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2025 Mini Cooper reveals its OLED screen, retro gauges and dog assistant

We got to see the 2025 Mini Cooper’s interior the other week, but now Mini is peeling back the veil on everything there is to know about the new round screen in the center and the all-new software itÂ’s running.  Mini is calling this fancy, round screen the “Mini Interaction Unit.” From a hardware perspective, itÂ’s rather special. The super-thin screen itself is a perfect circle and measures 9.4 inches in diameter. That might sound small in the world of ever-increasing car screens, but every other screen out there is rectangular, so the measurement applies in every direction, rather than just the diagonal of a rectangular screen. We sat in the driverÂ’s seat of the new Mini, and thereÂ’s certainly no lack of screen size to be seen here. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. To make matters even better, Mini is using OLED technology — Samsung is the supplier — for this round screen. That means extra vivid colors and the darkest-possible blacks. Cadillac uses OLED tech for its screens in the Escalade, too, and the result is beautiful. Of course, the software playing on this screen is the real star of the show, and itÂ’s called Mini Operating System 9. ItÂ’s a completely new-from-the-ground-up software suite, and you can wave goodbye to the old BMW iDrive control knob, too, because this is touch-control-only. The pictures describe the design aesthetic best. ItÂ’s vibrant, colorful, modern and full of pleasant surprises. We'll also note that while the photos here depict the electric Mini Cooper, the new Countryman will feature the same screen setup. What you see on screen is largely dependent on what “Experience Mode” youÂ’re in. Those include Core, Go-Kart, Green, Balance, Timeless, Vivid and Personal (Trail is added for the Countryman). Core is going to be your standard mode that provides a simple interface with your navigation, media and phone status spread out across the screen. A lot changes in the other modes, but certain things remain consistent across all modes including the auto climate controls, speedometer, range and the shortcut bar at the bottom with often-used menus. You can store even more (customizable) frequently used commands into a “tool belt” that is accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

Mini five-door spotted alongside next Clubman

Is Mini constricting its staggering array of model variants or expanding it? That depends largely on which way you look at it. Because while some models may not make the cut as the second-generation family is gradually replaced with the third, others appear to be joining the fold. They just might not bear different model names.
Take, for example, the vehicle pictured here. It's a five-door version of the latest Mini hatchback, but won't necessarily replace the Clubman wagon - particularly since that's precisely what appears to be pictured alongside it. While the five-door hatch appears to simply add an extra set of portals - full-size ones, from the look of it, not backwards-opening half-doors - to the existing three-door version, the new Clubman appears not only longer but also wider, giving it that much more interior space.
Of course that could all be an optical illusion generated by swirly camouflage designed to do just that, but from the apparent readiness of both models, we'll find out one way or another soon enough - whatever they're called.

Mini Countryman X-Raid gets some off-road chops courtesy of the Dakar team

Mini trades on its heritage quite a bit, particularly when it comes to racing. But one aspect of its motorsports history has been difficult to capitalize on: Dakar off-road racing. That's understandable, considering the disparity between Mini's road-going cars and the Mini-branded trucks built by X-Raid that do the racing. X-Raid itself seems to have figured out how to bridge that gap with its own set of upgrades for the Mini Countryman. X-Raid's example for its off-road upgrades is a Mini Cooper S Countryman All4, though we would expect the various parts could just as easily be fitted to other Countryman variants such as the base 134-horsepower Cooper Countryman. The S makes more sense for a racing company what with its 189-horepower turbocharged four-cylinder and the All4 offers off-road friendly all-wheel drive. Though Mini doesn't go into specifics about the suspension and chassis upgrades, we know that there is some level of suspension lift, as well as 28-inch all-terrain tires mounted on what appear to be 17-inch beadlock wheels. These modifications give the Mini Cooper S Countryman Powered by X-Raid (yes, that's the actual full name of the car) an extra 1.6 inch of ground clearance. As with the parts list, Mini and X-Raid haven't given precise pricing or availability for the parts. X-Raid is a German company, and we suspect it's only planning on selling the parts in Europe, but we wouldn't be surprised if there were a way to have them ship to the U.S. If you're interested in getting your own, Mini says to contact X-Raid directly for more details, and you can find their contact info at their official site, linked here. Related Video: