"10 Reasons Why The Mini Cooper SE Is The Perfect Electric City Car"

Harsh? What do you want to drive, a marshmallow? I thought the suspension was a bit soft for a sporty hatch lol and sure you hear wind noise but it's because there's no ICE making a bunch of racket.

 

People have been complaining about harsh suspension in Minis for 15 years now. I don't know how many people actually believe that vs how many just repeat what they've read, but we've gotten the sport suspension in 5 Minis and loved it every time.

 

I do find JCW suspension in the MINI is stiffer than the regular suspension, and I prefer the regular one. But I wouldn't describe the JCW suspension as harsh. MINIs are light cars that bounce more than heavier cars.

 

One of my siblings has back issues. I no longer drive them around in my Mini. It was the same on my previous one. It is harsh on the body compared to their Toyota Avalon, but I also hate how soft their car is. It's personal preference really IMO

 

I love the suspension, but the suspension is a short travel type compared to other compacts. Potholes, railroad crossings, and uneven dirt roads can loosen fillings, especially when the suspension hits its extension stops. The mini is small, so you have to be wary of the bigger potholes that can swallow it

 

I don't mind the harsher ride compared to my SUVs. I call my SUVs the 'bouncy clown cars' now that I know what the Mini is like to drive. It has spoiled me - I feel let down when I realize I need to drive my ICE vehicles. But - on a rainy, dark night last week - I did hit a pot hole and I felt like the front tire was going to fall off from the huge bang. It was bad. But I could not find any damage. Just scared me.

 

As for the RWD vs. FWD discussion, I grew up in New England and my Dad used to ice race. Plowed course on a frozen lake, no studded tires, but also no 90 degree turns. The only cars that were competitive were FWD cars or RWD cars with the engine in the rear. Now that is of course an extreme condition but it does say that FWD in snow is the way to go. Of course they would throw their cars into a sideways slide and then use the FWD to pull them through a corner. I never did ice race but I did win a snow gymkhana in my FWD Saab 96.

 

I got my 2022 Mini Cooper SE yesterday and drove it to work this morning. 89% battery power remaining after a 30 km drive. No problems at all using this as my daily driver to commute to work! May not even have to charge it every night... ;-)

 

Howdy Texas22step,
Glad you know our archipelago a bit - one of the reasons I got the Mini was to drive to the marina where my 30 ft sailing boat is. There are still so many islands left to explore (in total we have about 25 000 islands in the archipelago). Zero CO2 emissions both on land and water! ;-)