Following our first look inside the new 2024 MINI Countryman, we’ve got our best look yet at the exterior design and proportions. The first thing you notice are not the proportions but the overall size. Yes, the 2024 MINI Countryman is growing up.
Based on these photos and our sources, the all new 2024 MINI Countryman will be about 200 mm (8 inches) larger – specifically in the rear. While MINI chose to modify the UKL chassis to shorten the rear giving the current Countryman slightly more MINI-like proportions, we believe this next generation car will more closely follow it’s BMW twins in overall size but lengthening the rear. This will allow for a larger cargo area and more rear legroom.
What about weight? Our sources are telling us that MINI will make use of advanced chassis design and plenty of new aluminum components to reduce the weight gain we’ll see. Given that this car will also form the basis of the first all-electric Countryman, efficiency will be key.
2024 MINI Countryman Engines and Transmissions
There are no clean-sheet designs in the internal combustion world these days and there’s no exception here. Every petrol powered engine is a revision of an existing one. So things will look familiar but numbers will rise slightly. Based on what we know about the evolved three and four liter family of engines from BMW, we should see something close to the following:
- The 1.5 three cylinder which will be rated at 137 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque
- 2.0 four cylinder with varying tunes; 170 hp and 206 ft-lbs and 218 hp and 265 ft-lbs.
- JCW branded 2.0 four cylinder with 330 hp and a mild hybrid system
- All petrol engines will get a 48 volt mild hybrid system and will be mated to a revised 7-speed dual clutch with an all new gear selector design.
- Given the lack of manuals in BMW’s future plans for those platform, we expect the manual transmission to be eliminated from the Countryman line-up.
The All Electric 2024 MINI Countryman
Yes it’s coming. The FAAR platform was designed from the ground up to accommodate a battery pack and electric motor as part of the brand’s plans to transition all products over the next decade. That means we should see a fully electric version of the Countryman shortly after launch possibly as a 2025 model.
2024 MINI Countryman Launch Details
With the test mules progressing quickly, we believe we’ll see the 2024 MINI Countryman make its debut in the second half of 2023 as a 2024 model in the US. We’ll likely see petrol powered Cooper and Cooper S models first before MINI launches its first ever all electric Countryman. And don’t worry; an even higher horsepower JCW Countryman is coming.