Stinson Carter
Sitting behind the wheel of a small car takes me to the escape sequence The Italian Job. Suddenly I heard “Jetta Blumen Move” playing in my head. I want to race the streets of Turin, down the old steps, across rivers, and on the rooftop to foil the Carabinieri. All in a tight bodysuit while I do my best for Michael Kane. But after several days in that frame of mind, I found the new Mini Countryman SE plugin much more convincing than my Cocoon accent.
Stinson Carter
The Mini is a car that knows what it is. It doesn’t look over its shoulder at other automotive design elements for inspiration (assuming you don’t count past Mini Coopers), and indulges its compactness with elements like the large eye-circular center console, Union Jack stripes, taillights and racing stripes in the case of the model you’ve driven. Double Moon roofs add to the feeling of indoor expanse, and the Countryman’s physical scale is perfect – small enough to navigate city traffic and yet not at all crowded indoors if you’re on the road for hours.
Stinson Carter
Whether you like the interior, it’s more about style than function. Self-conscious reaction wears out with me as a rule, but I respect Minnie for having the courage to be the way she is consistently. From a tangible perspective, I would have preferred the single buttons in the infotainment system, rather than a plastic mono panel where you press a single drawn button and everything moves. Also, the angle of the rear seat made the rear child seat anchor points misaligned. But aside from these little quirks, the Countryman’s interior – especially at higher trim levels – is well-crafted and offers a certain European sporting luxury in a way only a mini can. Standing out details to me were the oval gear shift knob, round interior door handles and the sculpted leather seats.
Stinson Carter
“I’ll start the engine for you, right?”
Mini Countryman SE is a bit like Adderall: the speed you’re allowed to use. You will feel like you are driving very fast without violating any laws. Unlike some high-end sports cars that can feel sluggish until late in RPM cycles when you’ve already plowed around 80 mph, the Mini Countryman SE has managed to make your daily 20-50 mph zone feel mischievous. Far from stopping, you can find the ground with the throttle without instigating a helicopter chase.
Stinson Carter
In all normal situations like parking, moving in traffic, changing lanes – maybe the size of the country is much better than the size of the car you are currently driving. And due to the combination of slim size and excellent driver visibility, I drove more quickly in traffic than I do in faster cars. It just flies seconds off your drive because you can do everything faster when you can see exactly where you are going and you know you’ll fit anywhere.
At low speeds, like pulling back from your driveway or slowly walking into a parking lot, the weather is calm and fully electric, then the petrol engine joins the party when needed. You get 221 horsepower from the combined power of a 134-horsepower 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine with an 87-horsepower electric motor, with petrol powering the front wheels and electricity in the back, so to speak.
Stinson Carter
“You are only supposed to blow out the bloodstained doors!”
I usually drive it in sports mode, like a dirty carbon hog, but I stole some energy from a delivery station in a shared parking lot between a luxury apartment and a grocery store. I only plugged it in for 30 minutes while shopping, but I definitely felt better about myself after that. It takes about two and a half hours to fully charge the battery, and you can get 17 miles of electric drive only on a full charge. And it is, in fact, a lot for my daily errands in the city. Fuel economy for electricity and gasoline combined is 73 MPG, with 29 MPG when running on gas only. There are multiple modes to choose depending on how you want the engine to prioritize how much electricity it uses versus gas: an automatic mode that it chooses for you, another that maximizes battery usage, and another that increases gas power. I left it on auto the whole time and never ran out of battery, which I attributed to my spunky 30-minute charging session.
Stinson Carter
“Wait, guys … I have a great idea.”
For most people who live in a city, this will likely be the vehicle you need. But with a starting price of $ 41,500, there’s likely little to no passion or a lot of carbon awareness needing to share in order to purchase this car over its $ 33,900 gas-powered counterpart. But if you plan to use this as fully electric for commuting and everyday errands, and then let the petrol pistons go for longer weekend trips, then I think Countryman SE offers the best of both worlds.
Stinson Carter
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