Electric MINI Countryman SE Goes Off-Road in an Icelandic Road-Trip

DimON · November 18

If you want to understand what the new all-electric MINI Countryman SE is really made of, don’t look at spec sheets or WLTP charts. Take it to Iceland.

That’s exactly what MINI did, pointing the SE north from Munich and sending it across Germany, Denmark, the North Sea and finally into the lava-scarred, weather-shaped landscapes of the Westfjords. And in the process, MINI may be giving us the clearest hint yet that they have something a bit more off-road planned for the Countryman in the future.

We first broke the news on MINI’s forthcoming off-road focused Countryman package in our exclusive story last year. While it may not rival a Jeep in off-road prowess, sources tell us that it will offer more ground clearance, off-road capable tires, revised suspension and recalibrated DSC. What MINI just drove to Iceland looks suspiciously like to might have the tires and wheels that could belong to that package.

A Long Road to Iceland, But an Easy One for Electric Torque

On paper it’s roughly 2,300 km of driving plus a two-day ferry from Hirtshals to Seyðisfjörður. In practice it’s the perfect proving ground for the Countryman SE’s dual-motor 230 kW output and 494 Nm of instant torque. We detailed the fundamentals of this drivetrain when the car debuted in our first look.

The SE surged through Germany and Denmark like a proper grand tourer, leaning on its 432 km WLTP range, quick 130 kW DC charging and MINI’s newest Driving Assistant Professional, which we dove into in our autonomous driving coverage. Together they turned the long haul north into something surprisingly relaxed.

Inside, the redesigned cabin continues to be a surprise. More shoulder and elbow room, a calmer design language and that circular OLED give the Countryman a maturity the previous generation never quite had. It feels built for this kind of trip.

Off-Road Tires and Plenty of Kit

This Countryman SE didn’t leave Munich wearing standard road rubber. MINI fitted proper off-road tires, bolted a luggage rack with a spare on the roof and strapped on sand plates, a spade and a jack.

The result is a Countryman that looks far more capable than the family SUV it’s often typecast as. And from the moment it rolls off the ferry in a stormy Icelandic night, it starts proving it.

Iceland Greets the MINI With Weather and Wind

The North Sea served up eight meter waves on the crossing. Iceland answered with snowfall, freezing temps and low clouds. Perfect conditions to test a fully electric SUV wearing more bite than usual.

As the SE pushed inland, the midsummer sun took over, lighting up endless stretches of lava rock and revealing one of the most surreal environments a MINI has ever tackled. The Countryman made its way through it all with a mix of calm electric torque and just enough ground clearance to survive the rougher bits. Although it would look a bit more proper in these conditions with more of it in our opinion.

Route 622: A Proper Test of MINI’s Most Capable EV

If you’ve never heard of Route 622 in the Westfjords, think of it as Iceland’s way of checking whether you’ve overestimated yourself. It’s narrow, steep, unpredictable and bordered by water that only backs off at low tide. It’s a bucket list drive.

The Countryman SE headed out at dawn, heavily coated in Icelandic grime, and tackled the worst of it. It scraped here and there, tapped the turf on uneven sections and powered through water crossings that would make most EV owners flinch. Torque distribution from the ALL4 system kept traction predictable. We talked about this in our recent Montana off-road adventure with a Countryman JCW.

And importantly, MINI reports that the gentle off-road pace barely dented the range. That’s not nothing for a 2.3 ton EV running off-road tires and roof gear.

Not Every Adventure Ends with a Victory Lap

Just before the beach section of Route 622, nature made the decision for the team. Waves had torn out the remaining path. Nothing short of a bulldozer was getting through.

Even the sand plates and spade couldn’t alter the laws of geology.

But that’s not failure. It simply underlines the point: MINI didn’t come to Iceland to conquer it. They came to show that a fully electric MINI can be a credible partner in adventure.

And they succeeded.

Our Take

MINI produces stories like this for media outlets to write about every so often. They come with amazing photography but often not much else. But this one is quite different with a real challenge along the way.

But more importantly for MINI fans, it points to how capable the standard Countryman is in less than ideal conditions with all-terrain tires. Now just imagine it with more ground clearance and a few other suspension modifications, and you might have the most interesting new Countryman variant we’ve seen in years.

We’ll have much more on that package as MINI finalizes it, but it’s nice to see MINI giving Iceland a hint at what’s coming. And yes, it looks like a MINI that wants to get dirty.Gallery