FIRST DRIVE: New Mini Cooper SE - 215bhp, £38k Hot Hatch

In recent years, the hot hatch has become rather rarefied. Both literally and figuratively: RS Renaults and GTi Peugeots are dead, while the likes of Audi and Mercedes chase outputs of 400bhp.
The Mini Cooper though, was always a little more grounded. And now there’s a new one!
This generation of Mini three-door hatch comes with a choice of petrol or electricity driving the front wheels, with two variants of each. Pick from Cooper C and Cooper S if you like pistons, while Cooper E and SE are the battery and motor offerings.
The Cooper SE starts at £34,500, rising to £38k if you want the butcher body of the Sport model we’re driving, and offers 215bhp, 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds, and a WLTP range of nearly 250 miles.
Is it a good hot hatch? Does it still offer ‘go kart’ handling. Over to Top Gear Magazine’s Tom Ford…
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:36 What's New?
01:58 Available Models
02:41 Interior
03:23 Central OLED display
04:06 Driving Modes
05:50 Digital Assistant
08:05 Boot
08:23 Driving
11:45 Conclusion
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[@TopGear]

This then, or the forthcoming Renault 5 Electric?

[@importanttingwei7747]

Try that with a glaswegien accent the car doesn't recognise it

[@gorgeousal2410]

A 2nd hand M4 cab with more room and £15K left over to run it for 4 years.

[@LorenzoRocker]

The Mini 👌🏻

[@nicksokolis6343]

The one that is under 1,500kg.

[@dominicrusho]

Fiat Multipla, definitely

[@danebezuidenhout628]

The back is a shocker, particularly those uuuugly triangular spider man lights 😞

[@jr-hr2mw]

The rear end styling looks like one of those GTA cars designed not to infringe any copyrights. And it's built in China

[@morganpritchard5632]

Built in Oxford from 2026

[@jr-hr2mw]

​@@morganpritchard5632 It's 2024

[@chillingbing6937]

It was designed in China so you know

[@StalePhish]

But at the same time I do really like it

[@stevenbryant2993]

£34k for a base spec Cooper S. I know car prices have gone insane in recent years, but that still just seems insane.

[@SWR112]

This one is more like £42k 😂

[@jondonnelly4831]

Whats insane is the depreciation.

[@donnyg762]

it's a battery EV, when did people forget that these are more expensive

[@scottwatson7844]

I paid 30 grand for the John Cooper Works back in 22 and now the Cooper S is 4 grand more than that car. Crazy !

[@TheSakuragihanimichi]

John Cooper Works electric?

[@jryalls]

£38,000 😂 and you know with all those JCW bits it’ll be north of £40,000. Looks great inside and out though.

[@T_hardy]

£42k

[@rivengle]

the JCW bits add 8hp. just like my bumper stickers.

[@SWR112]

@@T_hardyyeah thats the sticker price on the sport Cooper S. £42 they must think we are all on drugs.

[@Angry_Squirrel555]

Just stir on that for a minute, £42K for a Mini. Or you could get a turnkey GT40 replica for less.

[@MajorMatt01]

Or a next to no miles M340i 😂

[@eveythingthatsadam]

Designers have absolutely lost the plot with this one. If you'd have said this was a new Ssangyong, anyone would believe you. Iconic bonnet scoop and twin exhausts gone. Now its just looks like a lego brick.

[@zagreus5773]

An exhaust on an ev? Are you alright?

[@eveythingthatsadam]

@@zagreus5773 that's not my point. The point is, those things are iconic on the Cooper S. If you are going to make a 'Cooper S' it needs to be petrol with a bonnet scoop and twin exhaust. Have an EV if you want, but it can't be called an S

[@zagreus5773]

@@eveythingthatsadam Clearly you can make it an EV and call in an S, lmao. This is such a stupid opinion, remarkable!

[@Tshegofatso......]

The design is not cohesive. Do they want it to be curvy and flowing or sharp and edgy? The rear and front ends contradict each other.

[@MrCooperman]

I’ll stick with my R53 thanks, probably worth more in a few years too, certainly will at this rate.

[@AHYL88]

Remember when the GR Yaris was first brought out only a few years ago and some people balked at how much that cost? I know that was expensive but it had so much changed and redone that I understood why; this Mini however, I know it's electric, but it's still unreasonably expensive for what it offers. I'd rather save the £11,000+ and have a Hyundai i20N which has similar performance; sure that has flaws and won't be as cheap to run as the electric Mini but it's hard to ignore that massive price gap. What applies to the Hyundai also applies to the petrol powered Mini. Also to bear in mind, adding options that push the electric Mini's total OTR price past £40,000 also means even bigger car road tax bills since electric cars are going to lose the benefit of not needing to pay for road tax next year, which would likely be around £600 a year (it's £190 flat rate at the moment, plus £390 for cars over £40,000 for five years, for a total of £580 for this year only, which is definitely going to go up as it has done each year for both fees).

[@themoose8]

The original mini cost £496.

[@themoose8]

£10k in today's money. Tbh, this new one could be more than 4x the car!

