Mini Cooper 2024 review: Electric - Australian first drive

Now, nothing is shared between the latest petrol and electric Minis, bar mostly some dash and interior items – as well as that umbrella Cooper suffix. 

While the new petrol range from the UK starts with the Cooper C 1.5-litre, three-cylinder turbo from $41,990 (all prices are before on-road costs) and from $49,990 for the Cooper S 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo, the EV from China kicks off from $53,990 for the Cooper E and $58,990 for the more powerful SE. 

That’s about $5500 more than in the old SE electric.

Mini Cooper EV

Now, the two petrol Coopers come in three grades apiece (C: Core, Classic, Flavour; S: Classic, Flavour, JCW Sport), but the EV Cooper is only available in E Classic and SE Flavour for now.

In the Cooper E that means LED headlights, keyless entry/start, a head-up display, wireless charging, ambient lighting, digital radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, ‘Hey, Mini’ voice control, augmented-reality navigation, 'Mini Connected Services' (via 5G connectivity), heated sports seats up front, a sports steering wheel, panoramic glass roof, piano-black trim highlights and 18-inch alloy wheels (but with no spare wheel).

Additionally, there’s a whole suite of driver-assist tech, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with lane-support systems, adaptive cruise control, exit warning and a surround-view camera.

Mini Cooper EV

Among other items, the SE adds 25kW and 40Nm of extra power and torque respectively, Harman Kardon 10-speaker audio, John Cooper Works (JCW) front seats with electric adjustment and memory for the driver, sun-protection glazing and ritzier trim.

How these compare to rival EVs of similar sizing is academic, because of the Mini’s unique positioning, reputation and lineage. 

The smaller Fiat 500e for similar money, incoming Peugeot e-208 and upcoming Renault 5 EV come closest in theme, while larger hatchbacks like MG’s substantially cheaper 4, costlier Cupra Born and promising Peugeot e-308 lack the Cooper’s cool cache and contrived whimsical brashness (you decide).

As a symbol of England but with German and Greek parentage, the Mini is British royalty in more ways than one.

Mini Cooper EV

This is a Mini. But it’s the roomiest one ever without back doors.

Drop yourself inside one and you’ll be struck by the sheer change going on. Retro familiarity dominated by brash innovation.

Yes, it still has comparatively upright pillars, a centrally-sited circular display and a row of toggle switches within an otherwise sparse fascia, but that’s where the similarities between classic-old and brand-new cease.

All eyes are drawn to the modest 240mm (9.4-inch) central OLED display, which seems overwhelmingly busy at first glance, but becomes clear in design, intuitive in layout and functional to use in no time. BMW’s experience here is industry-leading.

Mini Cooper EV

The Mini deploys bright colours and fun symbols to further help operators know what does what, where and why, making this playful and sophisticated in execution. If only all screen-based multimedia and vehicle settings were this logical. So much so, in fact, that even a limited number of toggle switches, alongside the welcome volume knob and gear selector, are enough. You won’t miss them.

Now, the driving position is first class as you might expect, with that sitting-upright-in-a-box-with-plenty-of-glass-all-round-you sensation that’s been part of the Mini experience for decades. And, in Favoured guise, the JCW buckets are superb.

The small, low-placed wheel feels right, forward vision is excellent, nothing is too much of a stretch away, storage is generous for a car this size (with a largish glove box included) and ventilation proved to be reassuringly effective in the Baltic-esque conditions we tested the car in.

Of course, being a Mini, the Cooper boasts personalisation and customisation galore, including for some compelling screen backgrounds (one reminiscent of the Morris era) and the inevitable ambient lighting, while the standard, synthetic trim and textures are amongst the most interesting in any car. And it’s all really well put together in terms of aesthetics and build quality.

Mini Cooper EV

What’s not to like?

