MINI Cooper E Review (2024)

Introduction

Since BMW bought it, Mini has reinvented itself without losing what made it such a much-loved brand.

Yes, nowadays, the Mini isn’t as mini as it was. But BMW retained its classic shape, combining modern aesthetics with a retro design, a bit like old-fashioned-looking kettles and toasters that have become popular again in recent years.

But now, Mini has taken things to a new level.

The electric model was previously the same as the petrol version, with the engine replaced by an electric motor.

The electric version has been redesigned and is on a new platform, which was born from BMW’s partnership with the Chinese company Great Wall Motor.

What is also intriguing is that, with this new version, the Mini Cooper has become what must be the first car ever to change its name... without changing its name.

Before, 'Mini' was both the brand name and the name of the car - and the second part of the monicker, such as ‘Cooper’, was merely the model derivative, effectively a trim level.

Mini has now decided to call the car itself the ‘Cooper’.

And that means that what was (in most configurations, at least) the Mini Cooper is now... the Mini Cooper.

For the car we're testing, there are also a couple of letters to consider: E and SE.

Both are electric models, with E being the base model and SE getting more power.

We are interested in the E, so let's hop inside the Mini - or, rather, the Cooper.

At A Glance

The Mini Cooper still retains its traditional shape, although it looks more like an electric car nowadays.

The giveaway is the lack of a grille, now replaced by a body-coloured panel, although the grille surround is retained.

Another classic feature is its rounded headlights - and, of course, lack of sharpened edges - which are also retained in the Cooper.

The sides aren't much different from before, although the door mirrors are a slightly different shape. The indentation in the lower part of the doors rises up more noticeably towards the rear.

The back of the car is the only place you might, at first glance, struggle to tell it’s a Mini, with a brand-new light arrangement that’s more arrow-shaped than before.

A black strip runs along the width of the tailgate, connecting the arrowed taillights.

The roof and the slight overhang above the back window remain as before.

The Cooper offers a cleaner appearance and another modernisation step from the classic Mini, ticking all the boxes of contemporary styling while still being true to its roots in terms of what a Mini should look like.

It has certainly moved up a step in terms of sophistication – however, in doing so, it’s also arguably lost some of its endearingly kitsch character.

Key Features

The Mini Cooper E offers three trim levels, but unusually, they have largely identical specifications.

The entry-level Classic gets 16-inch aero alloys, a 24cm circular central display, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, digital radio, voice control, LED headlights and taillights, ambient lighting, and dual-zone climate control.

It also gets 3D knitted textiles, two-tone black-blue knitted material on the dashboard and doors, Vescin leather seats, a three-spoke sports steering wheel, and a gloss black grille.

The mid-range Exclusive gets the same equipment, but the interior décor differs. It offers modern details, a recycled fabric dashboard, and perforated Vescin leather seats with vibrant silver exterior accents.

The top-of-the-range Sport gets race-inspired decor, John Cooper Works styling elements, a gloss black grille surround and Mini logo, plus sports seats with knitted material upholstery, a black and red interior, and a perforated sports steering wheel.

While the equipment levels are the same, the real differences are the optional extra packs, which we'll explain later.

The car also comes with a range of roof colours and designs.

Power is the same in all three trims: 184PS from its electric motor, although the more powerful SE version produces 218PS.

For now, it’s only available as a three-door hatchback. A new five-door petrol version is offered, but while a five-door electric version exists, we still don’t know if it’ll be offered to UK customers.

Range & Batteries

The Mini Cooper E offers a 40.7kWh (36.6kWh usable) battery with a claimed range of 188 miles.

Upgrading to the SE gets you a larger 54.2kWh (49.2kWh usable) battery, good for a range of 243 miles.

While neither offers amazing figures, it's a notable increase on the predecessor, Mini Electric.

Still, don’t expect to achieve these figures in practice – if you’re getting 75% of the quoted figure, you’re doing well.

Performance & Drive

With 184PS on tap, the Mini Cooper E feels sprightly, going from 0 to 62mph in 7.3 seconds.

That is more than adequate, although those seeking more performance can opt for the SE version, which provides 218PS, bringing the time down to 6.7 seconds.

It feels quick, offering an instant burst of acceleration as soon as you hit the pedal, a trait common to most electric cars. This responsiveness helps when overtaking on motorways and dual carriageways.

The car is also easy to use day to day, making light work of slow-speed driving around busy town centres.

