All-electric MINI Countryman: 7 reasons it’s the perfect family car
Space, practicality, comfort, safety… the perfect family car needs to tick many boxes, but we think the all-electric MINI Countryman might just fit the brief...
Finding the perfect family car is far from easy. You want something that’s brilliantly practical, whether tackling the school run or loading up for a weekend of adventure. But it shouldn’t be dull. You want something that’ll keep you and your loved ones safe. But it should deliver enough fun to put a smile on your face. And is it too much to ask that it looks the part?
A tough brief, but on paper, the all-electric MINI Countryman looks like a good fit. This latest Countryman is a fair bit bigger than its predecessor – which means a useful leap in interior space and practicality. It’s not just about size, though. There’s the eye-catching looks, the plush-yet-minimalist interior, and a raft of incredibly useful technology features. It’s a car that’s brimming with character and everyday usability, while still offering a sense of occasion.
So can the all-electric MINI Countryman stake a claim to being the perfect family car? We think it can. Here are seven reasons why:
#1 Space for the whole family
First things first. A perfect family car needs enough room for… well, a family – dogs included of course. Plus it needs to carry all the bits and pieces that come with family life – whether that’s suitcases for a memory-making holiday, camping gear for a family adventure, or the plethora of school bags and sports gear for the weekday school dash.
To that end, this latest Countryman is MINI’s biggest car yet. It comes with an accommodating 460-litre boot, eliminating the need for high-pressure packing tetris when you’re desperate to get on the road. Drop the flexible 40:20:40 rear seats, and that luggage space increases to a cavernous 1450 litres – giving you a truly versatile load-carrying machine. There’s even a handy compartment in the boot floor, where you can store items such as the charging cable.
That theme of space carries over to the interior, too. Thanks to the Countryman’s electric-focused platform, its designers have been able to employ some clever trickery. Placing the wheels closer to the corners of the car has enabled them to further increase interior space. Combined with the Countryman’s high roof, passengers enjoy more head and leg room, and almost 3cm extra shoulder and elbow room. Which should keep bickering in the back to a minimum. Hopefully.
There is an abundance of useful storage cubbies, too. And the absence of a gear stick means there’s room for larger cup holders and an additional storage compartment in the centre console. Perfect for stashing snacks on a long journey.
#2 Comfortable and practical
Of course, a family car needs to do more than just fit a family. It needs to be a home from home. Comfortable and accommodating. And at the same time deal with everything that family life can throw at it.
The all-electric Countryman uses soft knitted two-tone recycled materials to cover the dashboard and inside of the doors. It gives a wonderfully plush, homely feeling to the interior. It's sustainable too, and offers plenty of customisation options through projected lighting that splashes colour onto the dashboard – another way for you to put your stamp on the interior decor.
Adding to the premium ambience are the Vescin-trimmed steering wheel and upholstery – a vegan-friendly leather-like material that’s soft, comfortable and easy to clean. Perfect for handling spills and muddy passengers fresh off the football pitch.
Up front, the supportive seats offer plenty of adjustability, so getting comfy is easy – and there’s even an optional massage function to help relieve the stresses of the day. In the back, passengers are able to recline their seats, so they can sit back, relax and enjoy the journey.
#3 Big on safety
Okay, so safety isn’t the most thrilling thing to think about when looking at a new car. But it might be the most important. Nobody wants to be involved in an accident, but a good family car should be able to protect you and your loved ones if the unfortunate happens.
The all-electric MINI Countryman nails the brief here, with an excellent 5-star safety rating in the demanding Euro NCAP tests. It fared particularly well for its occupant protection as well as its safety-related driver assistance systems. But perhaps most impressively, it scored maximum available points for the child occupant crash test. It also scored highly for protecting pedestrians and cyclists.
Of course, it’s better if your car can help you avoid an incident altogether…
#4 An impressive suite of driver assistance systems
Prevention is better than cure, as they say. So it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra set of eyes watching out for you when you’re on the road. That’s effectively what MINI’s Driving Assistant does. It keeps tabs on your surroundings, and can warn you – or even take evasive action – if you’re at risk of an accident.
Imagine you’re on a long motorway stretch. You get ready to change lanes, but unbeknownst to you, there’s a car lurking in your blindspot. The Driving Assistant will warn you of the danger, and can even steer you back into your lane to avoid a collision.
It can also detect crossing traffic when you’re reversing – which is a blessing when backing out of a bay at a busy supermarket or on a school run, when it’s difficult to see approaching traffic.
