Electric car Mini Countryman E gets a bit more range
With minimal adjustments, Mini increases the range of the Countryman E to over 500 km in WLTP. The battery was not enlarged for this purpose.
(Image: Mini)
A few refinements around the battery increase the range of the Countryman with battery-electric drive to up to 501 km in WLTP. That's about 40 km more than before. To achieve this, more net was released from the gross. The unchanged battery now offers a usable energy content of 65.2 instead of 64.6 kWh. Of course, this alone would not have brought an increase in range of almost 40 km. A new silicon carbide (SiC) inverter, which guarantees "highly efficient energy conversion" and "minimizes power losses," is also said to have contributed, writes BMW. Wheel bearings with lower rolling resistance on the front axle are also said to contribute their part.
| WLTP range in km | Consumption WLTP in kWh/100 km | |
| Countryman E (until 2025) | 462 | 15.7 to 17.4 |
| Countryman E (from 2026) | 501 | 17.4 |
| Countryman SE ALL4 (until 2025) | 432 | 16.8 to 18.5 |
| Countryman SE ALL4 (from 2026) | 467 | 18.5 |
AC charging with 22 kW only at an additional cost
Apart from that, the key data remain unchanged. Preconditioning of the battery cells is possible via the route planner and also manually. With alternating current, charging up to 11 kW is standard. For an additional charge, this is also possible with a maximum of 22 kW. Those who charge with direct current can use up to 130 kW. In tests, models based on this have slightly exceeded the maximum specified DC charging power. Nevertheless, the competition sometimes charges considerably faster. So far, this does not seem to stand in the way of success. The BMW iX1 was among the best-selling electric cars in Germany last year with almost 19,000 registrations, ranking sixth.
A Mini Countryman E currently costs at least 38,120 Euros, with all-wheel drive and more power, the Countryman SE ALL4 currently costs 43,320 Euros. The technically identical BMW iX1 is considerably more expensive at least 48,800 Euros. The BMW Group uses a platform for multiple brands. The BMW iX1 and the Mini Countryman E are based on an identical platform. Therefore, it is to be expected that the iX1 will benefit from the small adjustments that the group is making to the Mini sooner rather than later.
(mfz)