2021 Mini Cooper SE Review: 3 doors, 1 electric motor, 0 gas engines

Auto123 reviews the 2021 Mini Cooper SE all-electric car.

Last year, when Mini unveiled its very first electric car, now known as the Cooper SE, the main criticism lobbed its way had to do with the model's rather disappointing range. With an optimal range of 177 km between recharges, the only Mini powered exclusively by electricity is not exactly cut out for long journeys.

Like its ancient ancestor from the 1960s - the first to carry the name was introduced in 1959 - the Cooper SE seems mostly confined to urban use. In fact, if you're interested in the concept, you have to be willing to cover shorter distances between visits to the charging station. On the other hand, the idea of combining the driving pleasure of a Cooper S with 100% electric propulsion seems pretty darn attractive to me. During a week of testing in the Greater Montreal area at the end of August, I set out to determine if the reality matched the genius of that idea.

Note: In theory, I was scheduled for an earlier introduction to this new kind of Mini in the spring, but the coronavirus pandemic postponed this first contact until late summer. Here's what I took away from my test drive of the 2021 Mini Cooper SE with the Premier+ package, the most expensive in the range, which raises the bill to $47,990 instead of the $39,990 tag attached to the no-frills model.

Clearly a Mini Cooper
The designers of the electric Cooper S didn't really have a choice: an icon like the Cooper has to keep its attributes to catch the eye of the curious. On the outside, in addition to the different bumper with a grey and yellow panel instead of the usual grille and the asymmetrical wheels that fit it perfectly, the Cooper SE also sees some specific badging added to the bodywork. Oh, and no exhaust tip is included with this variant. Naturally.

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