MINI Countryman Electric Review & Prices

Until now the only electric Mini you could buy was the dinky little Cooper S E, but now there’s another option. This is the new Mini Countryman, and as well as petrol engines it’s available with a fully electric powertrain.

With its unashamedly retro design hiding plenty of up-to-the-minute tech, the new electric Countryman is a bit like a Smeg fridge - and if you like the fusion of classic looks with modern sensibilities then you’ll probably like the new Mini Countryman a lot.

In terms of appearance, it’s unmistakably Mini but don’t think that means it’s a small car. In fact, the Countryman has grown so much over the years that this new, third-generation car is actually larger than a Nissan Qashqai. That means that if you’re in the market for a Countryman you have loads of alternative electric cars to pick through - everything from posh and plush like the Peugeot E-3008 or the BMW iX1, to practical choices like the Mercedes EQB or even the Tesla Model Y.

The Countryman is available in two flavours - named E and SE ALL4. The base-model E has a single motor, putting 204hp out through the front wheels, while the SE uses two electric motors for 313hp and four-wheel drive.

With a maximum range of 286 miles for the lower-powered model, the Countryman isn’t really going to challenge the best electric cars for range - many, such as the Tesla Model Y, offer well over 300 miles on a charge, and even better performance for the money.

It does drive well, though, with good acceleration, satisfying steering and suspension that’s not quite as aggressively firm as it is in some alternatives - particularly the BMWs with which the Countryman shares a lot of its technology.

What no car offers is an interior that’s anything like the Countryman’s, though. It’s dominated by a huge, circular screen in the middle - the first of its type to be installed in a car - which combined with a lozenge-shaped panel underneath is meant to evoke feelings of the original 1950s Mini.

But it’s not just fashion-first, because the Mini Countryman is very practical. There’s loads of room in the rear seats plus a big boot, and options for storage around the interior are pretty good too. It’s just a shame the sense of family-friendliness is spoiled somewhat by the choice of materials - more on that later.

If this electric version of the Mini Countryman sounds like something you’d be interested in, check out our latest Mini Countryman deals. You can find a great deal on a used Mini Countryman on Carwow too, or check out other used Mini models here. And remember to check back with us when it’s time to break up with your old car - you can sell it through our network of trusted dealers.

The Countryman E starts at just a lick over £42,000, while opting for the more powerful SE ALL4 model adds around £5,000 to this price.

That makes it just a little cheaper at the entry level than either a BMW iX1 or a Tesla Model Y, but a good bit more than a Kia Niro EV. Considering that the Countryman has grown into a proper small family SUV, that’s a pretty reasonable sum.

You might be tempted to spend a couple of thousand more stepping up from the basic Classic trim level, though, as this is really limited - with just three paint shades, fairly awful alloy wheel options and much plainer interior upholstery.  Posh Exclusive and Sport trims are around £2,000 and £3,000 more respectively, while several options packs are available for each.

SE has good performance, but feels ungainly for a Mini

In town

The Countryman’s sheer size makes it more difficult than, say, a Mini hatchback to drive around town. However, it’s on a par with other small SUVs. The Countryman has pretty square dimensions and thanks to its low windowline and square silhouette, surprisingly good visibility for a 2024 SUV. 

As with all EVs, the electric Countryman accelerates quickly and smoothly, and with no gears to worry about getting up to speed is totally seamless and nearly silent. Zero-30mph comes around really fast, so you can nip into gaps in traffic really easily. There are two options for regenerative braking - one that decides the level for you, and another that defaults to a very strong braking effect. However, it’d be nice to have some more control over this, like you get in a Kia Niro EV with its steering wheel-mounted paddles.

The Countryman copes okay with bumps around town, and it’s not as firm as closely-related cars from BMW. However, a Mercedes EQB will be more comfortable over pockmarked surfaces or potholes. The issue is exacerbated in models with larger alloy wheels - while the basic Classic model has 17-inch wheels, opt for a Sport and they’re 19-inchers with low profile tyres which thud more over bumps.

