WITH the new Mini Countryman, it’s all about size. It’s 13 centimetres longer than its predecessor and at least 6 centimetres taller, which is one heck of a growth spurt by car standards. The 12-inch touchscreen on its dashboard is the largest round Oled display in the motoring world, at least for now, and the sporty John Cooper Works version even has 19-inch wheels. At this rate, the next generation will be the size of a Rolls-Royce.

But maybe the bigger story here is that you can soon have your maxi Mini with electric power instead of an engine. Alongside the spicy JCW, a battery-powered Countryman SE is headed your way. Both should arrive in Singapore in the second half of the year.

That the Countryman is still recognisably a Mini is testament to how skilfully BMW Group has nurtured the brand. Styling cues like the wraparound window area, Union Jack tail-lights and the roof in a contrasting colour all ensure that you could pick the Countryman out as a Mini even if someone prised the badges off it.

Whether you think a car as big as this should be a Mini in the first place, the car itself flaunts its size rather than trying to hide it. It’s generally boxy, which I think is for the best, since curves might have made it look blobby.

Meanwhile, the round headlights that give the small Minis their distinctive look might have looked cartoonish here. “This car has more presence, it’s more mature,” Thomas Sycha, Head of Mini Exterior Design, told The Business Times. “It’s a little more masculine, and therefore it has harder, chiselled headlights.”

Mini upsized the Countryman so dramatically for two reasons that I can think of. One, it’s made the car more practical. The back seat offers plenty of head and leg-room, and the boot is fit for family clutter.

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More than just size, the cabin offers an attractive sort of minimalism. The dashboard is a stark and simple surface, covered in an eco-friendly, recycled polyester material. You do get a small bank of toggle switches and a knob for starting the car, but the interior is dominated by that big, cyclopean touchscreen. There’s no driver screen, but you do at least get a head-up display so you can keep your eyes facing forward.

Roomy body aside, the other reason for bulking up the Countryman was to make room for batteries, surely. The SE has enough of them for a claimed range of 432 kilometres, which should translate to once-a-week charging for most drivers here, just over the threshold of acceptable.

Twin motors give the Mini plenty of zip, too. They dole out 313 horsepower readily, and slingshot the Countryman to 100 kmh in just 5.6 seconds, with a Star Trek soundtrack from the sound system for accompaniment. Switch the artificial noise off, tread lightly on the right pedal, and it’s all hushed refinement instead. 

As you’d expect, the JCW and its 2.0-litre turbo engine are a different prospect altogether. Boisterous and firmly sprung, it stomps up the road with a roaring voice and crackling exhaust, and lets you know if the road under you needs resurfacing. It’s as fiery as its chilli-red roof and sporty bucket seats suggest, too, particularly when you engage the new “Go-kart” drive setting.

Yet, despite Mini’s best intentions, the JCW is the opposite of a kart, in that it’s large and sits high above the ground. It also weighs roughly 1.7 tonnes. While the chassis is forgiving enough to make fast cornering easy, the Countryman never feels twinkle-toed enough to disguise its bulk.

If anything, the electric Countryman SE is more satisfying to drive, slipping through corners with noticeably more poise even though it’s a two-tonne machine. Yet, it’s also nicer at the day-to-day stuff, thanks in part to brighter cabin materials and posher upholstery.

In the SE, you’re tempted to play with the new driving modes, too, which re-skin the big touchscreen with such interesting themes as a retro “Heritage” design and a “Green” setting that uses an animated hummingbird or cheetah to let you know in real-time if you’re driving economically.

As someone who thinks motor oil is perfume, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed my time in the Countryman SE more than in the JCW. The Countryman itself is now a hugely capable family car (and borders on huge itself), and the electric SE is the superior version of it.

It’s the one I would buy, except I often do road trips up North, and don’t fancy having to stop for a lengthy charge every so often. For now, the JCW is still the Countryman for long, aimless drives into the countryside.

Mini John Cooper Works Countryman All4 Engine 1,998 cc, 16-valve, turbocharged in-line four Power 300 hp from 5,750 to 6,500 rpm Torque 400 Nm from 2,000 to 4,500 rpm Gearbox 7-speed automatic 0-100 kmh 5.4 seconds Top speed 250 kmh Fuel efficiency 8.3 L/100 km (estimated) Agent Eurokars Habitat Price To be announced Available 2nd Half, 2024

Mini Countryman SE All4 Motor power/torque 313 hp/494 Nm Battery Lithium-ion/64.6 kWh Charging time/type 10 hours 0 to 100 per cent (7.4 kW AC), 29 minutes 10 to 80 per cent (130 kW DC) Range 432 km (estimated) Top speed 180 kmh 0-100 kmh 5.6 seconds Efficiency 18.5 kWh/100 km (estimated) Price To be announced Agent Eurokars Habitat Available 2nd half, 2024