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Mini Cooper will reach its fifth generation and will do so by debuting in dealerships in a fully electric version. Produced in China on the Spotlight EV platform, created thanks to the joint venture with the Chinese Great Wall, the new electric Mini Cooper presents a style consistent with the new stylistic course of the brand and declares a range of more than 400 kilometers in combination with the SE version
New Mini Cooper dimensions
How long is the new electric Mini Cooper? Despite giving the impression of greater compactness, the measurements are practically the same as the previous model. It is, in fact, still 3.86 meters long, 1.76 meters wide, increasing by 3 centimeters and 5 centimeters taller for a total of 1.46 metres. The wheelbase also increases by 3 centimetres, thus reducing overhangs.
New electric Mini Cooper on the road, photos of the Cooper SE
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Aesthetically, the new octagonal grille arrives at the front, while the daytime running lights characterize the light signature. On the sides, farewell to the classic black mudguards which leave room for completely matching wheel arches. The least successful part comes from the tail, heavily criticized by online comments since the first leaked images. In addition to the new headlights, again with half the English flag inside, the full-width black stripe makes its debut.
New Mini Cooper 3-door interior
Climbing aboard the Mini Cooper, your gaze immediately falls on the large round touchscreen display in the center of the dashboard with Oled technology and a diameter of 24 centimetres, from which to manage the new operating system called Mini 9. Positioned so as to be easily usable also by the passenger, the large monitor is the only source of information in the cockpit. In fact, the instrumentation in front of the driver disappears, while we find the head-up display with a retractable screen and not projected onto the windshield due to the shape of the latter. The designers’ desire was to bring the mind back to the historic 1959 model, as confirmed by the five-button button panel under the central “disk”. As already underlined for other models, despite the presence of the head-up display, not having real instruments in front of the driver’s eyes increases the possibility of distraction. Moving on to the space available, it is large for those sitting in front while the second row is not among the most spacious in the category. Even the trunk does not shine in terms of capacity, with only 210 liters available. By folding down the seats, however, you reach 800 litres.
Mini Cooper SE road test
Tested in the SE version, the protagonist of our first contact on the road is powered by a 160 kW (218 horsepower) electric motor and 330 nm of torque, capable of ensuring acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 170 km/h. The declared autonomy is 402 kilometers which in reality becomes just over 320 km and the declared consumption is 14.7-14.1 kWh/100 km. The Cooper’s 54.2 gross kWh battery can be charged with up to 11kW of alternating current and up to 95kW of direct current. On the road, thanks to the different driving modes, the behavior of the car can be varied both in terms of response from the engine and in terms of the artificial sound produced. After a test drive of around 200 kilometres, the Cooper SE continues to be fun even in the fully electric version but a curb weight of almost 1700 kg naturally makes itself felt. To make a comparison with the previous petrol Mini Cooper John Cooper Works, the scales stopped at 1235 kg in running order.