2022 MINI COOPER SE

Does the Mini Cooper electric still hold on to the go-kart analogies? And how good is it otherwise?

- TUHIN GUHA

When you think Mini, you think of lightness, agility, and driver engagement. All the attributes are associated with an electric car. But Mini has gone ahead anyway and launched the electric Mini Cooper SE, showing that the march towards electrification leaves little room for sentimentality. Has this change diluted the essence of this car? We decided to find out by putting the Mini electric to the test via an old cliche, at a go-kart track.

Driving impressions

Although the Mini has grown quite a bit over time, it's still a compact car in the larger scheme of things, dimensionally similar to something like a Swift. So at the Ajmera Indikarting track in Mumbai, it doesn't feel out of sorts with its surroundings. You can pick your lines through the tight, winding circuit and the additional 145kg over the similarly powerful Cooper S isn't too difficult to manage if you are judicious with the throttle. A sensation helped by the trick dynamic slip traction function, reworked here to work with an electric powertrain. The 184PS feels more than adequate in this situation, largely with the instantaneous 270Nm of electric torque at your disposal.