The very first Mini entered the market in 1959 with a transverse engine and surprising cabin space for such a tiny car. It caught engineer John Cooper's eye, and by 1961, the Mini had a sportier brother: the Mini Cooper. Manufacturer British Leyland reorganized as Rover Group in 1986, then BMW acquired the full vehicle lineup in 1994. Sixteen years later, the Mini Countryman - a compact crossover SUV - was introduced, then in 2023 the Countryman went electric: The Mini Countryman SE. For model year 2025, everything coalesced into the Mini Countryman SE ALL4, its first all-wheel drive, fully electric SUV.
EV manufacturers are used to headwinds, so while there might be certain sections of the US Government that are less supportive of EVs than a few years ago, demand has remained solid, and as a result, most car manufacturers have at least one EV in their lineup. Just as importantly, electric vehicle tech has pervaded every vertical, from pickup trucks to sedans, supercars to crossover SUVs. They are also uniformly great fun to drive, and there's a certain coolness factor to ignoring gas stations on long drives.
With all that in mind, it was no wonder I was psyched when Mini reached out and asked if I wanted to spend a week with a brand-new 2025 Mini Countryman SE ALL4. The Countryman retains the boxy form of the original Mini, but it's been growing bigger. Still, though, it deceives, looking smaller than other comparable SUVs:
This is Indigo Sunset Blue Metallic with a Vescin Dark Petrol interior color. Remember, I just report the color names, I don't make 'em up. :-) The yellow "S" on the front grill denotes that it has the sportier trim, as also denoted with the "SE" in the model name. The front grill has a barely visible trapezoidal section just below the logo; that is not the EV charging door, it appears instead to be part of the sensor system. On a Nissan Leaf, however, that's exactly where the charging port is located.
What's not obvious on first glance is just how sporty this Mini Countryman SE is on the road. I drove through the Rocky Mountains to Estes Park, Colorado, a wonderful mountain road with lots of elevation gain, windy roads, and too few passing lanes to hop past slower traffic. The Mini did great, allowing an almost instant boost of 10-20mph on steep uphills, which enabled me to zip around slower vehicles. It's really fun, tightly holding the road, highly responsive to speeding up or slowing down in moments. Better, you can switch into single-pedal driving mode, which makes it incredibly responsive.
The interior is a classic Mini design with the trademark round display centered on the dashboard:
It took a bit of getting used to, but I found that having a central display and a small heads-up display midway between the steering wheel and the windshield worked well. Tip: You can see the grey base in the above photo. In an era where cars are gaining more and more display surfaces, the Mini is simple and functional. You can, however, opt for a variety of "experiences" which change the appearance and functionality of the central display. If you want the classic Mini speedometer display, it's an option:
The infotainment system supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though disappointingly, it's shown in a rectangular inset rather than a circular window. Yet another "experience" - vehicle app view - shows one of the few features I disliked with the 2025 Mini Countryman SE:
For a car that's designed to be simple and fun to drive, it's surprisingly complicated to navigate all the settings and options. The nine apps shown above are just a subset of the Mini apps required to tweak the vehicle experience for personal preference. The display also shows battery level (top right, with current range 184 miles), drive power (currently zero since I'm stopped), speed (top center), climate controls (lower left, lower right), current gear ("P", top right), speed limit ("25") and the control bar near the bottom. It's reasonably easy to read and manipulate while driving, but like so many car manufacturers, Mini is clearly prioritizing interactive displays over physical buttons and controls.
Indeed, the actual physical controls on the car are centered on a small control panel below the main display and controls on the steering wheel. The central controls include the all-important gear shift toggle, power "key", and "experiences" toggle switch, along with the infotainment volume control:
To start the vehicle, you press the brake and turn the power control clockwise. Shifting gears is done by pushing up or down on the toggle: Down once is two-pedal drive, down twice is one-pedal drive mode. Sparse, but it was easy to work with once I figured out how to start it.
There are also controls and buttons on the steering wheel crossbar, along with two sticks off the steering column, lights, and wipers:
With various automatic options, including auto windshield wipers, these were mostly set-and-forget, other than using the stick as a turn indicator. The Mini clearly rewards owners who spend some time exploring all the features and settings accessible through the navigational system, but once you're driving, you'll forget all about these control issues anyway.
The interior features an interesting dash design that received mixed reviews from my various passengers:
The fabric on the doors is attractive, but it was unusual as a dashboard cover itself. Hard not to wonder how it'll look a few years down the road. Also note the climate control adjustment knob; it's an excellent bit of design, easily rotated to adjust airflow rate and moved so that you simply point the stick in the direction you'd like the air to flow.
One place that "Mini" becomes self-fulfilling is when considering rear legroom...
This is with the driver's seat back all the way, but I'm 6' 3" and that's my preferred position for the seat. We did adjust thing to allow a third adult in the back seat behind the passenger, but this is really a two seater, or two seater plus children. Did you notice the orange door finish for the back seats? It looks quite good in person.
It was hard not to love the panoramic sunroof, as shown. It was almost like having a convertible without all the wind messing up your hair and making it impossible to talk to others in the car. Almost.
The back of the Mini Countryman offers surprising room, along with flexibility through its 40/20/40 rear seat configuration:
Under the rear cargo panel is a secret compartment that offers plenty of space to store the charging cables and enough additional space you could easily stash a laptop or other valuables out of sight. Speaking of which, the Countryman SE has a pretty standard AC/DC charging plug on the rear right quarter panel, supporting CCS1 charging, level 1, level 2, and DC fast charging. It does not support NACS so no pulling up to a Tesla supercharger for a quick top-off.
One of the greatest complaints people have with the Mini EV is that it doesn't have a lot of range with its modest 64.7 kWh battery. Topped up, it showed an estimated 240 miles of range, though the EPA numbers indicate that 212 miles is the "certified" range. However, this always depends on driving conditions. Remember at the beginning, I said I drove through the mountains? I started out with about 200 mile range, twenty miles of very aggressive uphill driving, and the range was down to about 150m, but driving downhill let the regenerative system utilize the power from the braking, having me end my drive with 209 mile range. Yes, I ended my drive with more range than when I started. Amazing.
There's a lot to fall in love with on the Mini Countryman SE ALL4 with its all-wheel drive, powerful EV drive system, and cheery design. For owners seeking to optimize every setting, it's complicated, perhaps overly so, but if you just want to get in, turn the faux starting key and zip to your destination, it's great fun. This is one to add to your cute EV SUV test drive list.
2025 Mini Countryman SE ALL4 all-electric vehicle with 18-inch wheels. BASE PRICE: $45,200.00. Options included: Iconic Trim, Comfort Package Max, Trailer Hitch. AS DRIVEN: $51,145.00.
Disclosure: Mini loaned me the Countryman SE ALL4 for a week in return for this candid review. This article was originally published on PlanetDave.com with the title 2025 Mini Countryman SE ALL4: Small EV, Big Fun! and is republished with permission.
