2019 Mini Cooper Countryman PHEV: valuable unit, worthless battery
2019 Mini Cooper Countryman PHEV: valuable unit, worthless battery
Often when people Find out what I do and they ask me to riff in one or another car. What do you think about ...? It's usually an ambush. Most likely, the applicant has already purchased the car and is seeking validation. I have learned to maintain a positive attitude until they reveal themselves.
As in: "What do you think of this new Mini Cooper S E Countryman All4 PHEV?" Me: "Oh, yes, my family just took one on a 500-mile road trip, great style, charisma for days, super refined, like a
X2 but with personality. Free maintenance too. "Owner, proud:" I just bought one! "I really? How wonderful!"
That goes better than vice versa, as in: "Countryman PHEV? What a waste of automotive space! What reigns of fulfillment! A hybrid add-on with 12 miles of EV range? Hey, 2008 is calling and you want to return your batteries! Amiright So, tell me, friend, what do you drive?
The general idea of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is to save fuel / money / carbon emissions by moving miles driven by gas in the owner's daily driving. Example: the Chevy Volt, with a nominal capacity of 53 miles of EV.
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Mini is still a brand committed to the idea of design as a delight. Everything except the battery works like a champion.
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But the reasoning becomes irrational when the vehicle's range is actually less than the average driving distance of the owners. In that case the efficiency runs on the other side. The PHEV version of Mini's compact Countryman utility weighs 277 pounds more than the Countryman S; it costs another $ 5,500 more; and it's just faster (6.8 versus 7.0 seconds, officially) or more efficient. On top of that, Countryman S All4 returns an EPA average of 26 mpg, compared to 27 mpg PHEV when running in gas-only mode, which, as I say, almost always is.
2019 Mini Cooper S E Countryman All4 PHEV
Photo:
BMW Group
Base price: $ 36,900
Price, as proven: $ 45,750
Power train: Gas-electric propulsion engine, 1.5-liter turbocharged direct-injected three-cylinder engine; six-speed automatic transmission; Synchronous AC motor mounted on the rear and open rear differential for hybrid AWD; 7.6 kWh lithium-ion battery.
Net Power / Torque: 221 hp / 284 lb-ft at 1,350 rpm
Length / Width / Height / Wheelbase: 169.8 / 71.7 / 61.3 / 105.1 inches
Vehicle weight: 3,948 pounds
0-60 mph: 6.8 seconds
Recharge time: 3.25 hours (240v)
Maximum load capacity: 47.4 cubic feet
The only thing more marginal than the EV range of the Mini is its general range. With a 9.5-gallon fuel tank, the PHEV can travel approximately 250 miles before having to stop and have a drink. A glass of your best quality, bartender.
Do not get me wrong: I love something from Mini. My talk includes a long disquisition by Sir Alec Issigonis and the lasting beauty of the original Mini (1959), a car whose packaging (front-transverse engine, front-wheel drive) sets the template for generations of low-fuel and fuel-efficient cars. I am also prepared to say nice things about Frank Stephenson, the principal designer of the reborn BMW Mini Cooper (2002), whose work summed up the first wave of retromodern car design.
The Countryman is the largest Mini model: 169.8 inches long on a 105.1-inch wheelbase, sharing intimate apparel with corporate cousins BMW X1 and X2. And yet, it is eidhetically Mini thanks to its footrest posture (71.4 inches wide by 61.3 inches high).
The basic engine of Mini through the line is the turbocharged 1.5-liter, 134 horsepower and three-cylinder, which can be obtained with a rare six-speed manual. On the upper floor you will find a selection of two 2.0-liter turbocharged four-wheel drive (189 hp in the S, 228 hp in the John Cooper Works package). All-wheel drive, which Mini calls All4, is optional on the entire line. If Santa is reading, I aspire to the JCW convertible with the six-speed manual. That is my ham.
In the PHEV model, the three-cylinder corporate engine powers the front wheels, while an 87-hp AC engine, mounted on the rear, drives the offspring for total traction on demand and digitally balanced. There are three operating modes: Automatic, Max. And battery saving, which seems an unnecessary complication, since the EV range is, as I said, 12 miles.
Life is good in a Mini. It remains the premium brand most committed to design as delight, style as substance: steampunk style paddle switches, crazy circle design theme, from door handles to touch screen navigation, all whitewashed in bright frames, like emerging and interdimensional bubbles.
Driving is also effervescent. With 284 lb-ft of total system torque at 1,350 rpm, and the hybrid AWD reducing it, the PHEV's holeshot is more than respectable. The electronic assisted steering is light, fast and receptive, which gives good manners to the car at the time of the first round, if there is not much movement of the curves. The additional mass of the PHEV is felt in the corners and braking in a steady state: the car feels a little wider and longer than you would expect from a Mini.
All that is wrong with Countryman's PHV, the weight, range, handling, braking and load capacity of the compromised vehicle, can be attributed to its 7.6 kWh lithium battery, with insufficient energy density. Actually, everything but the battery works like a champion.
Now, why does the PHEV, the flagship of Mini in costs and equipment, have a low battery? Do not ask
Corrections and Amplifications
An earlier version of this story identified the first year of the Mini Cooper model as 1959. The Cooper, a performance update of Morris-Mini Minor and Austin Mini, first appeared in 1961. (10/19/18)
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