New MINI Cooper Electric Review: The most charming car on sale?

The new MINI Cooper Electric takes over from a car that was fun yet flawed. To address criticisms of the previous model, the latest MINI has a substantially greater range, which allows it to stand comparison with rivals such as the Volkswagen ID.3, Peugeot e-208 and Cupra Born.
In this review, Vicky Parrott tests the entry-level Cooper E, which is priced from £30,000 and can cover a claimed 190 miles on a full charge. For those needing more range, MINI also offers a Cooper SE with a bigger battery, a price of £34,500, and an official claimed range of 250 miles from a charge.
Clearly the MINI is not the biggest electric car on sale, but it might just be the most charming on account of its neat styling, smart interior and polished driving dynamics. Would you consider buying one?
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#cargurusUK #minielectric

[@moonshine3333]

Just when did 30k for a small car become affordable?

[@trader548]

Yeah it's crazy. Affordable car costs about the same as the median annual wage in the UK.

[@martinedwards7360]

I suspect the real world range on a winter's day would be around 150 miles once the heater is on, which, in my opinion, is way too low. It's not really a long-range crusier.

[@joehampson2527]

To be fair, a Mini Hatch is never going to be an ideal long range cruiser. I know someone who has the old Mini E with 120ish miles range and she happily uses it to visit family who live 200 miles away. It's not the ideal car for that, but it's doable.

[@VSS1]

The old interior was far better in my opinion. They have just tried to reduce production costs with this interior.

[@masonandmotors]

Actually this interior has much more in common with and looks more like original Mini. Simple and functional.

[@VSS1]

@@masonandmotors unfortunately it's not priced as the original simple cheap mini

[@sevensixtysteve8662]

I like the direction BMW have gone with the new model - the cleaned up styling is a big improvement over the increasingly fraught surfacing of the previous gen. I also like that the 5 door has been deleted - it always looked awful to me. Conceptually, the interior is simpler but some design choices like having a toggle switch for 'experiences' rather than something useful like cabin temperature seems crass. Some of the interior materials and mouldings look cheap to. It's a shame then that the simpler design approach hasn't really paid off on the price as it's expensive for a small car with small battery & a small range that's made in China. £25K feels more right and so it will be interesting to see how it fares against cars like the Renault 5 when that hits the showrooms.

[@timoliver8940]

No short cut to inhibit speed sign recognition and lane departure warning - yes there is. Go to Driver Assistance in the vehicle settings, safety and warnings click and hold the lane departure warning icon and you get a pop up asking if you want to make a short cut. Then go into the Driving section and go to speed limit exceeded and do the same to create a short cut. Once the short cuts are created you have direct access to them from the key on the oblong key pad showing a car with 3 horizontal line - tap the favourites key and you big screen shows all the short cuts. Yes I agree it’s a convoluted way to get to the functions to inhibit them - some cars now have a dedicated button on the dash now to disable both functions pity BMW has gone down the switch and buttonless dash route though. I’ve had my Counttyman S E with exactly the same system since the first week of April and it’s now first thing I do after turning on the power “key” thingy

[@seanweirdbeard]

Looks goot! Only small ev I would consider, am booked in for a test drive...

[@Nick-ct1ww]

I'm sorry but £30k for a electric mini is still way to expensive for most folk. 5 years ago a basic golf was £20k better built and 50% larger.

[@Nick-ct1ww]

sorry £32k!! with level 1 pack

[@jonathantaylor1998]

5 years ago a LOT of cars were way cheaper...! Looking on Autotrader, to get similar performance to this MINI Cooper E, you'd be looking at the Polo 2.0TSi GTi DSG 5dr. After discounts, that's £27,240...! So, yes, ALL cars - irrespective of what powers them - have rocketed up in price over recent years... the days of a cheap 'hot-hatch' are long gone, sadly...

[@VSS1]

They're taking advantage of the tax breaks company car drivers get, so they just pump up the price to make some more profit.

[@AlanTov]

£20k for a quality fast car. Good luck with that!

[@herme99]

I was quite excited about this car until I saw the dinner plate on the dash

[@Dreador.]

Hmm so slower than the older model, and range is only a bit more as outgoing gave more than claimed 120 where this is much lower 140 - and that back end is erm ugly and nothing like mini styling. Renault 5 seems a better option on face of it

[@richard7071]

The SE is rated as 250miles range

[@Dreador.]

@@richard7071 In the review it was stated real world was more like 140 in lower sized battery… Matched by EV Database But let’s say its closer to rated I’m not sure a city car should be chasing range. I get many struggle with concept of perceived low range but 100 miles is plenty for a ‘city car’ average drive for most (not all most) people is 35 miles Old version 1440kg new low range version 1615kg is the other consequence, two passengers worth of added weight

[@richard7071]

@@Dreador. my point was that anyone phased by the range of the E could always lash out and buy the SE. I often drive from Sydney to Canberra (325km) so the extra range counts. Realistically, if you want to follow the advice about not charging beyond 80% and aren’t foolhardy enough to go below 10%, realistic range is about 70% of what you could get driving from 100% to 0%. That makes 400km more like 280km and then subtract a bit from that for adverse conditions/freeway driving and it’s probably closer to 220km - but that’s the maximum I’d do in 2 hours driving and I’ll usually stop for half an hour anyway after 2 hours driving - so the SE makes sense over the E.

[@Dreador.]

@@richard7071 If I was doing that mileage I’d be looking at a different car to be fair :) If Im going on a long run I regularly charge to 100% at home if I’m going to use it straight away as such - 80% for me is the rule more for rapid charging and that’s more around time more than anything.

[@richard7071]

@@Dreador. that’s about once every 6-8 weeks. For the majority of the time I do less than 100km per day.

