Not everyone wants (or needs frankly) a medium-sized SUV. That's the gap the MINI Countryman SE ALL4 sits in. It's a family runabout with enough space to make the school run, the weekend away and the supermarket dashes painless, but it doesn't have the bulk of the mid-size crowd. For 2026 it also gets a proper bit of hardware: a new Silicon Carbide (SiC) inverter and a range figure that now reaches 467 km on the WLTP cycle (a good increase from the previous version).
It's well built, the seats are excellent, the boot is bigger than you'd think from the outside, and the increase in range makes it a far easier EV to live with. The regenerative braking in its Adaptive setting, though, has a bit of a mind of its own.
What's actually new for 2026
The headline is the SiC inverter, which MINI describes as delivering more efficient energy conversion and power delivery, improved energy recuperation under braking and better overall drivetrain efficiency. Translation: more of the battery's energy ends up turning the wheels rather than being lost as heat on the way.
MINI also expects the new inverter to improve real-world efficiency, "particularly in urban and stop-start driving conditions". That's a sensible place to look for gains, because it's exactly where a family EV spends most of its life. The result is up to 467 km of WLTP range for the SE ALL4, which is the number that matters on the spec sheet.
Under the floor sits a 66.5 kWh battery. Energy consumption is rated at 17.3 kWh/100 km combined. Two electric motors, one per axle, give you ALL4 and a combined 230 kW and 494 Nm. MINI claims 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 180 km/h. That's properly quick for something you'll be using to carry school bags.
Speaking of school bags and kids, the MINI and the BMW iX1, for that matter, both have AC charge limits of 22kW as opposed to the 11kW for the competition. Great if you have 3-phase power at home and if you use the AC charger at the supermarket or similar. Maximising bang for your buck when you're out and about really counts.
| Spec | MINI Countryman SE ALL4 Favoured | BMW iX1 xDrive30 (MY26) | Kia EV5 GT-Line AWD Long Range | Audi Q4 e-tron quattro (MY27) | Geely EX5 Inspire (MY26) | XPENG G6 AWD Performance (MY26) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power / drivetrain | 230 kW / dual-motor AWD | 230 kW / dual-motor AWD | 230 kW / dual-motor AWD | 250 kW / dual-motor AWD | 160 kW / single-motor FWD | 358 kW / dual-motor AWD |
| Length / width / height (mm) | 4,445 / 1,843 / 1,635 | 4,500 / 1,845 / 1,616 | 4,615 / 1,875 / 1,715 | 4,588 / 1,865 / 1,632 | 4,615 / 1,901 / 1,670 | 4,758 / 1,920 / 1,650 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2,692 | 2,692 | 2,750 | 2,764 | 2,750 | 2,890 |
| Battery (kWh gross / usable) | 66.5 / 65.2 | 66.5 / 64.7 | 88.1 / ~84 (est.) | 82.0 / 77.0 | 68.4 / ~65 (est.) | 80.8 / ~78 (est.) |
| Max DC charge (kW) | 130 | 130 | 141 | 185 | 100 | 451 |
| Max AC charge (kW) | 22 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| AU MSRP (ex. on-roads) | $76,990 | $86,800 | $71,770 | $81,650 Deliveries from 1H 2027 |
$45,990 | $63,800 |
Build quality and design
The Countryman is a BMW Group product, and it shows. The build quality is excellent, as you'd expect from the BMW Group, and it's worth paying for. The U25 Countryman EV sits on the UKL2 (Untere Klasse) platform like the BMW iX1 - hence the same wheelbase and power output numbers in the table above.
The Favoured spec sheet shows Chilli Red with a Glazed White roof and 19-inch black Runway Spoke wheels. It's the car that Postman Pat would drive today. At 4,445 mm long, 1,843 mm wide and 1,635 mm tall on a 2,692 mm wheelbase, it's a chunky, upright shape with 171 mm of ground clearance. Roof rails come standard.
