Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE MINI COOPER S E ALL4 Countryman PHEV is the plug-in hybrid version of the MINI Countryman. ALL4 is MINI speak for four-wheel drive.
This PHEV model costs €42,500 which is actually €300 less than the comparative manual Cooper S ALL4 Countryman (€42,800), but you can actually get behind the wheel of a Countryman from €32,979.99.
However, being a plug-in hybrid, you can get an SEAI grant and, up until the end of 2018, you can get VRT relief which brings the price of the Cooper S E ALL4 Countryman PHEV down to €35,000.
I have already tested and reviewed the standard model and concluded that the MINI Countryman is far more than just a fashion statement (read that review here) but is the PHEV better than the standard model? Let’s see.
What’s different?
Due to the positioning of the battery pack underneath the rear seats the seats are raised 26mm compared to the standard model. This does cut into rear headroom but as the Countryman is fairly roomy this should really only impact those over six feet tall.
The boot decreases in capacity from 450 litres to 405 litres but this does swell to 1,275 litres with the rear seats folded. As a comparison the Audi Q2 can hold 405 litres, the Kia Niro can hold 427 litres and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV can hold 463 litres.
However, the rear seats do fold individually in a 40/20/40 formation and slide forwards and backwards giving added flexibility in the back. There’s also a false boot floor for extra storage.
So all in all, being a plug-in hybrid only slightly impinges on the practicality of the cabin.
But what about how it handles?
Well, even with the extra 130kg of weight that the plug-in hybrid system adds, the Countryman, with its 46:54 front-to-rear weight bias, is still fun to drive, much like the standard model. The steering is well weighted and the car is quick to respond and the added weight actually helps with the car’s stability and body-roll and lean. The car feels agile and easy to manoeuvre. The ALL4 four-wheel drive system also helps with keeping the car planted and glued to the corners even in muddy conditions.
What about its green credentials?
The Countryman is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine combined with synchronous electric motor. It has a combined power output of 224hp and 385Nm of torque. A 7.6kWh battery pack provides an all-electric range of up to 42km (26 miles), which should be enough to cover the daily commute of many drivers.
The battery is quick to charge too. It takes around 2.5 hours thanks to its 3.6kW charging rate. In theory a lot of people could drive to and from work without ever needing to use a drop of petrol.
There are three drive modes to choose from. You can drive in pure electric mode at speeds of up to 125km/h. If you want to go faster or accelerate harder the petrol engine switches on automatically and seamlessly. You can let the on-board systems decide what best suits the current driving conditions and it will switch between the electric and petrol motor.
You can also choose to save the battery charge when the battery is running low. In this mode, the petrol engine charges the battery or keeps the charging status at 90 per cent. When you’re driving in Save Battery mode, the petrol engine is doing all the work, so you can switch back to electric driving in urban areas. It really is a very flexible drivetrain.
Thanks to the PHEV system, Co2 emissions are just 49g/km (Band A, €170 per annum) and the combined fuel economy figure is 2.1 litres/100km (134.5mpg) making the PHEV the cheapest Countryman to run.
The next cheapest to tax and most economical model in the range is the Cooper D Countryman (€35,540) which has Co2 of 118g/km (€200 a year) and fuel economy of 4.5 litres/100km.
As mentioned above, you can get a grant and VRT relief which brings the price of the PHEV down to €35,000. This makes for a very compelling proposition especially when you consider that the PHEV model is not only the cheapest to run and tax but one of the fastest and powerful models in the range. And when you compare it to its competitors, it is the most fun to drive plug-in hybrid crossover on the market.
Well, to be fair, there aren’t main hybrid crossovers out there. Its main competition is the more expensive Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and the forthcoming Kia Niro PHEV and Volvo XC40 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid.
So, if you want a trendy family crossover with low running costs and plenty of green credentials the MINI Cooper S E All4 Countryman PHEV should be the top of your list.
After driving both the standard model and plug-in hybrid model I would have to recommend the PHEV as I feel you are getting a better deal for the price when you factor in the grants and you are future proofing your car by getting a plug-in hybrid.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
But will it be like the great snow of 1947 which my mother told me about as a child. Seemingly, it started snowing on the last Friday in February and continued into March,paralysing the country and closing roads and rail. Lakes froze over and they held dances and skating on the lakes, Snow drifts buried towns and villages and poor farm animals succumbed to the weather,schools closed and the snow stayed on the ground until May, I just remembered about ‘the great snow’ when I read the article above this morning,RIP mam.
Where did this come from??
@Tommy C: Well it didn’t come up from the Azores.
@Tommy C: The Sky ;)
@Tommy C: Don’t stand around asking questions just run and get the bread.
@Tommy C: sky.
@Tommy C: was forecast since early during the week! Not a surprise!
Now that’s more like it.
Proper feckin March weather.
@Skipper Mac: I’ll take sunshine and dryness over cold and wet any day. Bring back last week’s weather!
Come on Liverpool
@Rodger 5: is the weather shite there to?
@Rodger 5: any Irish men on that team
@Rodger 5: Up the Dubs
@Fergus O’Connor: up the dubs.
Sponsored by Brennans
But what about Global warming???
Cold weather with heavy snow in 1947??. Imagine!!. If we actually look back at weather fore asts over the years we most likely had all kinds of weather around this time. Governments will always try to fi d ways to take our hard earned cash through taxation. Ha
@Catherine Winston: How did you manage to shoehorn a gripe about taxes into the weather?
@Catherine Winston: Is your keyboard working .You’re firing a few blanks there Catherine.
@Catherine Winston: You should probably google climate change
@Catherine Winston: You should probably google climate change
@Catherine Winston: Did you not know that it was 21°c in the UK last week? In February. That’s summertime temperatures in February! And now it’s going to snow a week later and that seems normal to you!? In January in Australia, you could eat baked apples directly from the trees. And “when you look back at weather forecasts over the years”, you see a trend of global warming. “Most likely” isn’t a term scientists like to use.
Heavy snow falling in Kerry
@Darcy: ah shite heading 4 Kerry tommorow mon
@liam ward60: good luck with that
@liam ward60: Buy a few sliced pans and a pound of butter an stay under the covers.
Just started snowing in Clare!
@Sam Harms: oh feck sake Clare playing Limerick today
@John Waters: it’s raining too so not sticking
Glorious summer weather for two days, then back to the pits.
Global warming already working it’s charm I see!
@IrishFreeThinking: I can see the daffodils in my garden looking hopeless today.
@PC Principal:
Fair daffodils we weep to see
You haste away so soon
Your comment gives new meaning to this poetry.
@Honeybee: As a honeybee, your word is gospel in this regard.
It was already snowing before they issued the warning!
Global Warming, Climate Change ???????? Gibberish
Perfect all weather March weather.
March of many weathers,as the old saying goes.
Heavy snow in Tralee. Absolutely no warning of this in the last 24 hours. Yeah, climate change is nonsense!
FAKE weather reports from the journal again.very warm Sunday here in castlebar windows opened and @ 12 16 PM while its overcast here we have absolutely no rain or snow or sleet Yet
@liam ward60: Ah yeah. It’s not raining in your village therefore it’s all a lie.
@liam ward60: 2pm till 8am tomorrow. Starting in the south and working northwards.
@liam ward60: it’s bucketing down sleet and rain in the Burren
@An bhearna: Haha my village?
@David Walters: was also forecast yesterday sat turned out to be blue skys here till around six pm
But definitely not RED.
That’s mad. It’s warmer in Rome.
it’s so warm for the time of year.
have your say