Revealed: Mini Countryman and Cooper icon get funky electric makeover

Mini has taken the wraps off its new electric Cooper at the Munich Motor Show, along with the reveal of a new, all-electric Countryman.

Now simply called Cooper Electric instead of Mini Electric (in fact, every Mini hatch is now called the Cooper, regardless of trim level), the second-generation electric hatchback rides on a new platform and gets larger batteries.

Two variants will be on offer, the E and SE, the former using a smaller battery and less powerful motor while the latter gets more range and more power.

The E’s motor produces 135kW/290Nm, enough for a 0-100kph sprint of 7.3 seconds, while its 40.7kWh battery is enough for 305km of range on the WLTP test. Meanwhile, the SE gets an uprated 160kW/330Nm motor with a 0-100kph time of 6.7s, and a larger 54.2kWh battery with 402km of claimed range.

Aesthetically, the Cooper Electric continues the traditions of short overhangs, a short bonnet, a hexagonal grille, round headlights and circular motifs. The door handles have been made flush this time around to improve aerodynamic efficiency, and there aren’t any fender flares to keep the sides trim. The rear lights have been redesigned into arrows pointing into a connecting black bar.

All of the lights are LEDs, with the rears coming with three different visual styles that “each support different aspects of the car body design and interact with the environment by means of a special welcome and farewell light animation.”

Inside is a fresh twin-spoke steering wheel and a new-look 240mm-diameter circular infotainment screen rocking a new operating system, sitting above a row of physical buttons.

These buttons consist of a drive selector rocker switch, a twisty power switch, a volume knob, and a toggle that reads ‘Experiences’, which changes the look of the dash. Special light projections extend the colours of the round instrument across the dashboard, expanding the overall experience of the user interface in the interior.

Recycled materials are used for the seat linings, knitted surfaces of the cabin, headliner and floor. All models get Vescin artificial leather seats.

Speaking of, four different trim levels will be available – Essential, Classic, Favoured and JCW. Mini didn’t give any details on those, but the JCW inclusion is interesting…

Like before, the electric hatch will only be available as a three-door. But if you’re interested in a five-door electric Mini, the new Countryman Electric could be up your alley.

The exclusively volt-powered Countryman is 60mm taller and 130mm longer than the outgoing model, offering more space and comfort inside the small SUV.

There will be multiple trim levels, each distinguished by the design of the C-pillar and based on the roof colour.

Like the Cooper Electric, the Countryman Electric comes in E and SE guises. The E gets a single motor making 150kW/250Nm and a 0-100kph time of 8.6 seconds, while the SE gets a second motor for all-wheel drive grip with 230kW/494Nm on tap. The highway sprint is done and dusted in 5.6 seconds. As for range, the E will run for 462km while the SE will do 433km. Both variants use a 66.45kWh battery, afforded by the longer wheelbase compared to the Cooper Electric.

The cabin of the Countryman mimics the Cooper in using plenty of recycled materials, a 240mm-diameter infotainment screen, Mini’s latest operating system, and the different Experience modes.

Outside are flush-mounted door handles, redesigned lights at both ends with the rears gaining a new pixel effect, and black cladding over the wheels.

The Countryman will also get Essential, Classic, Favoured and JCW trims, all of which are yet to be further detailed. Both new electric vehicles will land in New Zealand in early Q3, 2024. Pricing and final specifications will be revealed closer to then.

Bonus images