The Engineer drives: plug-in hybrid Mini speeds ahead

It’s fair to say the Mini brand has moved on somewhat from Alec Issigonis’s iconic 1959 original. The Cooper SE Countryman All4 is a four-wheel-drive hybrid SUV. It has a plug-in capability and a useable electric-only range of up to 25 miles (40km). It also happens to sit on a longer wheelbase than an original Range Rover. Not very ‘Mini’, you may argue. But, there again, broadening its repertoire has been the key to the brand’s long-term success.

Under the skin, the second-generation Countryman uses the BMW Group’s UKL2 platform, which is shared with half a dozen other models, including the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer, the BMW X1 and the Mini Clubman estate.

In the case of the Countryman, assembly takes place at the VDL Nedcar factory in the  Netherlands. Prior to Mini’s arrival, this was perhaps best known as the home of Dutch carmaker DAF and its somewhat eccentric range of CVT-equipped micro-cars. Today you’ll find nothing as unorthodox. The Countryman’s 1.5-litre 136bhp three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine drives the front wheels via a reassuringly conventional six-speed torque converter automatic.