A suite of sensors and cameras make it pretty easy to park, and you can opt for Mini’s clever parking assistants as optional extras that can park the car for you or execute tricky manoeuvres in reverse if you’ve parked nose-first into an awkward spot, for example.

On the motorway

We’ve only driven the powerful Countryman SE so far, and can report that it has ample power for motorway cruising - put your foot down and it’s easy to make decisive overtaking manoeuvres or get up to speed on a slip road. The lower-powered Countryman E has less grunt, but it’ll still cover 0-62mph in a swift 8.6 seconds - so we can’t imagine it’ll be underpowered on a fast road.

There’s almost no noise from the electric drivetrain, as expected, but wind and road noise are a little high. Wind noise comes from the Countryman’s upright windscreen and door mirrors, while road noise from the larger wheels is definitely noticeable - it’s not as hushed as a Tesla Model Y or Volvo XC40 Recharge, for example.

The suspension does smooth out a little on the motorway, though you will still notice things like expansion joints or cat’s eyes. The Driving Assistant Plus comes with the Level 2 equipment pack, or it can be added later through the Mini store. It includes adaptive cruise control with stop & go, to take the sting out of stop/start traffic - as well as lane-keeping aids. It does feel a little stingy that you only get basic cruise control as standard, though.

On a twisty road

Minis are supposed to handle well - the sportiest of the Countryman’s driving modes is even called ‘Go-Kart’ - but don’t expect the agility of a hot hatchback. For a pretty large SUV with a heavy battery pack, it’s reasonably satisfying to drive, though.

The steering is very quick and nicely accurate, with a good weight to it in the sporty driving mode. It’s rather dead, though, and it doesn’t communicate much of what the front wheels are up to. If you fling the Countryman through a series of bends the car’s weight makes itself known, too, and it’s not difficult to have the traction control step in to keep everything in line.

If you want an EV that’s more fun to drive, you will have to step up to something like the larger Kia EV6.

Surprisingly practical for a Mini, though the back seat is better for two

Up front in the Mini Countryman you get sporty, supportive seats with plenty of adjustment for drivers of all sizes. The driving position feels a little upright, but it’s not uncomfortable and if you prefer the high-up view from an SUV you’ll like it. Even very tall drivers will be able to get comfortable as the seats go back a long way.

Storage isn’t bad, either. The door bins will comfortably accommodate a big bottle of water and the glovebox is a good size, while in the centre console there’s not just dedicated storage for your phone but an array of places to keep general detritus from your pockets like your wallet or keys. The cupholders are well placed, there’s a slim space under the central armrest to hide things out of view and an interesting fabric-covered bin that’s great for putting things that you don’t want on display while you’re parked. 

Space in the back seats

There’s room in the back for two adults to get really comfortable. Unlike the petrol-powered Countryman, the rear seat doesn’t slide back and forward, but in its fixed location there’s still loads of legroom for a six-foot adult to sit behind a driver of the same size. Rear passengers also benefit from a pair of USB-C charging ports in the centre, their own air vents, and two cupholders in the flip-down central armrest.

It’s better used as a four-seater, though, as the centre seat is quite narrow and the Countryman isn’t really wide enough for three adults to sit abreast. The rear doors are nice and square, even if they don’t open quite as wide as they could, but installing child seats should be pretty easy - and the ISOFIX points are hidden behind flip-up covers that are much nicer to use than the pop-out plastic shields that so easily get lost.

Boot space

There’s a total of 460 litres of space in the Countryman’s boot, slightly less than you get in the 490-litre BMW iX1 and a lot less than the 520 litres of the Peugeot E-3008. It’s still a usable size for family duties, though, and it’s also a nice square shape with a flat floor.

Better still, the rear seats fold down in a really useful 40:20:40 split, allowing you to keep two full-sized rear seats and still have space between them to thread long items. 

