The Mini SE's power is iirc derived from the later i3 - but the i3 weighs a lot less than a Mini - 1290kgs vs 1770kgs
The BMWs get their performance from a combination of light weight and immediate ev torque. The design philosophy of both to keep weight down - not least by using carbon fibre - kept the cars out of that 'more range, more weight, more power, more weight' spiral.
Yes, I really like the i3 concept and it was on my shortlist, but when it came to the crunch the Mini was significantly cheaper (£28k) and was British built. We've not found the comparatively limited (100 mile) range to be an issue at all - but then we hardly ever need to do long distances and we have the Morgan or the Land Rover if we do need to.
I reckon you could easily use an i3 Rex as an only car, but I'm not sure you could say the same for the Mini
