Britishness Struggle for Mini Countryman in Scottish Highlands
In a bid to excite anticipation for the arrival of the third generation Mini Countryman All4 BEV, the automaker is conducting final shakedown trials in the glorious Scottish Highlands.
A swath of picturesque views of the heavily disguised car has been published showing it climbing and splashing its way through some of the most stunning parts of the Highlands countryside. We understand the range-topping Countryman SE All4 will employ dual electric motors powering all 4 wheels and producing a combined 303bhp including a temporary boost.
Both it and the front-wheel drive Countryman E will use a 64.7 kWh battery pack claiming a range of up to 280 miles between charges. This is pretty crucial for the testers in the Highlands where, with a land mass bigger than Belgium at 10,000sq miles, the Highlands Council say there are just 92 public charging points.
It claims, however, the chargers are so distributed that one can be found every 30 miles or so. Thankfully, assuming they are working and maintained despite the harsh Highland weather, they will probably be unused and available considering the area has one of the lowest uptake of BEVs in the UK!
Nonetheless, the automaker has published some very pretty pictures of the tour the test mules have completed, including the route that Daniel Craig’s character James Bond chose in the film Skyfall to lose pursuers. Doubtless, this was the automaker’s way of accentuating the car’s British credentials, conveniently ignoring the fact that all third generation Mini Countryman’s will now be built in the very un-British BMW plant in Leipzig, Germany. Hey ho, if you believe marketing spiel you’re lost to all reason anyway!
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_ and Threads
