The MINI Countryman SE ALL4 Electric (First Drive)

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On the outside, the MINI Countryman SE ALL4 Electric looks like a crossover that’s on the smaller side. It’s something you’d line up with the BMW X1, Mercedes B-Class, or perhaps something even smaller because of its low stature.

Stepping inside, you’re treated to a spacious and modern interior that packs in a surprising amount of FUNctionality into its compact form factor. An odd round screen at the center of the dash celebrates everything MINI stands for: Fun! Cute! Stylish! Functional!

Interior

The fun design aesthetic of the vehicle also includes a lot of little interior options like fun faux metal knobs with rubber grippies on them for the vent adjustments, a creative pixel-style layout for the forward dash, and even a key-style start/stop knob where you twist the knob much like you would an old key in the ignition to start the vehicle. To switch modes, or experiences rather, in the vehicle an up and down toggle makes quick work of the task.

The round infotainment screen is responsive, though it does take a little while to switch between different screens. The built-in map in the vehicle is far superior to the smaller more pixelated map that’s pulled in from Android auto and the native map does a fantastic job of maximizing its utility in the round display.

These little design flourishes don’t add substance to the vehicle, but they do make it a little bit more fun.

The two seats up front are extremely comfortable, with options for ventilated seats and all the usual trimmings with MINI being a beneficiary of BMW’s amazing technology and automotive prowess. The rear seats have plenty of room for even an oversized human like me.

Don’t get me wrong. It is a crossover-style SUV so it’s on the smaller side, but it’s more than functional to haul around a couple kids and even adults in a pinch. It wouldn’t be my first choice for five adults on a long road trip, but it’s more than serviceable as a small family vehicle.

If you’re looking to tap into the utility aspect of the vehicle, the rear split seats do fold down to accommodate even more cargo or for larger items.

Exterior

Outside the vehicle, the MINI Countryman ALL4 continues forward with the traditional MINI design, with the aesthetic just scaled up slightly to accommodate the larger interior volume and passenger space. What’s great about the Countryman SE ALL4 is that it doesn’t look like an electric vehicle. If you didn’t know, you probably wouldn’t even be able to tell, though there are subtle cues like the glossed-over smooth grill where you would traditionally have slats for the radiator inlet to cool the engine, but otherwise it’s a very normal looking vehicle.

That’s great news for MINI and shows that they are moving the electric vehicles in their stable into the mainstream rather than keeping them at arm’s length with not so subtle design flourishes like big plug badges and bold coloring.

At 6’2 I fully expected to have to push the seat all the way back, drinking up what little rear seat leg room there was. In reality, I had plenty of room and found myself pulling the seat much farther forward to take advantage of the sporty, sassy personality of the car.

Driving Experience

Its suspension is tight and it has a range of driving “experiences” that you are able to choose from to change the personality of the car as you drive. Switching experiences from options like Go-kart, Core, Green, Personal, Vivid, Timeless, Balance, and Trail changes the entire look and feel of the main display.

Switching driving modes gives visibility to different aspects of the vehicle. For instance, in Trail mode, the primary circular display becomes a compass showing the vehicle navigating, as if you were taking it off-road or running around some fire roads.

Trail mode includes additional information not shown in other driving modes, like your front to back tilt as well as your left to right roll angle. Switching to go-kart mode (my personal favorite) adds different sound effects to augment the driving experience that make it feel like you’re skidding or skittering around town in a low slung go-kart at your local track. The only difference is that this street legal, fully electric unit is packing 308 horsepower and 364 ft-lb of torque.

This mode specifically accents the compact feel of the vehicle, though the MINI Countryman SE All4 Electric is anything but MINI when it comes to features.

While the MINI Countryman SE ALL4 Electric is extremely capable and has plenty of range to support just about any family activity imaginable, it isn’t perfect. The suspension is extremely tight around town, but it still suffers from more body roll than you’d expect from a battery-electric vehicle that should be anchored to the road by its battery pack.

Similarly, the rear-biased acceleration does tend to kick the nose of up more than you’d expect from a vehicle with such a compact, grounded footprint. It’s that good old instant torque from the electric motor, I suppose.

In addition to the different experiences in the vehicle, this particular MINI utilizes the “B” or engine braking mode to provide a much stronger sliding scale of power output. At the top end of the spectrum, switching into this mode leaves the electric motor feeling completely unleashed with almost unlimited power. It’s an absolute blast, if you’re into that kind of thing.

On the other hand, when you let up on the pedal, it enables maximum regeneration, sucking kinetic energy out of the vehicle to slow it down and pushing it directly back into the battery. This is a great mode for carving around in the canyons or for people who like the feeling of one pedal driving. Of course, as with any vehicle putting strong regeneration to work, this is something you’re going to need to feel out with your passengers because strong regen often makes for a subpar passenger experience in the vehicle.

Overall

Our quick first drive of this car showed us that MINI is looking for the Countryman SE ALL4 to hit right at the heart of the mainstream American and European crossover market with an electric vehicle with sufficient range and charging speed to meet the needs of the average family.

It has fun little flourishes that carry forward the quirkiness of the MINI brand while also embracing the benefits of an electric drivetrain with fun little touches like go-kart mode.

For more information about the MINI Countryman SE ALL4 Electric, head over to its official website.

Disclaimer: BMW paid for the author’s travel and accommodations to attend this event.