In truth, it is robust to argue with the fact that electrical fits the MINI’s spirit — and its possible stomping grounds — so a lot better. For a begin it is charmingly perky, all that torque delivered from the get-go and sending you scurrying away from cease lights and junctions. 

Direct steering errs on the sunshine facet, and although the JCW’s slight sense of remoteness from the highway is current right here, too; it feels much more acceptable in a nimble EV. Multiple ranges of regenerative braking can be found, although MINI buries them in an infotainment menu. A faster solution to change between these ranges, equivalent to by means of steering wheel paddles as different automakers supply, could be good.

Where the 2025 MINI Countryman JCW feels every inch of its increased dimensions, in the meantime, its electrical counterpart shrinks round you. A softer tune for the suspension — to assist deal with that heavier curb weight, amongst different issues — pays dividends each in dynamics and total consolation. The Countryman SE ALL4 feels extra settled within the corners, and it does not threaten to ship you to a chiropractor just like the aggressively-stiff JCW.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

On a observe — or in a sequence of sweeping again roads that lacked the aggressively-cavalier oncoming vans commonplace in Lisbon, the place MINI invited SlashGear to check out the brand new Countryman — the John Cooper Works would undoubtedly be quicker and possibly extra rewarding for a eager driver. 

In the actual world, although, the point-and-squirt eagerness of the Countryman SE is simply extra playful. It looks like what it’s: An electrical crossover with added whimsy, fairly than aggressively making an attempt to be each sensible and sporty.