I know it's been a while but thought I'd say Hi to those who remember me and to let them know like Tim in Scotland I've gone and bought a Mini PHEV

Picked this beauty up today from the biggest showroom I have ever seen in Sheffield - I was a little awestruck

Click image to enlarge

Hi

Nice car, but i have to say my first 2 cars was the proper minis and the current minis are not minis, i bet if i could recall mpg they would probably do better than current models, yes you had to use a choke on cold days, and adjust the carb summer or winter but they were great to learn to drive in, no abs or the the mod cons electric everything, oh any sign of rain the wd40 had to be used on the dizzy cap, dam i am getting old reminiscing about my old motors, sorry about that enjoy your new motor.

Hi Miniwheels

What kind of Mini is that Muddy, or is there only one Mini PHEV model? I get very confused with all the Mini variants these days.

Glad you are OK!

It’s a Mini Countryman All4 with 2 engines........ 1.5 3cylinder Turbo at the front good for 140bhp and an 87hp electric motor on the back axle - when you are in a hurry they work together giving AWD or in pure electric mode you have only the RWD and in petrol only you have FWD. I must say mine is better assembled and finished than any RRS or Evoque I have owned and as good as the L322 FFRR’s as owned, but half the price. Performance is a bit blunted by the extra 150kgs of batteries slung under the rear seat, but it gets up and goes nicely when asked to! It isn’t a small car either, about the same size as an Evoque, like all modern Minis. It does take some getting used to not having a rev counter and the temperature gauge is buried away about 10 clicks into the dash menu! As Muddy says the electric pre-heatingbis a godsend in the winter - I made the mistake of speccing the optional heated front screen......... £320 never used because the preheating is so good it defrosts all the windows but it is best used when still plugged into the mains as pre-heating on the HV battery only uses up a lot of electric motoring range......
It’s the fastest car I’ve owned EVER, even faster than the TVR I owned in the 1980’s, and unlike the TVR it is unlikely to exit a corner stern first through a hedge on a wet road!

Muddy, I hope you have Sussed out the awful owners manual and all the various driving modes!

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I did wonder if you were still floating about Muddy  2003 BMW M5 - 5 Litres of V8 Optimax Slurping Goodness in Carbon Black

2013 SDV6 HSE Black Edition- Orkney Grey with Ebony & Ivory. LR Facelift RAI, Genuine G4 Expedition Rack, 4x Warn SBD-160 Spotlights, Warn 9.5XPS Winch, Mantec Underbody Protection and Sump Guard, Full Easy Lift Suspension Module, LR Light Guards, Light Force HTX230 Hybrid spotlights, 18” Compomotive PD1881 on 265/65/18 BF Goodrich KO2, ARB fridge, TuffTrek awning 😎

We were selling a cooper D for a friend who emigrated to the States. I drove it around for 2 weeks and it was great to drive and I was taken by it. It sold to a friend and he’s very happy with it. 2006 2.7 TDV6 HSE in Cairns Blue.

Nice to here from you Paul & nice looking mini,you’ll have to bring it through & let me have a go in it & see if I’m tempted as I’m getting fed up of sports now & looking at a change,I’ve been looking at Audi RS3 & Focus RS so I can put the plate on.

Ps are we fitting winters on the mini  Andy.
21 Ford Ranger
Gone but not forgotten
Focus RS Red Edition
2015 RRS AB Fuji.
2014 RRS SC Santorini
2016 VW Amarok
2014 RRS AB Fuji
2012 RRS Red Edition Fuji
2015 Nissan Navara
2012 RRS SE Santorini
2008 RRS White
2007 RRS Santorino

1richard1 My dad, grandad and Aunty all had Minis during my childhood (60/70s) and I remember them fondly - Dad also remembers being under the bonnet a lot too

BKHK - Hope you're doing well to Don't get me started on the confusing models and specs - it's taken me weeks to work them out and partly why in the end I went used not new as the depreciation is ridiculous - I saved about £13k on a 2019 with 4k miles

Tim - I thought about pm'ing you so many times for advice but never found the time - I may yet need to though if I get stuck Love the colour of yours - it was my 1st choice but in the end price and distance won for the Thunder Grey I have rarely overtaken anything since the RRS went and the Lexus - Yesterday I indicated to overtake coming home and SWMBO started to say "you'll never make that" but we were passed before she finished Feels good to be in something with power and go kart handling again

Buckster - still floating about and spending the kids inheritance

Stevepd - I nearly went for a Diesel with mega spec as it was cheap as chips but fear over city banning etc gave me cold feet. Also considered a petrol which would of saved me money too as the PHEV does have a premium but in the end the extra bhp, benefits such as preheat and hopefully lower depreciation persuaded me to go for another PHEV

Andy - it was dark when I got back last night so haven't checked the tyres to see if they are summer/all season so you may well be getting a call Std spec is 17" but this has been upgraded to 18" and I'm not a fan - the ride is harder than the 48hr test drive vehicle we had and not sure if I can live with them

Battery is smaller than the Mitsy so doesn't look like I will be seeing 80mpg I did before but it's a lot more fun to drive and it fits in the garage now Craig fitted the doors  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!

Ha, memories of my first mini, it had a floor start button, until a Marigold was cut up and put into action, it would cut out at the sight of any puddle!

Them were the days eh.

