Mini Countryman S E opinions?
Discussion
Does anyone have experience of the Mini Countryman S E in terms of the reliability, how good the hybrid system is, etc?
I'm considering used cars where a Cooper S is £17000 and a Cooper S E is £20000
I know there may be better options available but the wife is a serial Mini owner and the Countryman does work for us as a family car in the main so really it's a question of do we go for a Petrol Cooper S or a hybrid S E as the next car?
With the wifes commute of between 5 and 10 miles each way I believe it would largely be running on electric alone for her commute and we do have a decent drive so charging wouldn't be an issue.
Doing some fag packet maths I estimate that with the difference in purchase prices (around £3k based on used cars) the benefit with a hybrid would probably be paid for somewhere between 2 and 3 years of ownership
I'm considering used cars where a Cooper S is £17000 and a Cooper S E is £20000
I know there may be better options available but the wife is a serial Mini owner and the Countryman does work for us as a family car in the main so really it's a question of do we go for a Petrol Cooper S or a hybrid S E as the next car?
With the wifes commute of between 5 and 10 miles each way I believe it would largely be running on electric alone for her commute and we do have a decent drive so charging wouldn't be an issue.
Doing some fag packet maths I estimate that with the difference in purchase prices (around £3k based on used cars) the benefit with a hybrid would probably be paid for somewhere between 2 and 3 years of ownership
We picked up a Countryman SE yesterday and first impressions are very positive. Similar situation- my wife has had 3 consecutive minis, and although it’s a much bigger car it doesn’t feel like a dramatic change for her. Too early to say on reliability.
If looking at a used car, one consideration which can to light when we were buying is that the battery was updated from September 2019 (build date) to give the current electric range advertised. Cars built before this had a much lower ‘real world’ electric range. A dealer told me this is why so many demo cars were available: pre-upgrade cars. We looked at some cars registered much later than September 2019 which had an earlier build date and had been sat unregistered.
If looking at a used car, one consideration which can to light when we were buying is that the battery was updated from September 2019 (build date) to give the current electric range advertised. Cars built before this had a much lower ‘real world’ electric range. A dealer told me this is why so many demo cars were available: pre-upgrade cars. We looked at some cars registered much later than September 2019 which had an earlier build date and had been sat unregistered.
I've had one as a company car for 3 years/30k miles now. Overall its not been a bad car, and is pretty much OK at everything.
Being a hybrid it's either the best of both worlds, or jack of all trades but master of none, depending on your perspective.
Electric range isn't great, but would probably be OK for your described needs. I get as low as 9 miles in the winter, and maximum of 20 in ideal conditions, but typically get somewhere in between. Charging it doesn't cost much, our electricity bills went up around £15 a month.
It's be great during lockdown though, as got more than 1000 miles from a tank full, due to working from home and only doing short journeys.
Petrol only MPG isn't great, can get 40mpg on a long run taking it steady, but I typically get mid to high 30's. Given the S will do that too, that'll probably be the better bet if doing longer trips regularly.
Reliability and built quality have been spot on, no creaks or rattles yet.
It drives and steers well, although is noticeably heavy, but handles its mass fairly well. On that note, it got through its front tyres in 18k miles, and the rears lasted 28k.
Ride is pretty poor imo, and can be very crashy on typical British roads. It's quite sensitive to tyre pressure in that regard, so need to keep the tyres topped up regularly.
Boot and practicality was fine until we had kids, now we need to pack sensibly or use a roof box.
If it were my money, I'd go for the S over the S E as it'll be the better drive, have a bigger boot, and cheaper to buy. Less worry about the long term reliability of the EV system too.
Being a hybrid it's either the best of both worlds, or jack of all trades but master of none, depending on your perspective.
Electric range isn't great, but would probably be OK for your described needs. I get as low as 9 miles in the winter, and maximum of 20 in ideal conditions, but typically get somewhere in between. Charging it doesn't cost much, our electricity bills went up around £15 a month.
It's be great during lockdown though, as got more than 1000 miles from a tank full, due to working from home and only doing short journeys.