There’s a small underfloor storage area ideal for keeping your charging cables, though this is potentially a bit of a pain if you have to shift the contents of the boot out of the way to access them first. Unfortunately, the Countryman doesn’t have a ‘frunk’ like the Tesla Model Y.

Super-stylish interior, though material choice isn’t very family-friendly

The first thing you’ll notice inside the Mini Countryman is the central display. It’s super-cool, being a totally circular display - and at 9.4-inches in diameter, it’s certainly big enough to dominate the dashboard. It needs to be big, though, as it controls almost everything in the car.

The top portion is given over to instrumentation, as there’s no driver display - though a head-up display is available as an option if you don’t want to flick your eyes to the centre console just to check how fast you’re going. The lower third, meanwhile, holds the climate controls, which are quite small and not very easy to press on the move.

The middle section is responsible for everything else, and has quite a busy interface that might take a few weeks to learn properly. It looks fab when you’re using any of Mini’s own apps - the screen’s super-bright and there’s almost no bezel, so it feels really futuristic. However, plug yourself into Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and you’ll feel like a square peg in a round hole as it runs in an awkward windowed mode.

Physical switchgear has been retained for some functions - we’re glad to see Mini hasn’t done a Tesla and put the mirror adjustment on the touchscreen, for example - but the Countryman’s interior still isn’t going to be a paradise for a technophobe.

The rest of the interior feels really cool. The dash and most of the door cards are swathed in an interesting knitted-texture fabric, and where there’s artificial leather it feels soft and forgiving. We’ll let you make your own mind up about the rose gold-style accents, but we think they work pretty well in here. The overall effect is totally different to the sea of monochrome plastic you get in most small SUVs, but we can’t help feeling that all that fabric will be difficult to clean if your kids get their grubby hands all over it.

There’s one battery available, with 66.5kWh of capacity. From that, the Countryman E extracts up to 286 miles of range, which is pretty efficient. Opt for the more powerful Countryman SE ALL4 and the max figure drops to 266 miles.

Based on what we saw during our test drive, a real-world range of 200 miles should be possible, which is certainly very usable for most people but pales in comparison to the 280-300 miles of real world range you could expect from a Kia EV6 or Tesla Model Y. With its smaller battery and good efficiency, though, the Countryman will be pretty cheap to run - always a consideration especially if you have to use pricey public charging networks.

If you find a sufficiently powerful public charger, the Countryman can top up at a rate of 130kW - which Mini says is good for 10-80% charge in 29 minutes. That’s pretty slow compared to the 200kW+ available from Tesla, Volvo or Kia, though.

The electric model is the cheapest Countryman when it comes to company car tax, with really competitive benefit-in-kind rates making it cost-effective to run. As with all pure EVs, it’s also exempt from vehicle excise duty as well as London’s congestion charge until 2025.

The last Mini Countryman scored a full five stars when it was tested by Euro NCAP in 2017. The new model shares much of its structure and all of its safety equipment with BMW models such as the X1 and 2 Series Active Tourer, both of which scored five stars themselves, so we’d expect it to return a good result when it’s crash tested.

Lane-keeping aids and cruise control all come as standard, as does a blind-spot monitor which is often a cost option on SUVs of this level. You can specify more as part of the Level 2 or Level 3 options packs, but this is comfort tech rather than safety kit. Spec everything, and the Countryman becomes the first Mini capable of Level 2 assisted driving - where the car can take control of itself in specific situations, albeit with the driver monitoring at all times.

The outgoing Mini Countryman was one of the brand’s most reliable offerings, but this new model is totally different. However, it shares its tech with several BMWs, so it’s not like this is brand-new and untested waters. Electric cars do tend to be more reliable than combustion ones, too, with fewer moving parts to worry about or go wrong.

The Countryman’s warranty is just three years in length but covers unlimited mileage, great for those who intend to drive a lot. Volvo, Mercedes and Tesla all offer a similar level of cover, though if you went with Kia or MG you’d get seven years of warranty. Mini guarantees the battery pack for eight years or 100,000 miles, which is pretty standard.