IS the new electrified Mini really a convenient option for a family’s second car?
I can’t deny I felt a little thrill at giving this sporty machine a thorough test, but it was quickly followed by reflections on lifestyle.
The iconic Mini rounded headlamps.
Still, one word sums up my initial impression of the Mini Cooper SE – fun.
The chequered black styling across the bonnet and the iconic rounded headlamps put this Mini in pole position before you’ve even turned a wheel.
Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter
Thank you!
The aero-tweaked rear spoiler adds to the image, making you feel like you’re stepping into your very own roadworthy pocket rocket.
What Mini has pulled off, though, is the harder trick of blending its classic design cues with genuinely modern upgrades.
WHEEL DEAL
Van helped me rev up my career – and my life
Bargain Beemers
Benefits of buying a used car: Find 2025 models from JUST £211 a month
This is unmistakably still the Mini the UK has taken to heart, even though German manufacturer BMW has owned it for 25 years.
Key facts: J01 Mini Cooper SE (as tested)
Price as tested: £42,470
Power: 218hp (215bhp)
Battery: 54.2kWh
0-62mph: 6.7 seconds
Top speed: 106mph
Range: 239 miles (WLTP, as tested)
Driving experience & interior
Limited boot capacity, but this is a hot hatch, so to be expected.
My feelings on the ride type extend to a few more words.
Put simply, it’s firm. The low ride height and the relatively heavy kerb weight for a car this size mean the Cooper SE picks up plenty of the bumps and broken surfaces on my local roads.
Like a good many cheesed-off UK motorists, I could stand to moan at my council about the potholes, which added a bounce to journeys I could have done without.
Compared with my time in the electric Countryman, which soaked up the same holes with ease, the Cooper SE’s low-slung frame simply was not as settled.
On flatter, longer, faster roads, though, giving it full throttle is a joy, with 0-62 mph coming up in 6.7 seconds.
Acceleration is genuinely responsive, and it made overtakes swift and easy.
Select Go-Kart mode to unlock the Boost setting, a short burst of extra thrust delivered through the paddle on the wheel.
Think Mario Kart turbo mode but in real life!
Central touchscreen acts as the Mini’s command centre.
Inside, the reinvented electric Minis carry the same high-quality feel I found in the Countryman.
The circular 9.4-inch OLED touchscreen serves as the command centre for a wide range of settings, from climate control to syncing your music via Apple CarPlay.
The John Cooper Works trim on my test car stretched to the steering wheel and the sports seats, both carrying the famous JCW badging and nudging up the racing-driver appeal.
The woven fabric across the dashboard is a nice change of texture, further lifted by the coloured lighting that shifts with each driving experience.
I have to be honest about the back, though. Folding our long-legged teenagers into the rear seats took something close to Matrix-style manoeuvres to limbo in.
How does it compare?
Tweaked rear aero spoiler adds to sporty appeal.
Call this a proper electric hot hatch and the field of rivals shrinks to a small pool of contenders.
In a straight head-to-head, I would put the Alpine A290 first.
It shares the retro roots, borrowing the reinvented Renault 5 as its starting point to build a boutique alternative, and it is a stylish twist on a car that has enjoyed real recent success — even if it is dwarfed by Mini’s long-standing fame.
The Abarth 600e is the brasher rival, making the same shift to electric power as it leaves its petrol past behind while keeping its thirst for pace.
Further towards the mainstream sits the Cupra Born, which offers a larger, more practical body without sacrificing much in the way of kerb appeal.
J01 Mini Cooper SE: Final verdict
To bring this electric Cooper SE to market, Mini worked with Chinese partners to build a halo model from scratch, rather than refitting an old combustion design as an EV.
It was a bold move, and it has planted Mini firmly in the race for electric-minded buyers without asking them to give up the driving pleasure a Cooper is supposed to deliver.
If I were adding a small, premium electric car to the family fleet, this Mini would draw serious consideration.
It does not have the rear-seat space or boot capacity I would want for longer trips, but for local journeys it is a nippy head-turner with bags of character.
The quoted range is 239 miles, though in the real world I averaged closer to 205 — not too shabby and perfectly fine for my needs.
What gives the Cooper SE its pull is personality, plain and simple, and I would go back to the word that defines it: fun.
That is what this Mini has at its heart, even if its soul now runs on volts rather than petrol.