Petrol only MPG isn't great, can get 40mpg on a long run taking it steady, but I typically get mid to high 30's. Given the S will do that too, that'll probably be the better bet if doing longer trips regularly.
Reliability and built quality have been spot on, no creaks or rattles yet.
It drives and steers well, although is noticeably heavy, but handles its mass fairly well. On that note, it got through its front tyres in 18k miles, and the rears lasted 28k.
Ride is pretty poor imo, and can be very crashy on typical British roads. It's quite sensitive to tyre pressure in that regard, so need to keep the tyres topped up regularly.
Boot and practicality was fine until we had kids, now we need to pack sensibly or use a roof box.
If it were my money, I'd go for the S over the S E as it'll be the better drive, have a bigger boot, and cheaper to buy. Less worry about the long term reliability of the EV system too.
We ran one for 2 years as a pool / shopping car. My wife loved it and had a preference for this over the Macan that was supposedly hers!
She was so impressed that when the lease was up, we did consider getting another but upgraded to the Evoque Hybrid ..... still impatiently waiting for that to materialise!
Absolutely no issues with the Countryman - great mid sector car
G
She was so impressed that when the lease was up, we did consider getting another but upgraded to the Evoque Hybrid ..... still impatiently waiting for that to materialise!
Absolutely no issues with the Countryman - great mid sector car
G
I had the first iteration (57 plate) as a company car and I echo JB’s comments.
Electric range was pretty poor (8-14 miles during my ownership no matter what the gauge said) and I experienced high 20’s low 30’s MPG on the motorway runs. The ride was also not as good as I was expecting. The most alarming thing for me was the woeful performance when the weather turned frosty and snow fell. Being a company car I wasn’t allowed to run winter tyres and even at very low speeds (10mph) I found the nose pushing wide on roundabouts as it struggled for grip.
It did make me consider my driving style and I think driving with a hybrid / BEV mentality makes for a more comfortable journey but I wouldn’t go back to a hybrid.
Company car tax was great having come from a diesel Merc so it had some benefits.
Edited to add that the electric boot operation decided to pack up but Mini fixed under warranty within a day of taking it in.
Electric range was pretty poor (8-14 miles during my ownership no matter what the gauge said) and I experienced high 20’s low 30’s MPG on the motorway runs. The ride was also not as good as I was expecting. The most alarming thing for me was the woeful performance when the weather turned frosty and snow fell. Being a company car I wasn’t allowed to run winter tyres and even at very low speeds (10mph) I found the nose pushing wide on roundabouts as it struggled for grip.
It did make me consider my driving style and I think driving with a hybrid / BEV mentality makes for a more comfortable journey but I wouldn’t go back to a hybrid.
Company car tax was great having come from a diesel Merc so it had some benefits.
Edited to add that the electric boot operation decided to pack up but Mini fixed under warranty within a day of taking it in.
tredd said:
We have been looking into getting one of these as a company car next.
What is the Countryman like once the battery has run out, from what I gather its fairly nippy to 60 on a full charge but whats it like 0-60 or 40-70 once the battery has run out as that was my only concern.
It’s got quite a small petrol engine, so uses the electric motor to bump up the acceleration. In truth it’s a little bit ‘laggy’. Plenty of occasions I’ve not got away off the line initially quite as well as I’d like, only for it to then suddenly pick up. It’s like bad turbo lag.What is the Countryman like once the battery has run out, from what I gather its fairly nippy to 60 on a full charge but whats it like 0-60 or 40-70 once the battery has run out as that was my only concern.
As others have said though, the battery doesn’t run out as such, it just gets down to a couple of percent, but then leans harder on the ICE.
I see, forgive my ignorance... I thought as the battery ran down you would loose power.
My assumption was that during a 50mile commute you would then run out of electric power and you would then be reliant on the small petrol engine for propulsion, is this not the case then as the battery is used to assist so do you generally always have the availability for the full combined power?
My assumption was that during a 50mile commute you would then run out of electric power and you would then be reliant on the small petrol engine for propulsion, is this not the case then as the battery is used to assist so do you generally always have the availability for the full combined power?
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