Well, for starters, the glass roof lacks a cover and that’s daft in Australia. Even on a freezing Melbourne day, the sun’s glare can be too much. The side pillars are a blind spot hazard, making those standard lane-support driver-assist safety alerts essential, so don’t disable them. The between-seat cubby feels flimsy and has a lid facing the wrong way from the driver - that’s just plain lazy, BMW. And we’re glad the head-up display directly ahead of the driver is included because the digital speedo in the centre screen strays too far from some drivers’ comfortable sight lines.

Now, there’s no point complaining about the four-person Cooper 3dr’s rear seat packaging, as there’s a massive hint in this car’s name.

But while there’s sufficient room for two larger people, the two fixed positions are best for kids only. Their backrests are a tad too upright for adult comfort. There are basically no amenities present and the side windows do not crack open. Have carmakers forgotten how? Bare and basic sums it up back there. Oh, and entry/egress is impeded by painfully slow-moving electric front seats and narrow apertures to squeeze through.

Finally, there’s the cargo area, which mirrors the previous versions with a volume of just 210 litres (VDA), rising to about 800L with the 60/40 twin backrests folded. You don’t buy a Mini for practicality. And while there’s hidden storage, no spare wheel exists, remember. Just a fiddly tyre repair kit.

Still, the Cooper’s overall cabin execution is ultra-fresh yet still reassuringly on-brand, with enough interesting new details and technologies to justify updating from an older model. An inside job well done.

Brandishing a 400-volt platform, the Cooper Electric uses an entirely different architecture (under the Spotlight joint venture with China’s Great Wall Motors or GWM) compared to the petrol-powered (and previous SE) Minis from Europe.

Mounted up front, a synchronous permanent magnet electric motor offers varying outputs depending on grade. The E makes 135kW and 290Nm, for a 0-100km/h sprint time of 7.3 seconds on the way to a top speed of 160km/h, while the sportier SE’s corresponding figures are 160kW, 330Nm, 6.7s and 170km/h. The front wheels are driven via a single-speed reduction gear transmission.

Mini Cooper EV

Weighing in at 1615kg and 1680kg in Euro spec, the E and SE offer a power-to-weight ratio of 83.6kW/tonne and 95.2kW/tonne, respectively.

As per other post-modern Minis, suspension is via MacPherson-style struts up front and a multi-link independent rear end. BMW also speaks of powerful brakes, a low centre of gravity, a strut brace and “preloaded stabiliser mounts on the axles”, providing enhanced handling and ride-comfort qualities.

The Cooper E features a 41kWh lithium-ion battery pack, offering a WLTP range of up to 305km, whilst the Cooper SE ups that to a larger 54kWh battery for up to 403km of range.

The WLTP combined energy consumption figure in Europe is rated between 14.3kWh/100km (E) and 14.7kWh/100km (SE). On test, the latter’s trip computer read 17.8kWh. Sadly, BMW did not provide us with an E during the soaked-out Melbourne launch event.

Three charging methods are provided: 11kW AC charging as well as either 75kW DC charging (E) and 95kW DC charging (SE). As a result, the fastest 10-80 per cent charging timings you can expect are under 5.5 hours (AC) and 30 minutes (DC).

Mini Cooper EV

No crash-test ratings have yet been revealed for the new Cooper. 

As mentioned earlier, there is a decent suite of driver-assist tech fitted as standard, such as AEB with lane-support systems including lane departure warning, lane keep assist and blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert/braking, rear-collision prevention, auto high beams and an exit warning. Note no AEB operating parameter data was available at the time of publishing.

Other safety features include a driver-attention monitor, adaptive cruise control (with automatic speed-limit assistance), anti-lock brakes, stability and traction controls and nine airbags (front/side/head and front centre airbags).

Mini Cooper EV

The Cooper also offers automatic parking assist, front parking sensors, a surround-view camera set-up, a tyre-pressure monitor and an SOS intelligent emergency call function in the event of an incapacitated driver, as part of Mini Connected Services.

There are also two child seat tether latches and twin ISOFIX anchors fitted within the rear seat.