The MINI Aceman vs the Countryman; Range, Performance & Surprising Size Differences

MINI now has two distinctly different crossovers in its line-up, both offering in full electric form. But just how different are they in size, range and performance? We wanted to find out. So we went deep into the data on both cars to see exactly how they compared to themselves and earlier MINIs and found a few surprises.

The Aceman is a small crossover that is effectively replacing the Clubman in the MINI line-up. But in reality it doesn’t replacement the Clubman at all as it’s both smaller and designed as a crossover rather than a wagon. In terms of size it’s actually much closer to the original R60 Countryman or the 2024 F55 Cooper S 5 door.

But we want to focus on how it compares to the new electric Countryman SE. As you can see the new Countryman is a full 13″ longer and 4″ taller. It’s also 800 lbs heavier thanks to its larger battery and body. So it’s a materially larger vehicle than on the outside. But on the inside things get interesting.

Surprisingly the Countryman’s wheelbase is only 6″ longer than the Aceman despite being 13″ longer in total. That means, while the Aceman is smaller, its wheelbase is long compared to its overall length. This pushes the wheels to the corners and creates more interior volume. Just like the original Mini. What that creates is some surprising interior volume in a few places.

As you can see the smaller Aceman is actually larger inside in two areas; front legroom and headroom. This is likely due to the nature of the electric chassis that the Aceman uses. Often referred to as a skateboard chassis, it’s designed to be 100% electric thus does away with much of the structure associated with traditional internal combustion engine cars. The electric version of the U25 Countryman on the other hand is actually based on a combustion platform and can’t use space as efficiently.

MINI Countryman vs Aceman: Performance & Range

Let’s start with range. As you can see below the battery size differs greatly between the Aceman and the Countryman. With more space use, MINI was able to squeeze a larger battery pack into the new Countryman. But we also wonder if this was a calculated move by MINI. Knowing that the Aceman is 800 lbs lighter than the Countryman, MINI also likely wanted to limit the Aceman’s weight and cost keeping it a bit more nimble and of course cheaper.

Also interesting the Countryman E and SE share the same battery while the Aceman E and SE do not. This has a direct impact on range which you can see above.

But what does this all mean to real-world range? EVdatabase.org has an excellent view into this and has published estimated range based on different weather scenarios. As you can see things differ greatly between mild and cold temperatures.

Now let’s look at outright performance. We don’t have a lot of data yet but what we do have points to a decisive win for the Countryman SE in terms of quickness. But with most electric vehicles speed is an enemy to range thus all these cars are limited to rather low figures.

Now what’s faster around a track might be a very different story. With its 800 lbs weight advantage and the right track, the Aceman SE might just nip the Countryman SE. But that’s just conjecture at this point and clear for another day.

Aceman vs Countryman – Conclusions

Where does this leave us? The Aceman is a much more MINI-like vehicle in terms of its proportions and how it uses its size. It’s the classic MINI formula of maximizes the interior space despite its relatively small size. So much so that it’s actually larger in a couple dimensions than the new U25 Countryman.

It’s also much more MINI-like in its weight and perceived agility. Which gives clues to us on how it will handle. It all points to the Aceman being a sweet spot in the range that could prove incredibly popular with potential owners.