In fact, it’s tough to argue with the reality that electric suits the MINI’s spirit — and its probable stomping grounds — so much better. For a start it’s charmingly perky, all that torque delivered from the get-go and sending you scurrying away from stop lights and junctions.
Direct steering errs on the light side, and though the JCW’s slight sense of remoteness from the road is present here, too; it feels far more acceptable in a nimble EV. Multiple levels of regenerative braking are available, though MINI buries them in an infotainment menu. A quicker way to switch between these levels, such as through steering wheel paddles as other automakers offer, would be nice.
Where the 2025 MINI Countryman JCW feels every inch of its increased dimensions, meanwhile, its electric counterpart shrinks around you. A softer tune for the suspension — to help handle that heavier curb weight, among other things — pays dividends both in dynamics and overall comfort. The Countryman SE ALL4 feels more settled in the corners, and it doesn’t threaten to send you to a chiropractor like the aggressively-stiff JCW.
Chris Davies/SlashGear
On a track — or in a series of sweeping back roads that lacked the aggressively-cavalier oncoming trucks commonplace in Lisbon, where MINI invited SlashGear to try out the new Countryman — the John Cooper Works would undoubtedly be faster and probably more rewarding for a keen driver.
In the real world, though, the point-and-squirt eagerness of the Countryman SE is just more playful. It feels like what it is: An electric crossover with added whimsy, rather than aggressively trying to be both practical and sporty.
