Anyone on the forum any experience of these or the Cooper Works Countryman? 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

My wife has the Countryman SD 4All with all the kit on it and loves it. Fast enough, great for town too, easy to park (lots of glass to see out of). My only complaint is being 6ft 2 and chunky.... it is hard to get into!

Interior is well put together and 1 year on, no return to dealership.... unlike my RRS that has been in for 2 months out of my 4 month ownership. 2016 RRS Autobiography - 4.4 TDV8 - Santorini Black with Ivory Leather - Grey Alloys - A few toys

Forget to mention - excellent in the snow!!! 2016 RRS Autobiography - 4.4 TDV8 - Santorini Black with Ivory Leather - Grey Alloys - A few toys

Wife tried the S version of the Cooper - loved it. then we tried this PHEV. wasn't bad, didn't have as much wow factor as the Cooper S, and the big let down was the charging. You need to have the super unit installed and in Finland to do that means getting the permission of the housing company - if your in a building with more than 1 owner.
In the end she went for a Jag XE R-Sport. 2019 RRS P400e Autobiography
2014 RRS 3.0 TDV6 HSE Dynamic
2006 RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSe
Alfa Romeo Guillietta 2.0 JTDM 2011
Mazda 3 1.6 2010
Subaru Impreza 2.0 WRX 2005

Thanks guys,

Charging at home is no problem for me and I can do it overnight via a 13amp plug or have a fast charger built into my garage and also have 32 solar panels that will add some juice to the battery. The range is a bit short at 25 miles on the optimistic EU method of measuring electric only range but that is enough to get me into the chargers in the carparks in town. Nearly all the staff at my local health centre have All4’s and they very rarely get stuck on the back roads and farm lanes in this area. I have an extended test drive of the Countryman S E ALL4 PHEV coming up over the weekend or early next week. My concern with the JCW version was that the suspension might be a bit hard for my liking! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Well first impressions are - what a well made car, managed the 16 mile trip from the dealers to home on 52% of a charge and totally electric all the way. The car will run up to 75mph in electric mode so I just had to try it on the M9, felt rock solid and was totally silent apart from a little wind rustle around the driver’s side wing mirror. On rumble strips where my RRS hardly notices them neither does the Countryman on its 18” wheels/tyres. In electric mode it run in rear wheel drive and is as quick away from a junction as the RRS, maybe even quicker. I tried to provoke it to run with both the 1.5ltr 3 pot petrol engine and the electric motor but even though I tried hard it stayed in electric mode. Not one rattle, the Satnav will work out when to run petrol or electric modes on a trip if you put in your destination or you can decide which mode you prefer. I was told best just to leave it in auto and let it run the engine when it wants to as that is the most economical way to run it. The car I have on loan is laden with goodies, many of which I don’t have on the RRS like Head-up display which is very nice and driving into the low sun this afternoon was still fully visible, which I have read is a problem with some systems, thus one doesn’t project directly onto the windscreen but has a little motorised screen that opens up when you start the car, lovely clear graphics on it to. The regenerative brakes take a bit of getting used to as they are somewhat snatchy, but I will doubless get used to that. Unlike the Sport I cannot see the heating elements in the heated front screen (i’ve Checked and it does at least have the switch for one!) and the climate control fan is a lot quieter than the Sport’s and on a cold afternoon very quickly had the cabin warmed up to 22c. The adaptive LED headlights are very powerful yet don’t seem to upset oncoming drivers so the light pattern must be well designed. Only another 2.5 days before it has to go back - I think they will be fun days too but I have to see what it is like when the petrol engine is running.......... has it enough poke and how noisy / thrumy will 3 cylinders be? For someone who rarely uses the boot capacity of the RRS, the space in the boot of the Countryman is more than sufficient, the underfloor well contains a carrier for the charging unit and tyre repair kit, no spare. And most important for me as taxi driver to elderly parents who are not as flexible as they once were, both were able to get in and out of the front and rear seats without issues, unlike getting into the rear of the Sport which can be a problem for my mother because of the wheel arch intrusion into the door aperture, the Mini was much easier for her and not so high either. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on Wed Nov 01 2017 5:38pm. Edited 1 time in total

Good start Tim

Keep us informed how it goes - I ruled out Mini Countryman in the past despite really liking SWMBOs Mini One and Sons Cooper but the PHEV might be on my list next time  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

It comes with a nice basic spec but the demo I have has just about every box ticked except run-flat tyres and a panoroof! I reckon the price for it won’t be less than £43,000 so it would take it over the luxury car tax level for extra VED, but might be worth having. The Satnav system really makes the one in my RRS feel very clunky, but interestingly it is not so easy to put addresses into as the RRS and is no faster when keying things in, it is at least beautifully sharp and shows all charging points in my area as well as the petrol stations. One problem with it being a demo car is the dealer didn’t spec it with any other cable than the standard 13 amp plug style version but I will try a run to Ikea tomorrow and that is 29 miles away and in theory further than the electric range of the Countryman. For a steel spring suspended car the ride is impressive too and it still drives like any other modern Mini I have driven - the roller skate feeling is still there! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

When I went out at 0900 this morning we had had a very hard frost overnight, oh no where is the spray de-icer that I haven’t needed in years because of heated front and rear screens- no worries the Mini has an electric heating system and I had hot air belching from the vents within seconds of pressing the start button - the car I have doesn’t Appear to have a Heated front screen after all but neither does it really need one and I also didn’t need the seat heater because the climate control brings the temperature in the cabin up very quickly BUT running the heater does hit the battery charge hard.......

