New Mini Cooper and Countryman: no chrome, no instrument panel and rag interior

The British brand Mini, owned by the BMW Group, on the eve of the opening of the Munich Motor Show, introduced new generations of the Mini hatchback and Countryman crossover, and also announced for April 2024 the premiere of the junior crossover Aceman.

In the coming years, the Mini lineup will become noticeably richer than it is now, but the first thing the British brand wants to do is to update existing models. For the Mini hatchback, the generation that debuted today is the fifth in a row, for the Countryman crossover it is the third. Both new items will be offered with both «hydrocarbon» and purely electric power plants, today the electric versions are partially declassified. Recall that the last model with internal combustion engine Mini will be released to the market in 2025, by 2030 it will completely switch to electric vehicles.

Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman 1/7 New Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman 2/7 New Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman 3/7 Five Generations of the Mini 4/7 Hatchback Five generations of the Mini 5/7 hatchback Three generations of the Mini Countryman 6/7 crossover Three generations of the Mini Countryman 7/7 crossover

All Mini hatchbacks (currently presented as a three-door, but there will be a five-door), as well as a convertible (expected in 2025), from now on bear the Cooper name. Previously, only relatively powerful versions were called that way, and the basic ones did not have their own stable name — they were called either Mini One or simply Mini Hatch. Meanwhile, a significant part of Mini's audience (mostly young successful women) used to call all Mini hatchbacks «coopers» before, so the company simply fixed the popular practice.

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In the fifth generation, Mini hatchbacks are divided into two branches — «hydrocarbon» and electric. A joint venture between BMW Group and Great Wall Motor (GWM), founded in China in 2019, is responsible for the electric one — it is called Spotlight Automotive and is located in the coastal province of Jiangsu. GWM has its own electric car brand Ora (it will soon enter the Russian market), which produces cars in the style of Mini, but there is hardly anything in common between the real new Mini and Ora (except for some components), since for the engineering of all hatchbacks The fifth generation Mini was in charge of the BMW Group. Electric versions will be produced in China, «hydrocarbon» — still in the UK. The Hydrocarbons will look almost the same as the electric ones, but in terms of technology they will only be an evolution of the fourth generation model, while an entirely new platform has been developed for the electric Mini.

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There are still few technical details about the new Mini Cooper — even the key dimensions have not been published, it is only known that the dimensions have not changed much, and the wheelbase has grown, that is, the body overhangs have become shorter. The basic version of the Cooper E is equipped with a single electric motor on the front axle (two-engine all-wheel drive versions have not yet been announced) with a maximum output of 135 kW (184 hp) and 290 Nm, acceleration to 100 km/h takes 7.3 s, the capacity is built into 40.7 kWh battery capacity, 305 km WLTP range per charge. and 330 Nm, acceleration to “hundreds” takes 6.7 s, battery capacity is 54.2 kWh, power reserve on a single charge is 402 km. The maximum battery charging power for the Cooper E version is 75 kW, for the Cooper SE version it is 95 kW, frankly, this is not much for a premium model. JCW (John Cooper Works) is no longer a hot hatch, but simply a top-end equipment with a set of sports attributes.

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The body of the new Mini Cooper has a very laconic design with flat, rather than protruding, as it used to be, wheel arches, chrome trim is no longer (it is recognized as not environmentally friendly), taillights have animated pixel stuffing. Standard wheels — 16-, 17- or 18-inch.

The interior has also been visually simplified, the front panel and door cards are upholstered in recycled polyester textiles, the leather on the seats is artificial, the third spoke on the steering wheel is a stretched fabric strap. Mini no longer has a separate instrument panel, it is integrated into the central round multimedia screen with a diameter of 240 mm, and operational readings are displayed on a projection screen on the windshield.

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Under the round screen developed its own operating system Mini 9 on the Android engine with a virtual assistant Spike and several options for «wallpaper», including in the style of a classic chronograph. Under the multimedia screen there is a small remote control with physical keys, it contains the selectors for driving and design modes, a flag for starting the power plant, a parking brake button and a “twist” for the volume of the audio system.

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The new Mini Countryman is also only available in electric versions so far. The base Countryman E has a single electric motor located on the rear axle, its maximum output is 150 kW (204 hp) and 250 Nm. The Countryman E accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.6 seconds, top speed is 170 km/h, and a full charge of the 66.45 kWh battery will last for 462 km.

The cumulative output of the power plant of the twin-engine all-wheel drive version of the Countryman SE All4 is 230 kW (313 hp) and 494 Nm, it has the same battery as the rear-wheel drive version, and the range on a single charge is 433 km. The first «hundred» Countryman SE All4 is gaining in 5.6 seconds, the maximum speed is 180 km/h. The maximum battery charging power is 130 kW.

The Countryman petrol lineup will continue with the sporty version of the JCW with all-wheel drive and a 2.0-liter turbo engine with 300 hp

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With the change of generations, the Countryman has grown in all directions and has grown to a full-fledged C-class to please family buyers and clear a niche for the younger crossover Aceman. Overall length of the third generation Countryman is 4433 mm, width is 1843 mm, height is 1656 mm, wheelbase is 2692 mm. Trunk volume — 460 liters, with the rear seats folded — 1450 liters. The standard wheel size is from 17 to 20 inches.

New Mini Countryman 1/16 New Mini Countryman 2/16 New Mini Countryman 3/16 New Mini Countryman 4/16 New Mini Countryman 5/16 New Mini Countryman 6/16 New Mini Countryman 7/16 New Mini Countryman 8/16 New Mini Countryman 9/16 New Mini Countryman 10/16 New Mini Countryman 11/16 New Mini Countryman 12/16 New Mini Countryman 13/16 New Mini Countryman 14/16 New Mini Countryman 15/16 New Mini Countryman 16/16 < p> In the cabin of the crossover — the same ergonomics with the “color music” that the new Mini Cooper has, but the front panel is thicker, the air ducts are vertical rather than horizontal, the rag upholstery has a gradient color, there are more places for small things – there is also a shelf with wireless charging for two smartphones. Equipment «at maximum speed» will be very rich, up to the second level autopilot. The new Countryman will be built at BMW's Leipzig plant in Germany.

The new Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman will only be on sale in 2024, the electric Cooper will start at £30,000 in the UK, electric Countryman — from £41,500.