[@jbaron6150]

Good video... The audio levels jumped about a bit though.

[@bryanduncan6178]

The slight 🐘 in the room, is the fact that this is a GWM Ora 03 underneath, indeed they are built in the same factory in China.....

[@mach1nefan]

It’s not an Ora underneath. But you’re right about it being built in China, though in 2026 it’ll be built in Britain.

[@richard7071]

BMW say it is unrelated to the Ora.

[@markymarkreviews]

Test drove the SE a few weeks back. Looked cool as Sport pack with JCW parts on it. But a touch too much po-go'ing ride, too much torque steer, (some people say it's "fun", but i don't see it that way) not very efficient so real world range was poor overall and yes way too expensive for what you get. Just not good enough unless they discount++

[@shaywhelan1]

No, I don't like that. It's too smooth, or flush looking at the front, and that rear looks unbalanced

[@rasherbasher8203]

Stunning and brave

[@masonandmotors]

As a Mini enthusiast (original and new) I like what they've done. Especially making the interior more like original Mini. I'm not sure I'll ever get on board with the rear light clusters though. They don't match the rest of the car. On a side note, I don't think the video has been colour graded properly. It's very over exposed and blown out.

[@trader548]

£5K more gets you a Tesla Model 3, 68 miles more range than the Cooper SE, and a second faster to 60 mph, more space and access to the Tesla super charger network....

[@toyotaprius79]

That kind of arms race mentality is exact why we don't get genuine affordable alternatives away from Premium vehicles like Tesla Think!

[@richard7071]

And yet I’m not even slightly tempted by that.

[@trevorsmith8487]

But, a Tesla, really? Looks like a more old fashioned sierra

[@alanrutland4424]

Do any of these companies listen to what drivers actually want anymore. No instrument binnacle. A plastic HUD. A great big round touchpad. Strange front end styling and 140 miles range. Yep. That’s do and we shall charge you £30 to remove the things you like 😅

[@stephenlaw9827]

£30k for that is a bit s**t. You are as in touch with reality as Rishi Sunak.

[@wayneheyes4934]

ACEMAN not Paceman

[@AhhGeeProductions]

15-20K will be 'affordable' not a 30k mini. Silly CarGurus.

[@Siriliu]

Affordable? Are people so far out of touch with the way things are at the moment?

[@OldCodeMonkey]

Not sure why you wouldn't buy a Smart #1 instead, more space, more range, more equipment as standard, faster charging, better performance and rear wheel drive. Plus 4 doors not 2.

[@three-minute]

Got to say looks more like a Suzuki swift than a Mini.

[@insideout8837]

WTF IS THIS?! WHERE IS MINI?

[@Telecaster4959]

Thays about £10000 too expensive still ..when will manufacturers understand not every one earns mega bucks and to buy a car like this is way out of most people's range

[@davymac5366]

£30k affordable? for a puddle jumper with a winter range of around 120 miles. No Thanks.

[@lise1255]

A claimed range of 190 miles means 100 miles in reality at best in sunny weather and downhill. A cold winter day in Sweden with minus 15° celsius means a careful slow trip to the grocery store and back, - if you are lucky. The 240 mile version just mean that you can run out of electricity with a faster acceleration! 😂. This is ONLY for use within a city.

[@urbanstrencan]

Much needed update for the Mini, just love it, but it's still like go-kart drive 😊❤

[@kb8570]

The design looks horrible. The old design was a classic.

[@john3Lee]

Video editing - overexposed !!

[@grahamcastle8189]

Less mini more ora 3 and built in China. Way too expensive when you think of the original motivation behind the original mini.

[@colinrenfrew48]

Looks bloody awful.

[@danieljosephley15]

Awful exposure on this video

[@graemetaylor629]

why don't you mention where this is built don't you think viewers want to know that the car is built in China. its also not cheap, not good-looking and that dash well, won't be getting my money

[@Nexus6Variant]

£30k…….affordable…….what have you been sniffing Vikki?! Kinda makes me feel like there are a lot of back handers going on when tut like this tumbles out of reviewers mouths.

[@jonathantaylor1998]

Someone above was also bemoaning the cost of this revised MINI Cooper E - but nostalgia is exactly that... Looking on Autotrader, to get similar performance to this MINI Cooper E, you'd be looking at the Polo 2.0TSi GTi DSG 5dr. After discounts, that's £27,240...! So, yes, ALL cars - irrespective of what powers them - have rocketed up in price over recent years... the days of a cheap 'hot-hatch' are long gone, sadly...

[@santostv.]

30k today is the same as 15k a few years ago, mini is owned by bmw so you also need to pay the “ bmw tax”😂

[@Nexus6Variant]

@@jonathantaylor1998 The petrol version is £23k which is still steep but ok and at least made in the UK, this Chinese made EV is pure post pandemic profiteering regardless of what you say, expect to see them pre registered and heavily discounted on autotrader in a few months.

[@Nexus6Variant]

⁠@@santostv.I owned a 2004 Cooper £14996, a 2007 Cooper S £17669, a 2015 Cooper S £19756, and a 2018 Cooper £19874 so I’m well aware of their pricing structure, this is a GWM built Chinese cost cutting exercise with no slush formed plastics or real depth of quality and it’s over £30k…….come on.

[@santostv.]

@@Nexus6Variant They can´t devalue their brand, simple as that, the smart #1 is also chinese based and isn´t that cheap, the chinese want to enter the market and do blitzscalling can´t afford it so they are doing what they did in china by partnering up for their ´smaller´brands. We will see if the french offerings are indeed good.

[@toyotaprius79]

Posh, Overpriced, Oversized

[@wayneheyes4934]

Awful interior and an EV MINI has sold itself

[@davesmith4804]

More crap, no thanks stick the rubbish