Mini Countryman Electric review

We drove the SE All4 immediately after a lengthy spell in the more overtly sporting (and petrol-powered) JCW, which provided a useful comparison. As with the combustion version, it’s a firm-riding car but one that stops, goes and handles with a fluidity and commitment that belies its size and weight: at 2,000kg, it’s a thumping 340kg heavier than the JCW. Oof.

It’s a tribute to the car’s set-up that this extra mass doesn’t punish the Countryman’s dynamics too much. Its fixed ratio steering is direct and linear, and you can basically plot a course and stick to it. Its ride on passive dampers is slightly more compliant than the JCW’s adaptive set-up, though it’s still much firmer than most of its rivals and around town it's far too crashy. Still, being an EV, it’s naturally quiet on the move.

Let me guess, we’ve seen this platform before…

Sure have. The new Countryman uses the UKL2 skateboard that sits under a variety of ‘smaller’ BMW products, including the new X2. It has an increased track width and longer wheelbase, Mini also claiming a reduced centre of gravity. A strut brace boosts rigidity and stabiliser mounts on the axles improve response. It also wears bigger tyres than before, with 19 and 20in alloys – rich in the use of secondary/recycled material – available. The Countryman E uses smaller, aero-efficient 17in wheels.

Any driving modes?

Sort of. Mini calls them ‘experience’ modes, and only three of them actually tailor the drive (the others are just fancy graphics and funky noises). Choose the ‘go-kart mode’ and throttle response sharpens, there’s more response in the steering which is otherwise slightly too light, and the traction control threshold reduces.

There’s also some sonic enhancement, which feels better suited to the electric Mini than in the petrol models. There’s a distinctly sci-fi whoosh in ‘go-kart’ mode, but as ever in an electric car you tend to focus more on efficiency than hi-jinks.

You’re not tempted to give it the beans then?

The SE All4 might be fun to drive but really, why would you bother pushing the envelope in one of these? It feels grown-up, slickly engineered, and more extrovert than most, which is enough to be getting on with. We saw an average of 3.3mi/kWh during our – quite spirited – test drive and then an impressive 4.1kWh during more everyday use.

Advanced assistance systems arrive now, too, including level two semi-autonomous driving. You have to add the Driving Assistant Professional package if you want that. Lane assist, speed limit warning… it’s all here and easy to turn off, which is a feature in itself these days.

Is it easy to charge?

The Countryman’s battery can be charged on an AC supply at up to 22kW, or fast charged on DC up to 130kW. That translates to a 10-80 per cent charge in around 30 minutes. Perhaps we should devise an algorithm that converts that to motorway stop time for Greggs or Starbucks sausage rolls.

Mini’s active navigation system can be programmed so the battery is at the optimum temperature to receive charge so you can eat/rest/snooze knowing the electrons are doing their thing as efficiently as possible. Set a departure time and the air con will come on automatically so that everything’s just-so when you return. In the original Mini you had to open the window – a sliding window at that. Naturally everything can be monitored via the Mini App.

We’ll need to verify the Countryman’s real-world range, but BMW Group products tend to be more realistic than others so we’d expect the Countryman SE All4 that we drove to deliver 250 miles-plus on a full charge.