The Countryman E – MINI’s Longest Range EV & Why It’s Not Coming to North America

DimON · June 7

The electric MINI Countryman E may not have the power numbers of the range topping SE, but what does have might just be more important to most buyers – range. Which begs the question – why isn’t North America seeing MINI’s longest range electric vehicle?

What makes the Countryman E MIN’s long range champ starts with what it doesn’t have – two motors. While the E packs the same battery as the SE, it lacks the rear motor which allows it to focus less on performance and more on efficiency. Let’s look at the stats.

	Countryman E	Countryman SE	MINI Cooper E	MINI Cooper SE	MINI Aceman E	MINI Aceman SE
Power	204 hp	313 hp	184 bhp	218 hp	184 bhp	218 hp
Battery Size	66.5 kWh	66.5 kWh	42.5 kWh	54.2 kWh	42.5 kWh	54.2 kWh
Usable Battery	63.78 kWh	63.78 kWh	38.5 kWh	49.2 kWh	38.5 kWh	49.2 kWh
WLTP Range – Europe	273 miles	261 miles	190 miles	250 miles	193 miles	254 miles
EPA Range – United States (estimated)	213 miles	204 miles	148 miles	195 miles	151 miles	198 miles

The Countryman SE is be the only model sold in North America currently.

Importantly without that rear motor, the Countryman E is front wheel drive only. However there’s a big upside to that omission. The E weighs in at 4,112 lbs. That sounds heavy until you realize the SE is 4,409 lbs – nearly 300 lbs heavier.

Despite the weight reduction, the E can’t quite match the SE’s acceleration figures with a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 8.6 seconds. That’s a full 3 seconds off the 5.6 figure the SE delivers. In other words the Countryman E may feel agile and fun to drive but it is not a drag strip winner. Instead it’s focus is on efficiency and getting the most miles out of it’s 66.45 kWh battery pack.

Like the SE, four new vehicle trims are available for the MINI Countryman E which create numerous options for individualization in the exterior and interior. The car pictures here is clad with the Favoured Trim which features the matte Vibrant Silver on the roof and mirrors. In the interior, the Favoured Trim offers the JCW sports seats (a must in our opinion) and a the thick sports steering wheel with a textile strap instead of the six o’clock spoke.

MINI has gone to great lengths to allow any model have just about any look. Whether its Classic, Favoured or even JCW (Sport in the UK), MINI hasn’t held any visual options back on the Countryman E.

The same goes for the technology on hand. Like all other Countryman, level 2 autonomy is offered as an option.

Why the MINI Countryman E isn’t Coming to North America

Based on our sources, MINI USA and MINI of Canada aren’t importing the Countryman E because it lacks one critical option – all wheel drive. Given the customer feedback that most North American consumers expect all wheel drive in a crossover, MINI USA and MINI CA decided to focus solely on the more powerful, all wheel drive Countryman SE.

That may change if a case could be made for the cheaper, longer range E. But for the time being North America won’t be seeing MINI’s longest range electric vehicle.