Mini Countryman 2024 review: Electric

In Australia the new-gen Countryman will be offered in petrol guise as ‘C’ or ‘S’ variants - the latter being the sportier of the two. Those models are already on sale ranging from $49,990, before on-road costs, for the C Core to $63,990 for the Countryman S JCW Sport grade.

A full-fat turbo-petrol John Cooper Works is also coming soon from $67,990 to $73,990. Our drive impressions for this are coming soon, too.

The battery-powered models include single-motor grades dubbed the ‘E’, starting at a competitive $64,990 for the Core, topping out at $70,990 for the JCW Sport.

Topping the Countryman electric line-up is the dual-motor SE and, like all other powertrain variants in this SUV line-up, is available with three different trims.

Standard gear in the Countryman E Core is pretty generous.

The Countryman SE Classic is $72,990, the Favoured $75,990 and the JCW Sport is $77,990.

We drove the Countryman SE Favoured at the international launch event and that is the focus of the drive impressions for this review.

An iX2 with the equivalent powertrain costs $85,700 - which is $10,000 more than the Mini we drove.

Stepping up into the Favoured adds front heated seats, JCW seats, power front seats with memory and more. 

The starting price for the Countryman is the same as another European EV - the recently launched Renault Megane E-Tech. It’s also cheaper than the most expensive Hyundai Kona Electric Premium and Kia Niro EV.

Standard gear in the Countryman E Core is pretty generous, and includes a six-speaker audio system, sport seats and steering wheel, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, home and public charging cables, a head-up display, dual-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, automatic tailgate with a kick function and digital radio.

Stepping up into the Favoured adds a 12-speaker 365W Harman Kardon audio system, an interior camera, augmented reality navigation, front heated seats, panoramic sunroof, JCW seats, power front seats with memory and more. 

The JCW Sport adds JCW interior and body kit and more.

The increased size means this new Countryman is firmly in ‘small family car’ territory now. And what a cool family car it would be!

But does the chic interior design translate to day-to-day practicality? Mostly yes and a little no.

First of all, the interior is big now. The previous Countryman had decent space but this takes it to another level. Even the tallest of humans will appreciate the acres of headroom, and there’s ample shoulder room across the front.

The front seats in our Countryman SE test car are well bolstered in all the right areas and have that Goldilocks level of comfort. Not too cushy but definitely not firm.

Because it’s a Mini, it has a central display housing the speedo (is that where Tesla got the idea from?), so there’s no need for a traditional instrument cluster. There is, however, a head-up display. 

Unlike the related new X2 which has an excellent head-up display projected onto the windscreen, the Mini makes do with a more old school Perspex screen jutting up out of the dash.

There is a reason for this - the windscreen in the Mini Countryman (and Cooper) is too upright to be projected onto. Hence the acrylic. It’s still a good unit and it can be adjusted. It just feels a bit ‘old tech’ next to the other impressive new tech in the Countryman.

Speaking of, the big news for this generation is that circular OLED screen and what it houses. 

First up, the graphics and resolution are impeccable. I don’t recall seeing a screen in a car with this level of colour and movement. Vehicle functions, efficiency, settings and all the day-to-day info is in there - some can take a beat to find - but it also houses the ‘Mini Experience’ modes. This is the same vibe as BMW’s modes, but with a Mini twist. 

You can choose between eight modes - 'Core', 'Green', 'Go-Kart', 'Personal', 'Timeless', 'Vivid', 'Balance' and 'Trail', and that alters the graphic elements on the OLED screen, interior lighting colours and patterns, and in this electric model, the driving sounds.

With all seats in place it swallows 460 litres which is 45L less than the petrol Countryman. With the rear seats lowered it expands to 1450L.

It is gimmicky but my word it was fun to play around with. The retro look of the Timeless mode is my favourite. A feature like this would be easy to dismiss in other cars, but it just works in a Mini.

Elsewhere up front, storage is just okay. There’s a big console with open space and a little box that doesn’t fit a lot, and, unlike older Mini generations, it can't slide or move. Also, the central armrest looks like it’s hiding a storage compartment, but it’s not.

There’s much more legroom in the rear than before (and more than in the BMW X2), and enough room across the back for three kids.

The rear pew is flat but you get a central armrest with cupholders, outboard ISOFIX points, knee-level air vents, map pockets, big bottle storage and two USB-C ports.

The boot may not house a spare wheel of any kind - you’re limited to a tyre repair kit - but it does have plenty of space. With all seats in place it swallows 460 litres which is 45L less than the petrol Countryman. With the rear seats lowered it expands to 1450L.

The Countryman E has power and torque outputs of 150kW and 250Nm from its single-motor set-up, ensuring a 0-100km/h time of 8.6 seconds.

The Countryman SE uses the same electric powertrain found in the BMW iX2 xDrive30, and that means a dual-motor arrangement - a motor each on the front and rear axle - for a total system output of 230kW/494Nm.

It also has a 64kWh lithium-ion battery housed under the vehicle’s floor.

The 0-100km/h sprint time is an impressive 5.6 seconds - ensuring the Countryman earns the ‘S’ in its moniker.

The driving range from the 64kWh battery is up to 462km for the E and up to 433km for the SE - on the WLTP cycle. That’s not bad, but not as lengthy as the Volvo C40 (476-507km).

Energy consumption in the E is a claimed 16.8-18.5kWh/100km according to Mini. There’s no figure available for the E at this stage. 

The driving range from the 64kWh battery is up to 462km for the E and up to 433km for the SE - on the WLTP cycle.

The regenerative braking worked well on our test drive because after a 76km route, the range in our Countryman only dropped by 63km.

It has a maximum charge rate of 130kW for DC and 11kW for AC. Using a DC fast charger to get from 10 to 80 per cent capacity will take 29 minutes, according to Mini.

The Countryman SE comes with the usual suite of driver aids including adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert with braking function, blind spot and lane change warning and exit warning as well as ‘Steering and Lane Control Assistant’, ‘Parking Assistant Plus with Surround View’ and ‘Automatic Speed Limit Assistant’.

It’s also fitted with front, side, head and front centre airbags.

It is yet to be tested by Euro NCAP or ANCAP.