On the topic of parking, every all-electric MINI Countryman comes with a Parking Assistant, which can actually manoeuvre the car into a space for you, making parking delightfully simple. There’s also an optional Parking Assistant Professional package, which lets you move the car out of a space using your phone – ideal when there’s not quite enough room to get yourself or the little ones in.
Every all-electric Countryman also gets autonomous emergency braking as standard, and a vehicle exit warning system.
By our reckoning, peace of mind behind the wheel is a huge tick in the perfect family car box.
#5 Technology that makes driving simple
When used thoughtfully, technology really can elevate the driving experience, and help make each journey easier. The all-electric Countryman is a fantastic example of that.
Firstly, there’s the MINI Intelligent Personal Assistant. A proper, full-featured voice assistant. It lets you control features in the Countryman, but without needing to take your hands off the wheel, or your eyes off the road. Press the push-to-talk button, or simply say ‘Hey MINI’, and the system will eagerly await your command. That can be something as simple as changing the radio station or volume, or asking for a change in temperature. You can also ask the navigation system to set you a route, request information about the weather, or even ask the assistant to crack a joke.
Then there’s the centrepiece of the interior – the rather impressive-looking 9.4in circular OLED display. There’s a reason it looks so striking, it’s actually a world first. But more important than how it looks is what it does. With always-online 5g connectivity, it gets constant updates with real-time traffic and charging information. So while it’s not always easy to get out on time as a family, at least you know you’ll always be on the quickest route.
To really whet the techie whistle, there’s an optional augmented reality mode for the navigation system that overlays bold graphics over a forward-facing video image of the road ahead, making it even easier to get to your destination with minimal fuss. And, with the optional MINI Connected Package there’s an ever-expanding range of exciting features and entertaining apps to choose from, including music streaming. There are even games that you can play with your passengers when your MINI is stationary.
It’s not all about flashy screens and voice control, though. Hands full with shopping? Luggage? Children? The last thing you need is to try to fumble through your bag or pockets for the key. The Digital Key Plus unlocks the car automatically when you’re in close proximity, so it’s one less thing you need to juggle.
#6 An electric powertrain that makes life easy
We’ve all been there. You’re running late. You finally make it out of the door and get to the car to find the windows are covered in a thick layer of ice. Time to grab the ice scraper. Five minutes and a frozen hand later, and you’re finally ready to get on the road.
Luckily, that’s not a problem you’ll face with the all-electric Countryman. You can let the car know when you plan to leave – either through the MINI App or the infotainment system – and tell it exactly what temperature you want the interior to be when you do so. So you can enjoy coming out to a fully defrosted, toasty warm car in the winter. Or, avoid the dreaded summer sauna, with a pre-cooled car. Particularly useful if you’ve got little ones in the back.
Charging is similarly simple. The all-electric MINI Countryman has a large 64.7kWh battery, which offers up to 286 miles of electric range according to the WLTP test cycle – that’s further than London to Newcastle, and an awful lot further than the UK daily average, which is less than 20 miles. If you do need to charge on the go, the navigation system has real-time charger information, and can direct you to somewhere to top up. It’ll also get the battery to the ideal temperature for speedy charging. With up to 130 kW DC charging speeds, you can charge the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in under 30 minutes. Perfect for a quick comfort break and a bite to eat.
#7 A hoot to drive
Fine. We hold our hands up. This one isn’t strictly for the family. But here’s the thing. Just because it’s brilliantly practical, doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, too. It might not be a necessity, but it sure is a nice to have.
Both of the all-electric MINI Countryman’s powertrains offer usefully instant acceleration. The MINI Countryman E delivers a punchy 204hp and 250Nm of torque from its front-wheel-mounted electric motor. Meanwhile, the all-wheel drive MINI Countryman SE ALL4 combines front and rear-mounted motors to deliver 313hp and 494Nm of torque delivered with confidence-inspiring grip, which translates to an eye-widening 0-62mph time of just 5.6 seconds. That’s mighty quick. And if you really want to channel the go-kart feel of the original MINI, there’s a Go-Kart driving mode that sharpens up the response of the accelerator pedal.
Compared to the previous model, the latest MINI Countryman has an increased track width and wheelbase, which makes it brilliantly stable. Body roll is well controlled, so the car threads neatly through a country road, with plenty of grip and responsive, communicative steering. Combined with the all-electric model’s low centre of gravity and a suspension and damping system that’s been tuned for precise handling, you get a remarkably nimble drive that’s certain to leave you grinning.
That’s seven big reasons why we think the all-electric MINI Countryman could well be the perfect family car. But there’s only one way to know if it’s right for you. So why not try it for yourself?