Around corners, the Mini Cooper E feels quite nippy, which is a relief given its much heavier weight than the previous version, let alone the original Minis of the late 1950s, which weighed around a third of the current model.

While the additional weight is noticeable, it doesn't spoil the party. The car handles with aplomb, offers lots of grip, and has very responsive steering, making for a reasonably enjoyable driving experience.

There isn’t much feedback through the wheel, but it’s very precise, while the body roll is well-controlled around faster bends.

There is no getting away from that weight, but we can't complain too much because many electric cars weigh north of two tonnes.

Mini offers a 'Go Kart' driving mode, and, in all honesty, you'd have to be in an original Mini to feel like you were driving a go-kart - it's not that agile, but the handling still impresses.

Those considering the more powerful SE may be interested to know that the E arguably offers superior agility because it is lighter.

Most probably won't notice, but if you're a fan looking to extract faster lap times, it's worth bearing in mind.

Ride comfort is okay, but the Mini Cooper is clearly set up for handling rather than absorption, and, over a longer journey, this may not suit you if you have a bad back.

Both E and SE models come with 16-inch alloys, which, although not the largest you can have (the options list offers 18-inch alloys), still produce a fairly firm ride.

We noticed that the Cooper E tends to torque steer slightly, where a burst of acceleration causes it to veer off in one direction.

This is a minor gripe that affects front-wheel-drive cars and shouldn't be an issue if you concentrate and grip the steering wheel adequately to keep it in a straight line.

Another thing is the choice of synthetic engine notes, which includes music – leave that alone, and you can enjoy a serene driving experience with just the hum of the electric motor, although driving to a soundtrack akin to a spaceship is quite amusing.

The regenerative braking is smooth and consistent, although you adjust its ferocity via the infotainment touchscreen rather than using paddles behind the steering wheel, as you do in some cars.

You can then use the drive selector to put the car in one-pedal driving mode, which will gradually bring the car to a complete stop after you take your foot off the accelerator.

Charging

The Cooper E charges at a maximum rate of 75kW, resulting in a 10-80% top-up of the batteries being achieved in just 28 minutes.

It can also support charging speeds up to 11kW from a home wall box, which can achieve a 0-100% charge in just four and a quarter hours.

By comparison, the Cooper SE has a faster 95kW maximum charging rate, so it can charge its larger battery from 10-80% in half an hour.

Getting a 0-100% top-up from an 11kW home wall box will take about five-and-a-quarter hours.

Running Costs & Emissions

You won’t need to worry about CO2 figures in the emissions-free Mini Cooper E.

That will earn some mercy from the taxman if you’re after a company car, as the

Cooper E is in the lowest band for Benefit In Kind tax, while road tax remains free for now, although electric cars will be charged from April 2025 onwards.

Surprisingly, despite parent company BMW's now fairly poor reputation for reliability,

Mini bucks the trend and finds itself among the top brands.

Even better, the same was true of the Cooper’s predecessor, the Mini Electric.

Interior Technology

If you’ve seen an interior like the Mini Cooper’s before, we’d like to know where.

To be honest, most of it isn’t that unconventional – but the circular infotainment screen is.

In true Mini retro style, it looks like you’ve got a vinyl record resting against the dashboard – and only Mini could pull off something like that.

The display combines everything, with the SatNav map in the middle, a speedometer at the top, and media information at the bottom. Though the display is customisable, you don't have to have it laid out as we did.

It looks fantastic, with bright, modern graphics and a clear, high-resolution display.

Plus, the system isn’t as difficult to use as it might first appear.

Admittedly, the screen did lag once or twice when we used it, and although some shortcut buttons help you find your way around unless you're used to navigating menus of tablets and smartphones, some people may need support to use it.

It certainly took some getting used to, but that may have just been down to the unusual shape of the screen as much as anything else.

You may have gathered that there is no separate instrument display - not in the form of analogue dials or a digital screen. Behind the steering wheel, there is nothing (other than a plain dashboard and a windscreen).

That also means you've got to get used to glancing slightly to your left to see how fast you're going, which also takes some getting used to, although our test car came with one of the added extra packs, which provided the speed in a head-up display.

Overall, the build quality looks on point, and the textile patterns and upholstery are of a high standard, giving a layer of uniqueness to the Mini Cooper.

Practicality & Boot Space

Finding a comfortable driving position in the Mini Cooper wasn’t difficult at all.

