MINI Cooper Forum banner

My Mini Phev

4K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  375439 
#1 ·
Picked up our Countryman Phev just before Christmas after ordering back at the beginning of August,it’s melting Silver with black roof and mirror caps.
Extras include chilli pack,darkened rear windows and heated front screen.i’ve already fitted genuine mud flaps and rubber interior and boot mats.
Only a few hundred miles in but enjoying it so far and slowly getting around all its gadgets.I’m very familiar with Hybrid as our main car is a Lexus RX450H which we’ve had for over three years.I am a big Lexus fan and also have a rare IS250c LE. We did fancy a plug in Hybrid and as Lexus Don’t do them as yet we did like the look of the countryman and as you all know they are very quick cars and a lot of fun to drive.
Charging at home has been fine with the granny charger but I have got a 7kw Rolec wall charger being fitted in a week or so.It will be mainly used for local journeys and the odd motorway journey where I just put it in save and regenerate until I hit built up areas when I just flick back into Max-derive.
Being following this forum for a while and have enjoyed reading the posts about how to get the best out of the car.
Look forward to some chat over the coming months.
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#2 ·
I am glad you are happy with your car .we only have the cooper 1.5 but it’s a great little car and pulls are caravan fine.
We would have loved to go for the PHEV but as yet haven’t given it a tow weight. We have the same colour and it looks lovely with the sun on it .
 

Attachments

#3 ·
Many PHEVs and BEVs are unrated for towing, it’s a pain as I only tow an Ivor Williams P100E 6x4 box trailer ratedat 750kgs load and have to use my Defender as no towing with the Countryman. I looked at the IPace and that has a deplorable tow bar available according to the on line configuration fir £1100 but then further on in the technical blurb there is a statement that says the vehicle is unsuitable for Towing!
 
#6 ·
hahaha, let alone the car, its a mouthful on paper...

is definitely eye catching though, had ours charging in a car park, when we got back, there was a family that owned a Mitsubishi PHEV having a look at our Countryman. Wife was just mega suspicious, I just said they were intrigued by a Mini PHEV
 
#7 ·
I’ve had that too and been told off by an irate BEV owner that I shouldn’t be parking my car in a slot for electric vehicles, just let him rant on as I opened the wing flap and plugged in the tethered cable. He shut up then, but honestly the car has stylised plug badges all over it plain enough to see! I’ve has a family in a Tesla X stop me at the charger and ask if they could have a look inside as they were considering one as a 2nd car. Countryman PHEVs do seem to be very rare in the UK.
 
#9 ·
Charging at home has been fine with the granny charger but I have got a 7kw Rolec wall charger being fitted in a week or so.It will be mainly used for local journeys and the odd motorway journey where I just put it in save and regenerate until I hit built up areas when I just flick back into Max-derive.
.
Out of interest how many electric miles does yours show after a full charge at home ?

I have found Save does not regenerate as much as Mid or Sport, Sport seems to do the best and on stop start / short journeys
 
#10 ·
I think like most in this weather its just showing about 14 but i v'e actually only charged it about 4 times so far.
I live a couple of miles out from our local town so tend to leave the house in save as its rural and then just flick into max-edrive as i hit the town and built up areas it works really well and suits me.
I'm also pleased at the regeneration it gives travelling to and from town.As i've said in my intro our main car is a Lexus Hybrid so have been well practised over the years of getting the best from the regen.
Its also amazing how much stuff you can fit in the countryman with the seats down as i found out on a couple of visits to the Tip.
 
#11 ·
I had mine checked out by the dealer as it was only showing 14 miles range after a charge. There was a delay because not every dealership has PHEV qualified technicians and the group I bought mine from has two PHEV techs for 6 outlets........ so appointments are thin on the ground. They reset all sorts of things over two days and managed to get the charge up to 18 miles range but the next day the car was showingb14 miles again so I suspect that they charged my car up in the heated workshop overnight whereas at home the car sits outside charging. During the summer it was mostly showing 27 or 28 miles and I have since learned from neighbours with a Renault Zoe and a Tesla that it is the same with their cars in winter, the range drops hugely as soon as we get cold nights.
 
