New Countryman’s premiere at the IAA in Munich: Mini gets bigger

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From cult car to model family: Ever since the BMW group took over the old British brand Mini from the wreckage of the Rover group 29 years ago, the big-eyed little car – the blueprint for all modern small cars with a transverse-mounted front engine and front-wheel drive – has become a complete model gang. Like the SUV Coupé Paceman, the flattened Mini Coupé or the Roadster in the same vein, all of them did not impress the fans of the brand. Still, the character of the cars was retained and thus they made their way towards lifestyle cell phones.

The Mini is no longer Countryman’s mini SUV in its original sense. But with the next generation just unveiled at the IAA Mobility in Munich (5 – 10 September), the BMW subsidiary is now really getting to them: The crossover is 13 centimeters longer and reaches 4.43 meters, as it shares the technology with the BMW X1 – It can easily be reared at 4.43 meters. You can store your VW Golf. It also now stands exactly six centimeters higher and at 1.66 metres. As the wheelbase and with it the rear space have grown, there is enough room for a rear seat that can be moved lengthwise by 13 centimeters and the backrest tilted by twelve degrees. The trunk holds from 460 to 1450 liters of luggage. Mini? No, I grew up.

Electric drive and round screen

The Countryman will be electric in two different versions. Mini CEO Stefanie Wurst only wants to sell Stromer by 2030. Right now that’s already 15 percent, with half of Minis sold in two to three years going to be electric. The new Countryman is available with 204 hp (150 kW) front-wheel drive and 313 hp (230 kW) all-wheel drive. Both power a 66.5 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery, providing a range of 462 kilometers or 433 kilometers in the more powerful version. It takes 30 minutes to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent on a fast charger; 130 kilowatts (kW) of charging power is relatively low. However: The Mini can also charge with 22 kW in alternating current; most public charging stations can do this, but still only a few electric vehicles can.

But the five-seater takes a big step forward in the interior. Awesome: Like the original Mini, there’s a huge speedometer in the shape of a 24-centimeter pizza in the middle and a fully virtual speedometer on the first round OLED display with touch function. Depending on your mood and style, there are countless user interfaces to choose from, from retro to eco to go-kart mode. For the operation, the digital assistant can even be provided with an avatar, which then does gymnastics on the screen – the little dog Spike. As with the previous model, motorcycle-style gadgets were salvaged. Instead, the head-up display projects the most important information onto the windshield.

Big step indoors

No more cheap plastic and windshield toggle switches: the interior takes a real leap in quality. Most of all, the cloth cover in the cockpit and the doors with translucent ambient lighting or the elegant handles of the air vents make a real difference. From the outside, many details are reminiscent of the old British original: the taillights again show the half Union Jack, the flag of Great Britain, and the headlights are reminiscent of the past, even though they now frame the hexagonal daytime running light. This Mini Countryman looks big, confident, and it’s like he’s stepped outside of his brand identity.

At the IAA the focus is still on the Stromer, but combustion versions are expected at market launch in the spring as before. Two petrol engines produce 170 hp (125 kW) or 300 hp (221 kW) in the all-wheel drive top version John Cooper Works; that’s nine times the performance of the original Mini. Plug-in hybrids are a thing of the past: The end of state subsidies for part-time electric vehicles isn’t just in Germany, making them less attractive to customers. A coupé version of the Countryman, called the Aceman, will also have all-electric driving in the first half of 2024. What about prices? It is not approved yet.

Source: Blick