Countryman to go after Audi Q3
Mini will take a bold first step into the mid-sized SUV market with the new, larger Countryman, which has been created to stop the firm losing customers whose needs outgrow its current line-up.
Now twinned with the BMW X1, the new Countryman will be the first of Mini’s new range to surface, arriving next February, with an electric powertrain option for the first time.
Mini boss Stefanie Wurst said: “This is something for people that say: ‘I have a second child now, so I can’t get the stroller into this one [the current Countryman].’ “We need it for the people that we are losing right now, because they don’t have enough space.”
The Volkswagen ID 4 rival has also been conceived to grow the brand in the US, which favours larger vehicles.
Visually, the car will differ from the current generation with a squarer front end, large front and rear overhangs and a more rugged treatment. It sports a more angular interpretation of Mini’s new bulbous headlights – as seen on the Cooper and Aceman.
The model will expand on the current car’s powertrain line-up, with electric power replacing the soon-to-be-axed plug-in hybrid, alongside a petrol offering.
The entry-level electric variant will use the Cooper’s and Aceman’s 54kwh battery, and a 64kwh unit will be offered in top-rung SE guise. Although unconfirmed, the longest-legged variant is expected to roughly match the X1’s 272-mile maximum range. Power will start at 188bhp in the E, rising to 268bhp in the SE. The car will also be the only Mini offered with four-wheel drive, for both electric and combustion versions.
JCW variants, in ICE and EV forms, will get visual cues in line with their extra grunt, such as red brake calipers and quad-exit exhausts.
Although it is bulking up and changing shape, the Countryman will keep its name, something Wurst doesn’t believe will confuse customers: “I think they will understand. The Countryman is already established as the ‘big Mini’.”
❝ Twinned with the BMW X1, the new Countryman will be the first of Mini’s new range to surface ❞