MINI Countryman SE ALL4 review: The big one now also electric
A TEST REPORT from David Haydl 
on October 16, 2024, 14:00 p.m. | Write a comment
The MINI Countryman SE ALL4 is not only the first fully electric Countryman, it is also a lot ahead of its predecessors. I was able to find out what it does well and where there is room for improvement.
tl; dr: The MINI Countryman SE ALL4 not only makes a huge leap forward in terms of engine power, but also in terms of appearance. MINI gave the model the same modern look as the new Aceman or the current MINI Cooper.
One of the highlights of the car is primarily the feeling when driving. The Countryman is very playful, which is noticeable in the infotainment operating system and the experience modes. The model also scores points with a modern look inside and out and with its spacious interior. In addition, the variety of available camera perspectives and the solid assistance systems left a lasting impression, among a few other things.
Let's move on to the cons, which include the range and charging speed. Neither of these things are bad, but the competition often offers more for the same or similar price. I also see room for improvement in the performance of the infotainment system. And I would have liked more storage space in the front row for small things. In general, the size of the Countryman can be a problem, especially in the city, as I will explain later.
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MINI Countryman SE ALL4: The TechnikNewstest on YouTube
Design
Visually, the MINI Countryman hasn't changed much over the years. It just got a little longer and flatter, and with the current generation the manufacturer has completely modernized the design. My test car is in the color "British Racing Green IV" and has a black roof. The roof is also the same color as the car as standard.
The MINI Countryman SE ALL4 is not a small vehicle. It is 4,45 meters long and 2,07 meters wide and has a wheelbase of 2,69 meters. This means that driving it in the city is not always easy. In the parking garage of a shopping center near me, in particular, I would have had a much easier life with a MINI Cooper due to the tight parking spaces. On the other hand, I found the car to be very easy to navigate.
The many camera perspectives can be extremely helpful in everyday life. There is not only a 3D view, a bird's eye view, a panoramic view and camera images from the front and rear, but also a display specifically for the entrance to car washes (which I really welcome, as I tend to mess things up like that sometimes) and for the trailer hitch. You can even set activation points for the panoramic view.
The combustion engine and electric versions of the Countryman look largely the same. At the back we see a MINI logo, Countryman lettering and the taillights. For these you can choose an animation that is played when you lock and unlock the vehicle. On the side we have an ALL4 logo next to the charging lid and the doors with flush handles. Unfortunately only the driver's door has sensors for locking and unlocking without a key. The MINI Countryman can be unlocked with a smartphone via NFC or a key card. At the front there is again a MINI logo and a small S where the radiator grille would be on the combustion engine. There is also the option of setting a greeting and farewell animation for the headlights. Incidentally, there is no storage space under the hood.
Picture: TechnikNews
inner space
The interior also received a completely new coat of paint and radiates modernity. Only one component survived from the old days, namely the round display in the middle.
The steering wheel is made of leather and is a bit thicker than you might be used to in other cars. It has three spokes, with the third spoke being a fabric band. In my test, this felt very robust, but the question remains how this might change over time. The steering wheel has a few buttons that feel good and are of course a lot easier to use while driving than Touch surfaces Only the rocker switch for adjusting the speed in Assisted Driving has a strange pressure point.
The range of shelves and storage space in the front row is limited. There is a rubberized surface with a coil for wirelessly charging your smartphone. This actually charges quite quickly, because in just an hour I had 35 percent of the battery in my iPhone 15 Pro Max again. It didn't even generate too much heat. In the level below the wireless charger there is space for a wallet or similar items. In the middle we have a cup holder and a small box that can be opened by pulling on a loop. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of this at the beginning of the journey and accidentally ripped out the gray plastic part with the MINI lettering. The workmanship clearly needs improvement at this point. The center console also has two USB-C ports. What I think is missing is another, deeper box under the armrest.
Picture: TechnikNews
In the middle area you will also find a bar with a few switches, such as the gear lever or a wheel for adjusting the volume of the speakers. There are no buttons for functions such as the air conditioning - such things can only be operated via the infotainment system.
The front seats are flexibly adjustable and can also be heated. The driver's seat also has a massage function. This can be switched on very easily by adjusting the lumbar support on the seat and confirming the message on the display. Unfortunately, it can only be switched off via a submenu on the display, which distracts from the traffic. The seats themselves are very comfortable, even after several hours I had no problems.
There is enough space for three more people in the back. There are two USB-C ports in the middle for charging any devices.
The trunk is very spacious with a volume between 460 and 1.450 liters. There is also a double floor for storing a charging cable.
infotainment
The screen in the middle runs MINI OS 9, which is based on Android Automotive. It also supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and offers several different apps for download. For example, there are also Pocket Casts and Spotify directly for MINI OS 9, which means I don't even have to use CarPlay. Apropos CarPlay: I think that MINI has done an excellent job of integrating the feature on the round display with the background that extends over the entire display area.