#13 ·
I know what you mean Tim about the LR dealers,i too have had a Disco 3 and a freelander 2 which we had from new in 2010 and kept for six years and in 2014 was actually trying to buy the run out Freelander Metropolis but i didn't get any returned calls from any of the dealers i spoke to.Thats when i went to lexus which is a whole other world of customer service.But the freelander was a great car and i believe to this day still there most reliable.My brother is a LR or (JLR) as it is these days nut and like yourself has had quite a few, he even drives the Range Rover for work as he is chauffeur.I remember in one of your recent posts you were going to test drive the I-pace did this happen and what was your opinion?My brother also got lucky enough to have one over the christmas period and he loved it.
I still think JLR should have used the launch of the Velar to go Petrol Hybrid it was a perfect opportunity imho.
Myself and brother have both worked at the solihull plant in the nineties and his son still works there but i do fear for jobs with falling sales, also a huge number of families in the area rely on that employment.
I also notice you are a Ships Captain, i was in the Merchant Navy back in the early eighties and worked on RFA and the first Oriana as well as a little trip down south in 1982.
 
#16 ·
Same, I would go back to a Range Rover tomorrow but i’m on the downward slope to retirement and they are hugely expensive now for what you get. I did drive the I-Pace but the high price put me off along with JLR not being great with Hitech electronics ............. the car is amazing and facebending acceleration too! I have a deposit on the next Defender but will it ever go into production, will it be sensibly priced and I just hope that it doesn’t have Velar interior........ I hate everything about Velar and so do a lot of loyal LR fans. Since the interiors are all becoming Velar-a-alike many Sport owners are going to BMW and Mercedes-Benz after years and years of Range Rover ownership. The screens keep failing is the biggest issue and your friendly LR dealer just claims “it’s the way you use them” which isn’t helpful - lord know what they will be like in 10-15 years time with a few 100,000 miles on them, valueless I would imagine.
 
#15 ·
Conditions can make it vary a lot to be honest, received our car back in September 2018. Wifes return trip was around 8 miles and we couldn't be bothered to charge it every night because it wasn't that convenient at our house. By the end of the second day the car was virtually empty battery or even already starting to use a little petrol.

Was basically only getting around 16miles on the battery back then. Think the average temperature was around 18C I think...Mixture of inclines and 30mph and 40mph roads...
 
#18 ·
I won’t be trading it in as to a dealer, at 23 years old and 90,000 miles on the clock I would get only scrap value for it. I have a queue of potential buyers looking for it even at today’s insured value of £19000........... I would sell the Countryman for a PHEV or SDv6 version if the price were below £40000 which I doubt it will be.
 
#19 ·
Well having had the Phev for a while now i have got quite comfortable with it and it is suiting me well.Have also noticed the range has increased slightly in the last couple of days as the temp rises outside.
Now i have the tethered charger fitted it makes charging a bit easier and quicker of course.I believe the grant from OLEV is stopping in April so i got myself a 7Kw fitted to future proof a little bit.
But overall I'm very happy with the Countryman thus far.
 
#20 ·
Out of interest i was wandering what type of Dashcam people are using in their countryman?
I would like one that is discreet and sits out of drivers view behind the rear view mirror, i'm also not bothered about it having a screen.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
 
#21 ·
I personally use a Garmin dash cam 55. I installed it behind the mirror, on the right side (my car is with the driver on the left side). The quality is satisfactory at night and really good during the day, 1440p resolution.
I like also the fixed radar alert for Europe (subscription included in the purchase price).
 
#22 ·
I've got the Thinkware F750 from my previous car which fitted well there. In the Countryman, not so good, I had to fit it just to the upper right of the rear view mirror, so the captured footage is a little off centre, but was better than fitting it under the mirror and obscuring my sight there. Did buy the camera many years ago though, but haven't had a need to upgrade it, believe new models are out now
 
#25 ·
I still haven’t found one I’m totally happy with as yet,the Nextbase one I have in my Lexus sits completely out of view behind the rear view mirror and you forget it’s even there.i do have a spare one of these dash cams as well but it just doesn’t fit right in the countryman.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top