Cooper Countryman

Make
Mini
Segment
SUV

The original Mini brand, before BMW took it over, was all about affordability and compact design, while new models are quite the opposite. Sadly, while it's always easy to criticize the way that cars have swelled in size, there's no doubt that Mini was in desperate need of BMW's help if it were to ever achieve mainstream success again. The brand was fading into obscurity before the Germans got involved, and now that Mini offers a much wider range with much more space in every model, it has become far more sustainable. Still, enthusiasts won't like the news that the next Mini Cooper Countryman is rumored to get even bigger.

According to BMW Blog, the next-generation Countryman will be built on BMW's new FAAR front-wheel-drive platform that will cause a swell in size. This should make it more like the BMW X1, which is currently a little bigger than the Countryman. While we disapprove of cars constantly growing, the success of the Countryman - one of the brand's best sellers despite being the biggest vehicle in the Mini lineup at the moment - proves that buyers want space.

As Mini's Urbanaut concept proves, future cars are likely to become living rooms on wheels, and more space makes these vehicles more enjoyable.

Speaking of new tech, we may be seeing an all-electric Countryman for the first time. At this point, we know for sure that a plug-in hybrid model will be coming along with traditional internal combustion engines (ICE), but the possibility of a pure electric vehicle is new information. It makes sense since ICE powertrains are set to become endangered by the end of the decade, so we expect that this new EV will be similar in tech and size to the under-development iX1. This is expected to be revealed late next year, so if the Mini rumors are true, expect to see a Countryman EV in 2023.