Mini Countryman SE Road Test

The Mini Countryman is the brand’s best-seller in North America. Now there’s a new one. It is, ironically, the biggest Mini ever, and gives buyers a choice of going gas or electric. Is the biggest Mini the best Mini too?

Mini History and the Countryman

It sounds almost too obvious to say, but Mini is a pretty unique car brand. Since the first Mini was launched in 1959, drivers have bought and loved them for their unique mix of qualities: a tiny exterior footprint, surprisingly spacious interior, and entertaining driving characteristics. Great qualities, to be sure, but limiting once you’ve reached saturation with a certain audience: what happens when people that love their Minis outgrow their Minis?

For decades, there was no answer to that question, but under BMW’s ownership in the last quarter-century, Mini has started to offer options. There was the Clubman, a stretched version of the 2000s Mini Cooper with small rear doors and a lengthened cargo area; a five-door version of the classic Mini; and the Countryman, a taller Mini crossover with available all-wheel drive.

Unsurprisingly for a country where SUVs are now far and away the most popular body style, the Countryman quickly became the best-selling Mini in North America. It gave three-door Mini owners something to upgrade to as they started families, and its all-wheel drive made it a viable option for drivers in northern climes. In later years, the Countryman became available as a plug-in hybrid.

Now, there’s a new Mini Countryman. And not only is it the biggest Mini ever, but it also offers the choice of an all-electric drivetrain, in the Countryman SE. Is the biggest Mini also the best Mini?

New to electric vehicles? Check out our easy-to-follow EV 101 guide to get started.

Electric Mini Shares BMW Architecture

The new Countryman shares its architecture and a lot of its hardware with the excellent BMW X1, which has been on sale in the U.S. for a while. As such, it packages a lot of interior space into a surprisingly compact footprint, thanks to a long wheelbase, short overhangs, and upright seating position. Despite the classic looks, it feels as solid and as well-made as a BMW, with a reassuring clunk when you close the doors and a high level of quality inside and out.

In other parts of the world, the BMW X1 is available in both gasoline and full-electric forms (where it’s called the iX1). In North America, only Mini offers you the choice of going gas or EV, with the electric version positioned as the high-performance variant, with a starting MSRP of $45,200 compared to the gasoline version’s $38,900. For that price premium you get standard all-wheel drive thanks to dual motors, 308 horsepower, and 364 pound-feet of torque.

Mini Countryman Driving Experience

The dash to 60 mph takes a scant 5.4 seconds and the Countryman SE delivers that speed in a smooth, silent rush uninterrupted by gearchanges or groaning engine noises. Coupled with careful aerodynamic sculpting and a solid structure, the overall level of refinement of the electric Mini crossover is impressive; it may have brightly-colored fabrics on its dashboard and a smiling “personal assistant” lurking in the corner of its screen, but the overall feel is luxurious and high-end.

It also rides and handles like a BMW, for the most part. The steering is very responsive, if a little bit heavy; it guides the big Mini into turns with confidence, and the suspension hangs on really well in corners, far beyond what you’d expect of a vehicle of this size and format. As such, despite being a lot bigger than the Minis we usually associate with go-kart handling, the Countryman is still an entertaining drive, a vehicle that can haul the family in quiet comfort as well as one that can be entertaining for the driver alone.

Inside the Mini Countryman

A toggle switch in a pod at the base of the dashboard sits alongside the gear selector and on-off switch, and lets you choose from a number of drive modes. “Core” is the default mode, balancing things out between comfort and sport. “Green” dials down power and smooths out the throttle response to extend range, while “go-kart” mode sharpens up the steering and power delivery. Additional modes, which Mini calls “experiences,” also switch up the look of the big circular dashboard display, the interior ambient lighting, and the car’s sound signature.

The Countryman’s interior is its biggest highlight. Space and versatility are expected in a vehicle of this format and price, and you get plenty of both, with a roomy rear seat, large cargo area, power tailgate, and the ability to fold the rear seats flat with the pull of a couple of levers. There’s plenty of storage, including a movable lidded bin, and a shelf for your phone that also acts as a wireless charger.

What is less expected is the joyful design and innovative mix of materials, neither of which compromise functionality. Instead of being formed of boring black plastic, the dashboard is covered in recycled textiles, with a unique projected light pattern to liven things up at night. The door panels also feature fabric coverings that blend from one color to another, and the seats can be upholstered in a choice of different synthetic leathers. The quality throughout is exceptional.

Countryman SE Tech

Like most modern cars, the Countryman SE concentrates all its controls on a central touchscreen. What’s different here is that the screen is huge and circular, with climate controls positioned on the circumference, with infotainment and vehicle settings in the middle. Once you’ve got the hang of it, adjusting temperature and fan speed is easy, though the virtual switches for the heated seats and steering wheel are a little too small to find without taking your eyes off the road. The rest of the controls, including standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, are pleasingly quick to react, though the pie-pan screen quickly becomes a mess of fingerprints; thankfully, there are physical buttons on the steering wheel for the most used functions.

That includes a full suite of driver assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, and a number of cameras and sensors that make parking easier (not that the Countryman is difficult to park, upright glass makes it very easy to maneuver). The systems perform well and unobtrusively, without the festival of warning chimes you find on some other brands’ vehicles.

Should I Buy a Mini Countryman SE?

With an EPA estimate of 212 miles, the Mini Countryman SE is not a range champion, an all-wheel drive Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 gives you almost 100 more miles for similar money. In the real world, range anxiety will rarely be an issue since most daily American commutes are less than 40 miles. That means you might go an entire work week without needing to juice up, and if you have a home charger, you’ll leave home with a full tank every day. Road trips will require a bit more pre-planning, however, as the maximum charging speed on a Level 3 DC fast charger of 130 kW is hardly class leading. Getting the 64.7-kWh battery to 80 percent will take half an hour.

Given Mini’s market positioning (the brand unabashedly aims itself at big-city dwellers) long road trips aren’t really the biggest Mini’s thing. Look at the Countryman SE as a great-looking, great-driving runabout for urban families, and it does a great job at fulfilling its intended functional purpose. That it does so with a surprising amount of style, quality, and panache is only icing on the cake.