New MINI Countryman SPIED on video looking anything but ‘Mini’

The next-generation MINI Countryman is caught on video testing – and looking quite large – ahead of a debut expected later this year.

The Mini Countryman has been around for more than 60 years, starting life as a Mini Estate (even with a ‘Woody’ body initially) as a more practical version of the original Mini for families and, at just 3.3m long, suitably compact.

The arrival of BMW’s MINI take on the Countryman, which arrived a dozen years ago, was a very different beast, with its SUV looks, raised ride height, 4WD and overall butch looks, it was a long way from ‘Mini’ but with much of the quirkiness MINI lovers love to love. It was also more than 4.0m long.

Since it arrived in 2010, the Countryman has had a tweak or two and, in 2016, a new Countryman arrived with improved looks and a new Platform – and grew to around 4.3m. 

Now MINI is preparing to deliver an all-new MINI Countryman – expected to be revealed before the end of 2022 – and it looks set to grow yet again to something the size of the Volvo XC40, and we have video (below) of it out testing on track at the Nurburgring. Looking quite boxy on track – and more ‘Estate/Crossover than SUV – the new Countryman is expected to get a new MINI design language we’ve already had a sneak peak of late last year.

Despite MINI’s EV ambitions, expect the new Countryman to still come with ICE options, but you can also expect an electric Countryman too. But it seems unlikely the PHEV will survive in to this new version.

2023 MINI Countryman Spy Video