Dave 2010 3.6 TDV8 HSE (Gone)
2011 Discovery 4 Commercial SDV6 (Gone)
1980 OBLIC 4.0ltr Range Rover (went a long time ago)

Nice to see Muddy back on the forum. All we need now is BC & Ady to pop up. Be interesting to hear your view of the Mini, see how it compares with Tim's opinion.

Me, I still fancy an I Pace, but the price a tad high for a down and out like me. In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Frightened away from the Sports due to crank failures
Gone - A couple of RRS, A couple of Disco's. However thinking of another Sport.

I’ve just remembered my first car well van was a mini ex post office van I got from a auction. Andy.
21 Ford Ranger
Gone but not forgotten
Focus RS Red Edition
2015 RRS AB Fuji.
2014 RRS SC Santorini
2016 VW Amarok
2014 RRS AB Fuji
2012 RRS Red Edition Fuji
2015 Nissan Navara
2012 RRS SE Santorini
2008 RRS White
2007 RRS Santorino

What’s the real world 100% electric mode range on it Muddy? Visitor from fullfatrr.com
* GONE. 2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Now being piloted by RRSTDV8
* Current: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* Current. 1974 Lightweight 2.25L petrol. Old skool
* GONE. Freelander GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* GONE. Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

Hi Syd part of the reason I went for Mini was Tims great experience and so far I'm really happy although only had a 24 hour test drive then driven mine home from dealer but I'm hopeful

Andy my dad had a Mini van too - got in it 1 day and shut door - floor dropped on road because cills had rusted away

Dr Rob charged last night and shows 19 miles range today - less than the Mitsubishi but it's a smaller battery - only 7.6kw vs 12kw. Will improve in warmer weather I hope - the Mitsy did  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!

Paul, the ride on mine is nice so sounds like you have the run-flats which give a hard ride, it seems people ditch the run-flats as soon as it gets near to needing new tyres! I opted for the black pin spoke wheels that came with ordinary all season tyres and very happy with the ride comfort, as good as the Evoque was on steel springs and not far off the RRS. I loaded mine up with options .............. was silly but too late now! When I bought mine it was a factory order and there was one trim level - very good standard spec but now there are 3 models to choose from.
Range isn’t anywhere near the claimed official of 26 miles on a charge, best I have seen was 24 and when it gets colder that dropped to 14 miles last winter. One thing I really like is the fast charging - there are three charging rates - high,medium and low - on high I can fully charge from “empty” in 3 hours on a 13amp socket. You cannot charge any faster even on a rapid charger as there is restricting software in the car to prevent HV battery damage but I regularly use public chargers as in Scotland they are free to use if you have a Chargepoint Scotland card. While I am at home the car is always charged on the highest rate and off my solar panels using up my FIT, while I’m at sea I set it to charge on the lowest rate in offpeak time just to keep the battery good, I go away leaving a nearly empty battery but looking at the app I see now after 4 days away the battery is fully charged and the car has 18 miles range. I also set it to climatising mode in the night when it is on charge in cold weather just to keep the interior from getting damp with condensation. In summer it will also cool the interior from the app.
Have you downloaded the Connected App? It gives you control of charging and pre-heating / cooling from your phone - it even works on my ship’s slow internet in mid-Atlantic Ocean!
There are some nice little things in the equipment that LR could learn from........ one I particularly appreciate is the auto on wiper set-up. Unlike the LR system it defaults to off when the ignition is off so on a frosty morning if you have forgotten to defrost the front screen or haven’t switched off the auto on wipers the night before they won’t try to wipe the screen until you press the little button on the right hand stalk, then you get auto on wipers. The front seat adjustable under thigh support on mine is brilliant and I find the standard half leather seats in mine very comfortable - because of the Clinatusing mode I have not used the seat heaters ever, nor the heated front screen! There are some cheap things though - no puddle light under the passenger door mirror, no rev counter, engine temperature gauge is buried in the driver info Centre menus, the mpg counter continues to calculate even when you are in 100% electric drive and I have had a rattle from the cheap and nasty papier-mâché feel fibreboard pull out sunshades over the two sunroof sections (I have the optional opening sunroof) . The dealer has tried twice to cure it but it’s made no difference. The car has only been back to the dealer once in 18 months for a software update that couldn’t be done over the air to fix a glitch in the charge indication - often the miles to flat range is way different to the coloured LED strip around the centre radio/Satnav display - the LED is way more accurate!
Last leave I got a nail in a tyre right on the shoulder......... the 17” Pirelli Assymetrico Tyres on mine cost a fortune to replace - more than a 20” Conti off an Evoque! Like LR Mini branded accessories are also very expensive.
There is a good owners forum at Mini2.com it isn’t as friendly or as busy as this one but there are some regular posters and some excellent technical advice available for previous generation modern Mini- not so much for the PHEV as it is a fairly rare beast but they are getting more common. They are not built in the UK either - alongside the convertible they are built in Holland, hence no facelift model Union Flag LED taillights on it (and the shape of the taillights is different on the Countryman PHEV so you cannot fit them!) 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

Tim in Scotland wrote:

It’s the fastest car I’ve owned EVER, even faster than the TVR I owned in the 1980’s, and unlike the TVR it is unlikely to exit a corner stern first through a hedge on a wet road!

The new JCW Countryman is 0-60 in 5.2s  Porsche Cayenne S Diesel 66 Plate