Clever technical tweaks have enhanced how far the biggest model can travel.

THE electric version of MINI’s largest car has joined the ‘500’ club, due to enhancements to its battery.

The numeric refers to range; the car in current most frugal form can bang out 462 kilometres’ range, under WLTP testing conditions, but an upgrade for 2026 stretches this out to 501km.

That improvement applies to the front-wheel-drive Countryman E version, powered by a single 150kW/250Nm motor with a 64.6kWh (net) battery. The range for the ALL4 four-wheel-drive model, which adds adds a second electric motor on the rear axle for all-wheel drive, and outputs of 230kW/494Nm, has climbed from 433km to 467km.

The improvement hasn’t arrived from a battery swap. Rather, the useable capacity of the battery has expanded, and now stands at 65.2kWh. Not a huge amount extra compared to what the Countryman E had before, but there have been other energy-saving improvements.

Chief amongst those is a silicon-carbide inverter as part of the electric powertrain, which MINI says is much more efficient and helps to reduce energy losses between the battery and the wheels.

Another energy-saving endeavour is the addition of friction-reducing bearings on the front axle of the Countryman E, which again help to boost the car's overall efficiency.

There are no other changes so, if an owner of the new was to meet someone with the old at a public charger, it’ll be up to them to spill the beans.

When that might occur has yet to be divulged. The update news has come from MINI’s head office, rather than the regional distributor, which bases in Melbourne, so local release timing is not yet clear.