Seats, space and boot
The front seats are the highlight. Like the Paul Smith Edition Cooper Electric, the Countryman's seats are brilliant and very comfortable, but here they have the cabin space to match. In the Cooper, the seats consume a lot of the room around them. In the Countryman, the interior can actually accommodate them. Both front seats are electrically adjustable and heated, and the driver's seat adds massage and memory functions. On a long run, that comes in handy.
Rear space is decent rather than generous: 941 mm of legroom and 950 mm of headroom with the sunroof. The rear seats fold in a split arrangement.
The boot is where the Countryman earns its keep. MINI quotes 460 litres with the seats up and 1,450 litres folded. Those are the official numbers, and in practice the depth and height of the load area are what stand out. You can stack things properly instead of playing Tetris with a flat floor. If a medium SUV is too big for your garage or your budget, this is a good argument that you don't need one.
Technology
MINI's 240 mm circular OLED central display carries over, along with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, integrated navigation with an augmented reality view, a tiny, plastic head-up display, a 12-speaker 365-watt Harman/Kardon system and wireless phone charging. The dash and door cards are recycled polyester knit, which gives the cabin a warmer feel than the usual hard plastics.
Parking Assistant Plus with a 360-degree surround view is standard on the Favoured. Adaptive cruise control, steering and lane control, and a panoramic glass sunroof are also standard.
On the charging side, the SE ALL4 can take up to 130kW on DC, with a 10-80% top-up in 29 minutes. AC tops out at 22kW three-phase, with a full charge from empty in 3 hours 45 minutes when you can access that kind of supply. Most home setups won't deliver 22 kW, so treat that figure as a ceiling.
How it drives
The extra power is obvious. The Countryman SE ALL4 goes hard off the line, and the all-wheel drive means you can use it without drama. At around 2,500 kg, it's certainly no featherweight, but it hides that well enough, and the MINI go-kart character is still there in the steering and the way it turns in.
The regenerative braking is where I have a gripe. In the Adaptive setting, the regen can be quite aggressive. It can jump at parked cars and pedestrians, in the sense that the car reads the situation ahead and starts slowing harder than you expect, sometimes when you were quite happy to coast. I've noticed this theme in other BMW Group EVs, and it doesn't feel natural until you've learned its habits. It takes some getting used to, and a first drive can feel twitchy. If you dislike surprises, turn off Adaptive right away. Set EV mode to Low to overcome this completely. This will reduce regenerative input and give you a far more comfortable ride.
Because MINI says the SiC inverter improves recuperation, this is a sharper tool than it was, and tuning matters more. I'd like to see the Adaptive logic softened in a software update. I still think KIA does regen better than anyone, with paddles behind the wheel letting the driver adjust regen to conditions.
Safety
The standard safety list is long. It includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind spot and lane change warning, rear crossing traffic warning with brake intervention, rear collision prevention, exit warning, an attentiveness assistant, high beam assist, speed limit information, tyre pressure monitoring and intelligent emergency call. Airbags cover front, side, head and interaction. As you would expect, the Countryman deserves its strong 5-star ANCAP rating.
Where it falls short
The regen is the main one. The other points are practical. At $76,990 before on-road costs for the Favoured, it isn't cheap, and the base SE ALL4 starts at $73,990 on MINI's own price list, so the Favoured's extras add around three grand. The 460-litre boot is useful but not class-leading on paper, and its real strength is shape rather than volume. And the circular display still hides some functions behind menus. It's attractive for the Novated Lease buyer with the pricing below the LCT threshold.
Value and verdict
The 2026 MINI Countryman SE ALL4 is a better car than it was, mainly because the range now reaches a usable 467 km and the hardware has taken a real step forward. The build quality is excellent, the front seats are some of the best in the segment, and the boot is genuinely useful.
If you want a family EV that's smaller than a medium-sized SUV, and more interesting to drive than most, the Countryman SE ALL4 is a strong option. If Adaptive regen mode isn't your vibe, you'll find out quickly. If it doesn't, you've found a very well-rounded mid-sized EV SUV.