Allow us to fast-forward you to the future, for it has just arrived in the magnificent shape of the MINI Countryman Plug-in Hybrid.

This PHEV model costs €42,500 which is actually €300 less than the comparative manual Cooper S ALL4 Countryman (€42,800), but you can actually get behind the wheel of a Countryman from €32,979.99.

However, being a plug-in hybrid, you can get an SEAI grant and, up until the end of 2018, you can get VRT relief which brings the price of the Cooper S E ALL4 Countryman PHEV down to €35,000.

THERE ARE 3 DRIVING MODES TO CHOOSE FROM:

1. You can drive in pure electric mode at speeds of up to 125km/h. If you want to go faster or accelerate harder the petrol engine switches on automatically and seamlessly.

2. You can let the on-board systems decide what best suits the current driving conditions and it will switch between the electric and petrol motor.

3. You can also choose to save the battery charge when the battery is running low. In this mode, the petrol engine charges the battery or keeps the charging status at 90 per cent. 

POWER TRIP.

Zap to work electrically and escape the city on the weekends - courtesy of our all-new plug-in hybrid engine. With an electric range of up to 42km and a total range of up to 500km, there’s no limit to where the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 can take you. About as good as the 6.8 seconds it takes to hit 100 km/h, we reckon. Sustainable driving just got fun.

EFFORTLESS CHARGING.

The MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 is powered by a high-tech lithium-ion battery. Kept at its optimum operating temperature by an advanced cooling system, the battery excels in output and service life. You can recharge the battery using a conventional 230-volt/110-volt household socket or a dedicated electric car charge point. You’ll find the charging port behind a flap on the front left side scuttle. An LED light ring on the charging port is charging up and indicates the different phases of the charging process. It takes around 2.5 hours to charge thanks to its 3.6kW charging rate, so many people could drive to and from work without ever needing to use a drop of petrol.

KEEP ON ROLLING.

In electric mode, you can drive your MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 up to 42 km. That’s without any local CO2 emissions. Even when the petrol engine takes over, you’re still looking at remarkably low consumption figures of 2.5 - 2.4l/100 km and 56 - 55g CO2/km. Switching between eDrive and petrol drive is silky smooth and fully automated.

TAKE A TEST DRIVE TODAY.