You are still quite low to the ground, which traditionalists will appreciate, although you are slightly higher up than in the outgoing model.

Forward visibility is good, thanks to the thin windscreen pillars. However, in the back, although the pillars themselves aren’t that thick, the black window borders are, which obscure more of the view.

Rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera are standard on all models, which gets around the problem.

As for space, legroom in the front is reasonable, and you shouldn’t have any issues with headroom either.

In the back, Mini says there’s slightly more legroom than the outgoing model, but taller passengers will still be left struggling.

The boot space measures 210 litres with all the seats in place, increasing to 650 litres if you fold down one side of the rear bench. Folding both sections of the rear seat gives  you 800 litres.

The back bench only folds in a 60:40 split rather than the more versatile and convenient 40:20:40 split, but this tends to be the norm for small family hatchbacks.

Safety

The new Mini Cooper has yet to be crash-tested by safety experts Euro NCAP.

The last Mini tested was the Countryman in 2017. It achieved a five-star rating, scoring 90% for adult occupants, 80% for children, and 51% for safety assists.

The Clubman and Cooper were assessed in 2015 and 2014 but only achieved four-star ratings.

As Mini doesn't have a huge range of cars, it isn't easy to know how the new Cooper will perform, especially as Euro NCAP has made its testing criteria more stringent on several occasions since the last Mini was crash-tested.

Nevertheless, it hopes to improve on that 51% safety assist score - and should do so, given that the new model includes automatic emergency braking, dynamic cruise control, forward collision warning with brake intervention, and lane departure warning.

You also get speed limit information and speed limit assist, a parking assistant with active park distance control and a rear-view camera, and a driving assistant with lane keep assist, blind spot detection, and rear collision prevention.

Tyre pressure monitoring is also a feature on all models.

Driving Assistant Plus includes active cruise control, which automatically speeds up and slows down depending on the traffic ahead. This feature is available as an optional extra.

Options

As we said earlier, the Mini Cooper E's three trim levels offer identical equipment, with only cosmetic differences depending on which model you choose.

You can, though, add packs, each adding a layer of luxury.

The Level 1 pack adds adaptive LED headlights, keyless entry, folding wing mirrors, heated front seats, high beam assist, a head-up display, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and a wireless smartphone charger.

The Level 2 pack adds all the above, plus a Harman-Kardon surround-sound audio system, sun protection glass, a panoramic glass sunroof and the necessary wiring and preparation for Driving Assistant Plus, which we mentioned earlier.

It doesn’t include Driving Assistant Plus, though – you must buy it separately.

The Level 3 pack, which adds everything from Levels 1 and 2, is only available on the top-spec Sport model.

You will also get four-way lumbar support, a massage function in the driver’s seat, electrically adjustable front seats with a memory function, an interior camera, an augmented reality SatNav, and the Driving Assistant Plus feature.

Other options include a lighter shade of seats, 17-inch or 18-inch alloys (instead of the standard 16-inch), a range of different-coloured roof and mirror cap covers, and various paint jobs for the main body colour, the exact offerings depending on trim.

Sports stripes are available for the Sport model, too.

Rival Cars

There are many rivals to the Mini Cooper if you’re after an all-electric car.

The MG4 EV, for example, is a great all-rounder that ticks plenty of boxes, while the Citroen e-C3 and Dacia's Spring are also worth considering.

There is the cutesy Fiat 500e, the sophisticated Mazda MX-30 and the good-to-drive Peugeot e-208, plus Vauxhall’s impressive Corsa Electric shouldn’t be overlooked.

You will also find two new players in town from China that you may have yet to hear of.

The BYD Dolphin is surprisingly upmarket and offers a generous equipment list. Then, there’s the GWM Ora 03 (previously known as the Ora Funky Cat). It has a Porsche- inspired front end, decent handling, and is reasonably practical.

Verdict & Next Steps

Overall, the new Mini Cooper E is excellent.

It has more performance, range, and faster charging than before, and it's more modern.

It also offers a premium interior, and once you get used to it, the round infotainment touchscreen is actually very nice to use.

However, a step up in sophistication arguably comes at a cost – its chic adorableness seems to be reduced, and the weight of the batteries might disappoint some.

Despite that, though, it's still cool to drive, and indeed, for the moment, few all-electric hatchbacks can match it.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Mini Cooper E hatchback.

**Correct as of 22/10/2024. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 48month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £2,375.82 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.