British motoring brand Mini, which is owned by BMW, has unveiled the second generation Mini Countryman. The Countryman was Mini’s biggest ever model until it lost this meaningless intra-brand battle to the latest spec Clubman. Now the Countryman wrestled the title back becoming the biggest Mini model in the brand’s history… sigh… The Clubman is now 20cm longer and 3cm wider while the wheel base has been extended by 7.5cm. Small increases you may well say but in car terms this is quite a big change for a small car brand. This increase in dimension naturally means rear boot space has increased from 220-litres to 450-litres, 1,309-litres with the rear seats folded flat. The new Countryman will share the same platform that underpins many BMW models and this will allow for future plug-in hybrid models. The Countryman will offer a range of diesel and petrol engines pretty much as it does now, this will include the 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder 134bhp and 2.-litre, 4-cylinder 190bhp turbo petrol engines. Diesel engines will comprise of the 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbo-diesel which will be offered in two power variants, 150bhp and 190bhp. The Countryman Plug-in Hybrid model will borrow the same system as used in the 225xe Active Tourer. This will include AWD. The Plug-in Hybrid Countryman will use 1.5-litre three-cylinder gasoline engine to drive the front wheels. The rear wheels will be powered by ab 87bhp electric motor. Total system power will be 221bhp and 385Nm of torque. The Plug-in Hybrid Countryman will have a claimed pure electric range of 25 miles and a top speed of 80mph, will emit 49g/km and have a combined range of 60mpg. The interior is also completely new, it appears Mini have gone for an individual look rather than taking the easy route and borrowing it from the Clubman. Standard equipment will include 17-inch alloy wheels, rear parking senors, Bluetooth and driver safety assists such as City braking and Collision Warning. Mini will continue to offer bundled packages such as the Chilli Pack which will include sports seats, LED headlight amongst a host of other equipment. But expect to pay a £2k premium. The new second generation Mini Countryman will not come cheap, prices for entry level models rise from £16k to £22k. The all new Countryman will go on sale in the UK and Europe in February 2017.