Mini Countryman EV Charging Cable

Three different cars, and the socket is not in the same place

Start here, because it changes both which cable you buy and how long it needs to be. The Countryman E and SE ALL4 of 2024 on are battery electric cars with a 66.5 kWh pack and a socket on the offside rear quarter. The Cooper S E ALL4 of 2017 to 2023 is a plug-in hybrid whose socket is on the NEARSIDE FRONT WING, stated absolutely in its owner manual.

That is the BMW group convention and Mini follows it without exception: plug-in hybrids charge from the front nearside and electric cars from the rear offside. Knowing which you have tells you where to measure from.

The electric cars: two three phase ratings, neither of them useful at home

The Countryman E and SE ALL4 have an 11 kW three phase charger as standard with a 22 kW three phase one on the options list. The 7.4 kW ceiling is the house, not the cable: three phase ratings only mean something where three phases arrive. So buy the 32A single phase lead, and treat any shorter charge time you see quoted as a workplace figure rather than a domestic one.

Both those ratings need three phases, so the 22 kW upgrade does nothing at all on a British driveway and is only of use at a three phase public post. The German catalogue gives the honest domestic figure: 600 minutes to a full charge on a single phase 7.4 kW supply, against 390 minutes on three phases at 11 kW. Mini own page quoting three hours forty-five minutes at 22 kW is describing a supply almost no house has.

Both carry 66.5 kWh gross with about 64.6 usable and take 130 kW on DC, ten to eighty per cent in 29 minutes. Range is 287 miles for the E and 268 to 269 for the SE ALL4.

The plug-in hybrid: 3.7 kW, and no rapid charging at all

The Cooper S E ALL4 is a 3.7 kW single phase car, which means a British house gives it the full rate and there is nothing to lose. A heavier lead makes no difference, because nothing downstream of the onboard charger sets the pace. A 16A cable carries 3.6 kW and covers it completely; the 32A version buys current the car will not accept.

This car has no DC inlet whatsoever, which puts the whole charging job on the Type 2 lead. A motorway rapid is simply not available to it, and a car that arrives from a dealer with no cable cannot be charged at all until one turns up. That applies to both sub-generations: the 7.6 kWh car of 2017 to 2019 with 21 miles of electric range, and the 10.0 kWh facelift of 2020 to 2023 with 32 miles. The German data for both shows a Type 2 inlet with no DC field at all and charge times on AC only, and the owner manual charging chapter describes Mode 2 and Mode 3 cables and nothing else.

How long a full charge takes

Figures are calculated rather than quoted: battery divided by power, 13 per cent for losses, quarter hour rounding. The range column is deliberately cautious, at 3.5 miles per kWh. Columns are the 10 kWh plug-in hybrid and the 64.6 kWh electric car. Read the row that matches your car: the hybrid cannot use the 7.4 kW rate and the electric car is not limited to 3.6.

The plug-in hybrid fills in about three and a half hours on a 16A lead, which is an evening. The electric car takes about ten hours at 7.4 kW, which is a night. That is the difference between the two propositions in one table.

Which length for a Countryman

For an electric Countryman, measure to the offside rear quarter of a 4.43 metre car: ten metres is the default, five works reversed in beside the charge point. For a Cooper S E plug-in hybrid, measure to the nearside front wing instead, which is usually the shorter run and often within five metres if you nose in.

Choose on the real distance from inlet to charge point, not the distance on the drawing, and never buy it tight. Do not reuse a length between the two, because the socket has moved both end and side.

How these cables are built

Construction is to IEC 62196-2 with CE marking, IP55 weather protection and a -30C to +50C operating range.

Three pin leads are made to IEC 62752, CE marked and IP67 sealed, with a -30C to +60C specification. The manufacturer warrants it for two years, delivery in the UK is free and next working day, and returns run to 30 days.

Related: Mini Aceman EV Charging Cable, and Mini charging cables for every other model we cover.

Mini Countryman charging cable questions

Where is the charge socket on a Mini Countryman?

It depends which one. The electric Countryman E and SE charge from the offside rear quarter. The Cooper S E plug-in hybrid charges from the nearside front wing, which its owner manual states outright.

Is the 22 kW charger option worth having?

Not at a house. Both the standard 11 kW and the optional 22 kW are three phase ratings, and a British single phase supply gives 7.4 kW either way.

Can the Countryman plug-in hybrid rapid charge?

No. Neither generation has a DC socket, so the Type 2 lead is the only way to charge it.

Do I need a 32A cable for the plug-in hybrid?

No. It takes 3.7 kW at most, so a 16A lead covers it entirely. The electric cars do want the 32A version.