MINI Countryman PHEV available now

UPDATE 01/04/2019: Following our report on March 29, MINI Australia has advised the MINI Countryman PHEV is now available for customer test drives at dealerships, ahead of its price/spec announcement this month.

MINI Australia has kicked off the marketing campaign for its first electrified model, the unfortunately named MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 plug-in hybrid.

As you can see from this billboard in Melbourne, the launch of Australia’s first plug-in MINI is being heralded by the slogan ‘Same zip. Now with zap”.

BMW Australia Group spokesman Adam Davis told carsales the MINI Countryman PHEV would be released here by mid-year, as promised by former company chief Marc Werner last July.

“It’s around the Countryman PHEV that’s been under consideration for some time now,” he said. “We are still working pricing and specification for the car so this is essentially marketing to build some brand equity.”

Two examples of the small plug-in SUV, which was launched almost two years ago in Europe, have been testing in Australia since mid-2017 in preparation for the local launch.

Rather than replace the diesel version, which was dropped from the facelifted MINI hatch line-up last year, we expect the MINI Countryman PHEV to be priced and specified in line with the all-wheel drive MINI Cooper Countryman SD ALL4 diesel ($53,900 plus ORCs).

Last year Werner said the MINI PHEV would be released here in response to consumer demand, and with a price he confirmed would be lower than the Countryman JCW ($59,900 plus ORCs), it will be interesting to see how many MINI customers vote with their wallets.

Based on the second-generation Countryman — which was released here last year and rides on a larger platform than other MINIs — the PHEV has been available in Europe since June 2017, meaning it will be two years old by the time it arrives Down Under.

The plug-in Countryman is powered by a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine matched with a synchronous electric motor with power outputs of 100kW and 65kW respectively.

The petrol engine drives the front wheels via a modified six-speed Steptronic automatic transmission, while the electric motor drives the rear axle via a two-stage single-speed transmission.

Total system outputs are rated at 165kW and a muscular 385Nm or torque, making it almost as powerful as MINI’s flagship JCW models and even torquier (170kW/350Nm), although peak torque is less than the Countryman SD’s 2.0-litre diesel (140kW/400Nm).

No performance figures are quoted, but combined-cycle fuel consumption is listed at just 2.1L/100km, thanks to an all-electric driving range of up to 42km at speeds of up to 125km/h, easily making it the most efficient MINI.

A 7.5kWh-capacity lithium-ion battery pack under the rear seat can be fully charged in a claimed 2.5 hours using a 3.6kW wallbox charger, with a domestic power outlet taking 3.25 hours.

MINI’s three-mode hybrid drive system includes Auto eDrive, which allows for pure-electric driving at speeds up to 80km/h. The petrol engine only engages at higher speeds, during hard acceleration or when battery charge falls below seven per cent.

Max eDrive employs electric power at up to 125km/h or during kickdown for overtaking or hard acceleration, while Save Battery mode uses mainly petrol power to keep the battery charge level above 90 per cent.

MINI Australia says it continues to evaluate the all-electric version of the Cooper hatch, which will be called the MINI E when it enters production this year.