Mini has definitely gotten its hands dirty. After an electric version of its legendary Hatch three-door city car on the current generation, also marketed very confidentially in a convertible, the English brand wishes to extend its range of battery-powered models.
It shows it today by unveiling the latest generation of its city car, but also of its Countryman SUV, first in 100% electric. The latter was content until then with a plug-in hybrid version.
Growth finally over for the Mini Cooper?
In terms of style, the smallest of the modern Minis, now simply called Cooper (formerly Hatch three-door), continues the strategy inaugurated by its elders. Since the takeover of Mini by the BMW group, the models have followed and resembled each other. This fourth generation of modern Mini is no exception to the rule and remains instantly recognizable, despite being completely new. On the other hand, if we could fear that the Mini gains a few more centimeters, this is not the case. It is 3.86m long, about as long as the latest versions of the previous generation.
At a time when more and more cars are playing SUVs with plastic body protection, the Mini Cooper is going the opposite way by abandoning the fender contours of previous versions. We also notice new flush door handles, which help reduce aerodynamic drag (Cd of 0.28). The chrome has completely disappeared from the car and the rear lights, connected by a black band, adopt a triangular shape, but retain a nod to the flag of Great Britain.
The interior of the new Minis is even more innovative. It adopts new materials, some from recycling, and abandons the traditional instrument cluster. From now on, driving information is displayed only on a new central circular Oled screen (24 cm in diameter), which recalls the central instrumentation of the original Minis, and on the head-up display. Alas, the latter is an option that suddenly seems almost indispensable.
The Mini Countryman wants to play in the big leagues
On the side of the Countryman, the stylistic developments are more important. The SUV marks its difference from the city car and displays more stocky lines. While the previous model had already grown by 20 cm compared to the first Mini SUV, this new generation gains another 13 cm to reach a total of 4.43 m. It suddenly moves into another category, that of compact SUVs, where it competes with models such as the Mercedes GLA/EQA, BMW X1/iX1, Volvo XC40 and Audi Q3 and Q4 e-tron. This growth spurt is explained by Mini’s intention to produce an electric SUV smaller than the Countryman, inspired by the Aceman concept.
The Countryman therefore wishes to appeal to families. As such, it offers a 13 cm sliding rear bench seat, the three backrests of which can be reclined individually. For the rest, the interior presentation is similar to that of its little sister Cooper.
Two electric motors before the arrival of thermal
The electric versions of the new Mini Cooper will be produced in China via a partnership between the BMW Group and Great Wall Motor, and are based on a dedicated platform. In other words, future gasoline versions, still not presented, will actually be based on a separate model. We do not yet know if their appearance will betray this different technical basis, but we already know that they will continue to be produced in Oxford (England). Five-door and convertible versions are also expected.
The new Countryman, technically derived from the BMW iX1, will be produced in Germany. It should also offer gasoline, plug-in hybrid and possibly even diesel engines.
At the moment, the range of electric Mini Cooper and Countryman consists of two different versions: Cooper E and Cooper SE. In the case of the Countryman, the 313 hp Cooper SE version has a second electric motor on its rear axle for ALL4 all-wheel drive.
The new Mini Cooper is equipped with a 40.7 kWh battery in the Cooper E version (305 km of range) and 54.2 kWh for the Cooper SE (402 km). A single 64.7kWh pack powers the Countryman Cooper E (462km) and Cooper SE ALL 4 (433km). Mini specifies however that these technical data are still provisional.