Mini Countryman Electric long-term test: report 1

The car Mini Countryman Electric Exclusive Run by Chris Haining, sub-editor

Why it’s here To find out whether Mini's electric family SUV has what it takes as a comfortable, versatile daily workhorse 

Needs to Handle a long motorway commute without stopping to recharge; be at home in the great outdoors as it is in the urban jungle

Mileage 756 List price £44,580 Target Price £43,700 Price as tested £49,600 Official range  275 miles Test range 245 miles Options Level 2 pack (£5000), 19in Kaleido alloy wheels (£600)

25 October 2024 – The march of progress

Like a surprising number of folk who end up writing about cars for a living, the occupation I actually earned a degree in is car design. Of these folk, though, perhaps not very many of them are as geeky as me, and my new car – a shiny British Racing Green metallic Mini Countryman Electric – is already bringing my nerdish tendencies to the fore.

People who are fascinated by design often look at the latest thing while also pondering the past. When I see a new car for the first time, it's normal for me to consider its predecessors, and that gives me an excuse to raid my library of ancient car brochures. Unless you've freshly beamed down from Alpha Centuri, you'll know that the Mini name has been on quite a journey since 1959, the year that Disney released Sleeping Beauty; Barbie Dolls first went on sale and a tiny new Morris saloon car would cause a sensation in the showrooms.

The Countryman Electric is, as you might imagine, far removed from the 848cc, petrol-powered, 10-foot long original Mini – and with good reason. You have to move with the times and give people what they want, and family SUVs – particularly electric ones – are every bit as fashionable as the original Mini was during Beatlemania. I'm excited, then, to be running one for the next few months.

I very much enjoyed my time with the previous-generation, petrol-powered Mini Cooper 5dr, and I suspect that the Countryman will suit me even better. As a family SUV, it should be a lot more versatile (one of the weaknesses of the Cooper).

The Countryman really is Mini in name only; at 4445mm long, it's only 30cm shorter than a Tesla Model Y, and it's rather taller, too. I'm also hoping that the Countryman lives up to its rural name; the stylised mountain range graphics on its hind quarters strongly hint at the potential for getting away from it all, and that's something my wife and I do as often as possible.

Unfortunately, in between the scenic stopovers, every car I run has to deal with the drudgery of a long regular commute – and I mean long. A 237-mile round trip, starting in the Essex countryside, then interminably queueing on the A12 and M25, and culminating in the cut and thrust of Greater London congestion. During this ordeal, the Mini needs to not only effortlessly shrug this punishment off, but it also needs to serve as a sanctuary while doing so. I need to arrive in the What Car? office sane and fresh, and the same is true when I get home at the end of a long day.

Happily, the Countryman is kitted out to do just that. Its name in full is Countryman E Exclusive Level 2; the Exclusive part of that refers to a £2500 styling package that adds the black roof treatment, John Cooper Works 'sports' seats and a matching steering wheel.

The Level 2 pack, though, at another £5000, is where all the real goodies lie. These include a panoramic glass sunroof, adaptive LED front headlights and wireless phone charging, together with Driving Assistant Plus (which incorporates active cruise control and lane-keeping assistance), and a head-up display. It also gives me a Harmon Kardon sound system; a decent stereo is right up at the top of my list of demands from a car, because a constant supply of crisply delivered music is key to my survival when the M25 motorway does its worst. But most important of all are the heated seats and – even better – steering wheel.

The last electric car I had the pleasure of running was a Lexus RZ, and that offered clever infra-red heating that acted as a warm blanket over my lap on cold days. The Mini doesn't go as far as that – but it should go farther in terms of distance. Officially, it manages 275 miles (the top spec RZ promised 250 miles), but getting close to that figure will depend on steady driving and minimal use of the heater or air-con. That being the case, heating for the seats and steering wheel (a lot less power-hungry than heating the whole car), are an absolute godsend on cold mornings.

Those options, plus 19in alloy wheels at £600, bring the Countryman up to a gently eye-watering £49,600 – enough to buy a Tesla Model Y RWD Long Range and have enough change for a good few charging sessions. My Mini, then, as distinctive inside and out as it is, is setting out into the world like a young car designer fresh from University, with a lot to prove. Let's see if it can make a lasting impression.

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