The loaner
 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

To reduce impact on battery range in cold weather I preheat using timed climate or phone app while still connected to mains before going out to vehicle - this also means vehicle is defrosted and hot when you get in

Swmbo really likes your mini Tim apart from the writing on side but I've told her it's optional  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

I wondered what some of the options on the “modes” menu are and one of them could be that - the one that appears to offer timed climate control only when the car is plugged in but the way it is phrased does come out like that. I do like it’s HUD and it is reasonably priced, one thing I don’t like is the size of the icons and text on the switches.......... it is tiny and not lit at night, I had to take my reading glasses out to the car yesterday just to read the switches. I might have to blow the cobwebs off my varifocal glasses which I don’t usually wear when I am driving.....

The colour is Moonwalk Silver with black contrast roof and optional black 18” wheels. I have been told by loads of people “ don’t opt for the run flat tyres, they give a very harsh ride!” I was thinking about having an all leather interior but this one has a part leather/ cloth interior and part from the driver’s seat leather creasing up when I sit on it it is a nice interior but needs the pano roof to lighten it a bit being black everything. And it has “mood lighting” that you can actually see along with something like 3000 colour combinations according to the brochure!

I pick up my RRS tomorrow morning........ will I still love it after this? Will i still want an iPace.......... which I think will end up being priced about the same as a new RRS and therefore out of my budget - JLR claim it will be “around £60,000” I hope that they make that the upper price for the top of the range one because I really do want to buy a car assembled in this country but I don’t want to buy an overpriced experiment that has huge software and technical issues like those that seem to bug anything new that JLR lays it corporate hands on. If JLR pitched the price of the iPace and RRS PHEV’s down a bit they would be onto a winner - hopefully they might have learned something from the way too high launch pricing of the F Type Jaguars and the Velar.


Later edit - Yep have found the “Park Heat” function - It is called “Standing Climate Control” in Mini-speak, it is standard fit and will cool or heat the car but only when a charging cable is plugged into the car. It is surprising how little effect plugging the car into my solar panel array has. I can monitor consumption from an “OWL” generation and exporting meter app on my mobile phone and even though I am only generating 380w this morning, with the car plugged in and the timed heating has just switched on in the car I can see that I am still exporting 10watts to the national grid on an overcast day. If I were to replace the Sport with a Countryman I wouldn’t need to Park Heat ir as much as, after clearing all the junk that has collected in my garage out, I can fit the Mini in it so it wouldn’t get as cold as when it sits out on my drive.
Also while I was out at the car to get the handbook out (which is both hard copy and continued as a file in the car’s dash configuration!) one of my neighbours came across to say that he thought somebody might have been tampering with my car overnight as when he returned home at 9pm last evening he noticed a flashing red light on the roof of the car.......... on the top of the fin antenna on the roof there is a red LED that flashes to show that the security system is armed and operating in addition to one on the base of the rear view mirror and on the dash......... is this a car meant for the tech smart younger generation? 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Unfortunately heated front screens on cars are a Ford Patent, which luckily LR and some other cars have fitted due to Ford ownership or envolvement, but they still get paid for its use by other manufacturers. John

RRS MY12 SDV6 HSE. Sumatra Black/Ebony & Walnut + Dynamic Pack, + Cold Climate Pack + Memory Pack, Digital TV/DVD, Premium Leather, Cornering Lights, Cooler/Fridge Box, & most Options.

Last edited by Johnski on Sat Nov 04 2017 7:47pm. Edited 1 time in total

It is an option on the Mini though but now I have discovered how to set the park heating system up (the day before returning the demo car!) to preheat the car while the charging cable is still plugged into the mains and the fact that I could get the car into my garage makes having a heated front screen less of a priority - there is no option for a heated steering wheel though  2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Heated steering wheel std on my Mitsubishi PHEV

I actually prefer the heated screen on the Lexus and Mitsubishi because it doesn't have the element but relies on blower - it's very quick and doesn't mess with GPS on dashcam  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

MINI PHEVs not available here yet but by the sound of the pre orders they won't be for a while.

I was quite shocked that new Outlander PHEVs here are equivalent of 30,000 quid....  Gone - 2008 Stornoway Grey RRS 2.7 TDV6
Gone - 2009 Buckingham Blue RRS 2.7 TDV6
Gone - 2010 Alaska White RRS 5.0 V8 Aspirated
Gone - 2017 Chawton White RRS 5.0 V8 Supercharged
Current - 2010 Java Black RRS 5.0 V8 Aspirated
Current- 2024 RRS P400 SE Dynamic