A full decade since the last all-new Mini hatch comes the most radical yet, with electric power plus a new platform and design
ILLYA VERPRAET
TESTED 29.3.23, ZELL AM SEE, AUSTRIA ON SALE MAY 2024 PRICE £35,000 (EST)
The Mini Electric wasn’t the first hatchback EV and it certainly isn’t the best, but it was the first car to show that EVs don’t need to be 600bhp dragsters to have a sense of fun. Despite being a bit of an afterthought (effectively an ICE Mini with batteries taking the place of the engine, fuel tank and exhaust), it managed to combine instant electric punch and a pointy chassis into something quite compelling.
Of course, its short range is a big handicap, and newer cars like the Fiat 500 and Cupra Born have since eclipsed it as our favourite affordable driver’s EVs, but the Electric still serves as strong proof of concept for the battery-powered hot hatch, and it has been a bit of a commercial success for Mini, making up a fifth of all the brand’s sales these days.
For the second generation, Mini is doing things properly. This time, the car is based on a dedicated EV platform, which was developed as part of the Spotlight Automotive joint venture with China’s Great Wall Motors. Yes, of Ora Funky Cat infamy.
Thankfully, the new car – now called Cooper E or Cooper SE for the more powerful and longer-range version – doesn’t share anything with the Cat, as they were separate developments.
The new platform gives it the range that it was so sorely lacking before. The Cooper E has 180bhp and a 40kWh battery for a theoretical range of about 185 miles, while the Cooper SE gets 215bhp and a 54kWh battery, which results in a projected range of about 240 miles. For comparison, today’s Electric gets 143 miles from a measly 32.6kWh.
Further down the line, there will also be a John Cooper Works, or JCW – effectively a Cooper S with more power and less range.
Despite the new platform, the Cooper E is about the same size as the Electric. It’s slightly wider and has a longer wheelbase, but it’s a tad shorter, too, with less of a rear overhang. It also retains the multi-link rear axle that’s very unusual for a car this small.
The prototypes I drove were still covered in a colourful camouflage, but we’ve since seen photos of the exterior (see right), and I got a peek under the sheets covering the interior, which exhibits the same reductionist approach.
Gone are the chrome adornments and almost all physical controls. Even the gauge cluster in front of the driver has been deleted. Taking responsibility for nearly all those things is a large, rou
