Australian New Car Buyer – June 2019

AUSTRALIAN NEW CAR & SUV BUYER’S GUIDE | 11

M

ini’s fi ve-door Coun-

tryman is its fi rst

model to be offered

with a plug-in hybrid

drivetrain, now available priced

from $57,200. It runs a 1.5-litre

turbocharged three-cylinder

petrol engine, with 100kW of

power and 220Nm of torque —

the same BMW engine used in

the non-hybrid Mino Cooper

models. It drives the front

wheels via a six-speed auto-

matic transmission.

The hybrid part is a 7.6kWh

lithium ion battery pack that

supplies power to an electric

motor that drives the rear wheels.

Together, the two drivetrains

produce 165kW and 385Nm,

enough to produce comparable

acceleration (0-100km/h in 6.

seconds) to the Countryman

Cooper S, which uses a 141kW

2.0-litre turbopetrol.

The eDrive system allows

you to tailor the drivetrain mix.

MINI PLUG-IN HYBRID

In normal driving, selecting

AUTO eDrive, the electric motor

does the work at speeds up to

80km/h, but if you switch to MAX

eDrive it can extend battery-only

operation to 125km/h.

Electric-only range is quoted

as up to 40km. Total range, in

series hybrid mode with petrol

and electric power, is up to

500km, with an average fuel

consumption of 2.1L/100km.

Treat that as an optimistic

fi gure.

Mini claims that the battery

can be recharged in three hours

15 minutes from a regular

10amp household power point,

or two hours 15 minutes using

a Mini Wallbox, which can be

installed at your home or offi ce

as an extra cost option.

The battery pack carries a six-

year/100,000km warranty.

THE NEW MODEL DIARY JUNE–DECEMBER 2019