Our Best Look Yet at the 2024 MINI Countryman

DimON · January 12, 2023

Last year we published our first look at the all-new 2024 MINI Countryman (badged a 2025 in the US). Sources are telling us that this will a total re-think of the Countryman making it both larger and more rugged in appearance. These exclusive spy photos confirm this with a clear increase in all dimensions as well as a new, more rugged design. But beneath that yellow camouflage there’s even more to uncover.

Riding on the same FAAR platform as the BMW X1, the U25 Countryman will grow in a very noticeable way. As you can see in the photo below it’s clearly longer and taller than the current F60 Countryman. But we’ll also see a revised exterior design that will represent a departure from the overall aesthetic we’ve seen since the original R60 Countryman in 2010.

The new design will move away from the squared off, bulldog silhouette to a more sleek and aero efficient design. The headlights will be more angular and will have a crossbar design similar to what we’ve seen in the spy shots of the all electric Cooper.

Around back you can just make out the larger taillights which look both more technical in design and could house some form of LED personalization similar to what we’re seeing on the new ICE and EV Cooper. What is LED personalization? From our sources it’s a way for , MINI owners to change how their front and rear lights look when on and active. Want Union Jack tail lights? Or how about something more minimal? MINI will offer a number of different designs that will help owners differentiate their cars.

2024 MINI Countryman – Sizing Up

Based on these photos and our sources, the all new 2024 MINI Countryman will be about 203 mm (almost 8 inches) larger – specifically in the rear. While MINI chose to modify the UKL chassis to shorten the rear giving the current Countryman slightly more MINI-like proportions, our sources tell us that this next generation car will more closely follow the BMW X1 in overall size. This will allow for a larger cargo area and more rear legroom.

What about weight? Our sources are telling us that MINI will make use of advanced chassis design and plenty of new aluminum components to reduce the weight gain we’ll see. We can get an idea of weight by looking at the new BMW X1 which has a 3,750 lbs curb weight. That only up 24 lbs despite being marginally larger and being offered with more standard equipment. Given this we’d expect the next generation Countryman All4 will be close to the current car’s 3,726 lbs curb weight.

2024 MINI Countryman Engines and Transmissions

There are no clean-sheet designs in the internal combustion world these days and there’s no exception here. Every petrol powered engine is a revision of an existing one. So things will look familiar but numbers will rise slightly. Based on what we know about the evolved three and four liter family of engines from BMW, we should see something close to the following:

The 1.5 three cylinder which will be rated at 137 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque
2.0 four cylinder with varying tunes; 170 hp and 206 ft-lbs and 218 hp and 265 ft-lbs.
JCW branded 2.0 four cylinder with 330 hp and a mild hybrid system
All petrol engines will get a 48 volt mild hybrid system and will be mated to a revised 7-speed dual clutch with an all new gear selector design.
The manual transmission will be eliminated in all models.

The All Electric 2024 MINI Countryman

Yes it’s coming and it’s powerful. The FAAR platform was designed from the ground up to accommodate a battery pack and electric motor as part of the brand’s plans to transition all products over the next decade. Again the BMW X1 (in this case the iX1) gives us a clue. Assuming MINI will be leveraging the same technical layout (which we’ve heard is the plan), we should expect the electric Countryman to have a peak output is 308 horsepower and 364 pound-feet of torque. Potentially branded as a JCW, the power comes from a modest 64.7-kWh t-shaped battery pack that produces 266 miles of range using the WLTP testing protocol. That would likely translate into something around 240 miles using the EPA testing. The iX1 supports DC fast-charging at up to 130 kW, which can charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in only 29 minutes.

2024 MINI Countryman – New Technology and Autonomous Features

Based on the underlying Android Auto technical framework, MINI is introducing a massive circular display that will be the literal and figurative centerpiece of the brand’s tech moving forward.

Looking at the spy photos of the interior the second think you notice (after the giant screen of course) is the lack of switch gear and a very different console design than what we’re used to seeing. Of course the switchgear is there but it’s been re-routed into a temporary space where cupholders will ultimately be.

Beyond the massive screen there’s a lot to take in here. The switches and knobs (which are actually marked) are also identical to what we saw in the electric hatch leak meaning that MINI is moving to a consistent user experience across all models no matter where they’re produced or what platform they’re on. That’s an essential move if MINI wants that digital experience to be a selling point of the brand.

J01 — Final, non-camouflaged version as seen in the U25 electric MINI Cooper

The gear selector (which will be almost identical to BMWs) is actually not here in production form but will be a small lever or toggle where the white plastic is in the top photo. Also gone is the iDrive multi-function controller. In it’s place will be a digital experience that’s more touch-based and (we’re told) easier to use.

We expect MINI to eventually rollout an optional Level 2 autonomous driving features for all of the brand’s next generation cars. Level 2 allows for the car to use adaptive cruise as well as follow the clearly marked roads with hands on the wheel. Keep in mind this isn’t just a lane keeping function but technology that will follow the road as it curves. This is optional on most BMWs currently.

But what will be really exciting is L2+. While it’s unclear if we’ll see this at launch, we do eventually expect Level 2+ to be part of the G60 product plans. The system will likely be identical to BMW’s new L2+ system which allows for hands-free driving up to 81 mph an hour (130 KPH) making it massively more helpful for the majority of drivers and likely to be used much more. While MINI drivers are more likely to want to drive their cars, it’s hard to argue with a robot taking over duties on long, straight highway drives.

2024 MINI Countryman Launch Details

With the test mules progressing quickly, we believe we’ll see the 2024 MINI Countryman make its debut in the second half of 2023 as a 2024 model in the US. We’ll likely see petrol powered Countryman and Countryman S models first before MINI launches its first ever all electric Countryman.

We’d expect the JCW variant to come shortly after launch.