Cooper across the board).

The Countryman Electric you're looking at will also be released later on in internal combustion engine (ICE) guises, using the transverse-engine architecture used by today's BMW X1 and others. That's derived from the existing UKL1 platform.

As with the new Mini Cooper Electric, the Countryman Electric gains smart woven textile surfaces for its minimalist dash.
As with the new Mini Cooper Electric, the Countryman Electric gains smart woven textile surfaces for its minimalist dash.

What are the other changes then?

The new model makes an even greater mockery of its name by being larger in every dimension.

Not much info has been divulged just yet, but BMW says that the Countryman Electric is a huge 60mm taller than before, as well as 130mm longer. This pays dividends in cabin space, aided by the squarer overall shape, removal of the gear lever from between the front occupants and new slimline seating front and rear that are less bulky than before.

Being substantially bigger means it's also heavier, so the electric motor fitted in the base Countryman E has a 66.5kWh battery and makes 150kW of power and 230Nm of torque, while a twin-motor version known as ALL4 (like before) generates 230kW and 494Nm. This cuts three seconds off the 0-100km/h time, to 5.6s. WLTP figures are 462km in the E and 433km in the SE ALL4.

As with the new Mini Cooper Electric, the Countryman Electric gains smart woven textile surfaces for its minimalist dash, along with a new operating system that uses ‘Hey, Mini!' voice control within a central OLED display. Compared to the hatch, the SUV has vertical air vents and a few other detailed differences to set them apart inside.

BMW is saving a lot of the new Countryman Electric's other big reveals for later on, so stay tuned to learn what these may be.

BMW says that the Countryman Electric is a huge 60mm taller than before, as well as 130mm longer.
BMW says that the Countryman Electric is a huge 60mm taller than before, as well as 130mm longer.

But, in the meantime, we're expecting an EV price war, because if Volvo can position its (also) Chinese-made compact-SUV EV EX30 from under $60K, then that must surely be the benchmark BMW can work towards too.

Do you like what you see? Let us know in the comments below.

Byron Mathioudakis
Contributing Journalist
Byron started his motoring journalism career when he joined John Mellor in 1997 before becoming a freelance motoring writer two years later. He wrote for several motoring publications and was ABC Youth radio Triple J's "all things automotive" correspondent from 2001 to 2003. He rejoined John Mellor in early 2003 and has been with GoAutoMedia as a senior product and industry journalist ever since. With an eye for detail and a vast knowledge base of both new and used cars Byron lives and breathes motoring. His encyclopedic knowledge of cars was acquired from childhood by reading just about every issue of every car magazine ever to hit a newsstand in Australia. The child Byron was the consummate car spotter, devoured and collected anything written about cars that he could lay his hands on and by nine had driven more imaginary miles at the wheel of the family Ford Falcon in the driveway at home than many people drive in a lifetime. The teenage Byron filled in the agonising years leading up to getting his driver's license by reading the words of the leading motoring editors of the country and learning what they look for in a car and how to write it. In short, Byron loves cars and knows pretty much all there is to know about every vehicle released during his lifetime as well as most of the ones that were around before then.
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