In an effort to provide confirmation bias that the Mini SE is the greatest EV ever and that I made the right choice I came across the Moose test. Those not familiar with the moose test, ( I wasn't before today), this test... tests a vehicle's ability to complete an evasive maneuver simulating avoiding a moose / pedestrian / obstacle on the road. If the vehicle can pass through a cone course at a minimum speed of 43mph the vehicle passes the test. To this day I feel like there is lack of performance road test based content that features the Mini SE. I love this test because it provides some repeatable conditions that were applied to many different cars and quite a few electric vehicles. Here are few videos below. They provide some great insight on how manufactures are tuning electronic stability control systems and how a car behaves at the limit of traction. Enjoy, I find these tests fascinating as they show manufactures are tuning in severe understeer into ground up EV's with low center of gravity and RWD layouts. Mini Cooper SE Mustang Mach E Renault Zoe ID 4
I've seen quite a few SUVs roll over during their "Moose" test, especially when they overload them. Typically they pop a tire first. There has been quite a bit of controversy in the technical community as often the video tests are not repeatable in other controlled environment unless the vehicle is severely overloaded, so there is a suggestion that the science or test procedures are designed more for dramatic effect and mouse clicks than data gathering.
You haven't entered the rabbit hole until you look at the Volvo nutswingers posts about how the original XC90 is the greatest car (some even call the raised station wagon a truck) ever made, and use the moose test of the Grand Cherokee as proof. According to the results from the moose test every Grand Cherokee should be crushed, assuming it hasn't gone up in flames killing everyone around them. Watching those tests confirms my wish to die in my sleep, just like my uncle. Unlike everyone else in the SUV he was piloting.
My thoughts: The SE is awesome, as we know. It sticks like glue to the road, and has so little body roll. Looking at the other videos, giant wheels seem like a handling nightmare. Why do people like those? The Mach-E really does not seem like a worthy successor to the Mustang, shame on Ford for claiming it is. And apparently the SE regen was "too strong" for the moose test causing it to slow down too rapidly, so they had to turn it down to get it to not slow down so much. But someone pointed out that's not real-world testing. They should have tried the moose test with the various traction control settings, that would be interesting.
Even though MotorWeek is a pretty lame car-review show, I watch it every week. I was surprised and disappointed a year ago when the show reviewed the MINI Cooper SE that John Davis, the host and MINI Cooper owner himself, didn't have MotorWeek do their full track testing on the SE like they do for an endless stream of boring SUVs, crossovers, and minivans (OK, and a Porsche when they can get their hands on one). Instead, they just repeated MINI's conservative numbers. Is John Davis, owner of an older MINI, jealous of the SE so he didn't do a full test?
I agree they are not entirely scientific. The KM77 team seems to be running cars through the same course in dry conditions which is better that almost all of the performance test benchmarking I have seen the Mini SE featured in.. Publications like Car & Driver do a great job of tracking data and I don't think the same attention to detail is being applied here.