Picture: TechnikNews
The display is based on OLED, is very sharp and easy to read and can reproduce colors well. Unfortunately, the brightness does not automatically adjust to the ambient light. Instead, the brightness level in the dark has to be set manually in the settings.
The OS offers a kind of home page with various widgets to quickly access the most important areas of the system. These are also displayed quite large, so that you can easily interact with them while driving. Then there is an app view for everything else. Unfortunately, some features, such as the previously mentioned control of the massage seats, can only be accessed via this grid of icons, which, as mentioned, greatly limits your attention when driving. There is also the option of creating shortcuts, but this is not really obvious at first glance.
Picture: TechnikNews
Information about the journey and the vehicle is available in the upper part of the display. Some of this data can also be viewed on the head-up display, as can current calls or what is being played over the speakers. I think it's a nice detail that a speedometer can be displayed on the screen, which is reminiscent of older MINI models.
Picture: TechnikNews
The performance of the infotainment system still has room for improvement. Once you are in an app or an area, the operation is quite smooth. Things like swiping in the map app also work without stuttering. Switching between apps is what is slow, however. This overshadows the fact that a lot of love and detail has gone into the user interface. In fact, I have to say that I think MINI OS 9 is one of the most beautiful car operating systems. But the performance ruins the whole thing a little.
Another, somewhat smaller, point of criticism is the keyboard on the display. I sometimes had great difficulty hitting the right keys because I think they are a bit small. In my opinion, the keyboard could take up more of the screen space.
I also didn't really like the AR navigation in the maps app. It shows the next step in the navigation on a camera image, which I thought was pretty cool beforehand. In reality, however, the whole thing wasn't that helpful because the visual aids didn't always appear on time.
A big highlight were the surround sound speakers from Harman/Kardon. In terms of sound, they are at the top, because only the speakers in the BMW 520d I liked them a little better. And thanks to the surround sound, you also get a really good cinema-like experience when you have to kill time at the charging station.
driving experience
The MINI Countryman SE ALL4 has an output of 225 kilowatts (306 hp) and all-wheel drive. This brings it to a speed of 5,6 kilometers in just 100 seconds pro hour. 180 kilometers pro Hour is the maximum speed that can be achieved.
The driving experience in newer MINIs can be customized using so-called experience modes. Unlike classic driving modes, these not only affect the driving behavior, but also the feeling in the car. In "Balance" mode, for example, the roof closes and a massage begins, while in go-kart mode a joyful "woohoo" sounds at the beginning and the engine noise, which is played over the loudspeakers, is accompanied by misfires. Here, too, the playful side of the MINI comes through strongly.
The car itself is a lot of fun to drive. You reach high speeds in no time at all and the MINI driving sounds add to the fun. The steering is not too hard and not too soft and thanks to its weight of just over two tons, the vehicle sits excellently on the road.
Picture: TechnikNews
The recuperation can be controlled in D with four different levels. The B gear offers classic one-pedal driving, whereby the speed is reduced slowly in higher ranges and then more and more, which enables fairly smooth driving. The Autohold mode felt a bit strange to me. If you have a speed of zero kilometers pro When the vehicle reaches the hour mark, it rolls a little further and only then does the brake kick in. In other cases, the brakes are applied immediately.
A highlight for me on motorways and in stop-and-go traffic was Assisted Driving, which allows the MINI to steer itself and maintain speed and distance. It also automatically reduces speed before exits and ramps and automatically forms an emergency lane. It also recognises when you are not paying attention to traffic in stop-and-go traffic and then refuses to drive on. In my test, the system worked flawlessly. The only thing I missed was a lane change assistant.
The MINI Countryman SE also has a blind spot assistant, a high beam assistant and a parking assistant. On top of that, the car warns you when you get out if a car or bicycle is approaching from behind. All of this worked extremely reliably review.
range and charging
The battery in the MINI Countryman SE ALL4 has a capacity of around 66 kilowatt hours and the WLTP range is specified as 411 to 431 kilometers. According to the manufacturer, consumption is 16,9 to 18 kilowatt hours pro 100 kilometers. In everyday life, I drove the MINI for around 350 kilometers in a combination of city, highway and open country. Consumption was always around 18 kilowatt hours pro 100 kilometers.
The maximum possible charging power is said to be 128 kilowatts. In all my tests, however, the vehicle always started charging at around 125 kilowatts and only fell below 45 kilowatts at around 100 percent. For me, charging from 30 to 80 percent took around 25 minutes, charging from 20 to 80 percent took around 30 minutes, and I had to allow an hour for charging from 20 to 100 percent. To shorten the charging time, the fan can be activated in the settings during the entire charging process.
Picture: TechnikNews
So you get back on track pretty quickly, but others show that it can also happen a little faster.
MINI Countryman SE ALL4: Prices
My test car costs 63.474 euros including VAT, with the gross list price being 49.500 euros. The extra cost is due to the paintwork, the Classic Trim, the "XL package" and the 18-inch rims. The cheapest configuration of the MINI Countryman starts at 43.000 euros.
We would like to thank BMW Austria for providing the MINI Countryman SE ALL4!