[@_Diamond-Dog]

40k for a mini, that isnt "mini" 😂

[@michaelward6891]

looks like if a Chinese automaker were trying to make a mini

[@chasf3433]

It is built in China.

[@andakara27]

They did, its literally BYD

[@mr.lemonade3742]

Again here comes with BMW and their design philosophy, have you seen new updated RR Cullinun II series

[@PsychedMedia]

​​@@andakara27 Not BYD.. its by GWM ORA

[@jonnyronnyroker]

The rear lights are still union jack just more minimal and the outline shape are the diagonals.

[@mav1202M2]

Good looking?! How old are you? 8?!

[@toyanaydin8248]

This car is superb looking, it’s just been specced terribly here

[@chasf3433]

Probably only costs BMW about £15k to build in China.

[@elvis1745]

that`s very generous of you

[@ashfaqibrahim2633]

£38K for 215BHP come on, that's not a deal.

[@SusieSmart]

When it was available, the latest Golf GTI with only 25 more HP but similar real world performance started at £39,170. I know the MINI is a smaller car but you’re getting the top spec one for about the same price as a base spec GTI. Most of the GTI’s available from stock on the VW website are over £40,000, some as much as £48,000 and that’s just for the “standard” GTI. There’s a Clubsport GTI on there for £56,000!

[@Tm4k10]

@@SusieSmart the new Prius has more power than this…

[@SusieSmart]

@@Tm4k10 more power but slower, has a horrible CVT and costs about the same. You can pick up a Cooper SE Classic with the same 215 bhp for £34,500, so just shy of £3,000 less than the Toyota. The original MINI Electric with the same power output as the entry level model achieved 0-62 in about 6.6-6.7 seconds, which is quicker then the Prius and that’s available from £30,000 so nearly £8,000 cheaper than the Prius.

[@jimjamthebananaman1]

@@SusieSmartgot a Mk8 clubsport for £36k with 2,000 miles. The standard mk8 GTI has 245hp btw - not 240

[@SusieSmart]

@@jimjamthebananaman1 that’s some nice depreciation :). Surprising since the Clubsport is a limited run

[@mjd991]

£43k once you’ve put level 3 and a decent paint colour on it, I’m very tempted for my round town car! Love it

[@SB-hr5yr]

Will you actually be putting £43,000 on the desk in the showroom for your round town car?

[@patherl1]

The r53 is still the best mini to get

[@ianbarnes961]

R59 Roadster!

[@devanman7920]

Jesus Christ its 40K.

[@jamesfynnhere6983]

Tesla model 3 destroys this.

[@DarkStryder360]

@@jamesfynnhere6983 You can buy an Aston Martin DB9 for £25,000

[@DarkStryder360]

​@@jamesfynnhere6983can get a DB9 for £25000

[@CLSTRN911]

@@jamesfynnhere6983tesla model 3 get destroyed in corners

[@armoule8596]

42,500£

[@versuskid4232]

Wonder how the suspension handles

[@Graham-rc1cp]

Yeah, that’s going to depreciate like yesterdays newspaper…

[@jameswass817]

People love to hate this car but I think it’s great.. even if the price is a bit disappointing.

[@Kitofthearts]

Yes, I agree, but the price is just not affordable for 80% of the target market

[@shankarbalan3813]

To me, the world of Mini Cooper and its iconic 3 door hatch ended with the R56 and may be at a pinch, the F56. All those that came after, are mere pretenders. These lovely cars were beautifully proportioned at first but each successive generation has resulted in a serious bloating and fattening so much so, that the once svelte and elegant dancer has now become a sumo wrestler. and Oh! the new Mini looks like the new Suzuki Swift.

[@Joe-eg7ml]

The wahoo when in kart mode reminds me of what Mario says when he race in Mario Kart

[@Goldieridesbike]

I thought the same! Copyright infringement sue incoming from Nintendo any time now! 😂😂

[@Kitofthearts]

They really should have just asked for permission Haha Lets a go!

[@PsychedMedia]

Is this better than the MG4 XPower?

[@eahughey]

6.7s to 62mph seems slow for 40k. 4.8s seems appropriate for the asking price.

[@Mike-1000]

So it's just a hatch .... not a hot-hatch 🙂

[@Barefoot_Joe]

For the weight I agree it should be a bit quicker off the line

[@user-mp3eh8fk8q]

Small, slow and expensive... A recipe for disaster. Heavy too.

[@SWR112]

To create room for a works version for another £10k…

[@Bikemax99]

You need to understand that car enthusiasts don't sneak out the house on a Sunday morning to go accelerating a car 0-62 ten times in a row. They go out to enjoy a car that offers a sense of fun, engagement and connection. That is a much bigger challenge especially for EVs, and it seems they nailed it.

[@paulhammal7231]

Just bought the JCW 228bhp (petrol). This leccy thing doesn’t interest me at all. In fact I didn’t even know it existed 😂 despite kicking tyres around the showroom. It’s for the Mrs anyway…

[@leelindsay]

Nice been waiting for a works electric was hoping for power if am honest more like the 300bhp mark. £42 is silly tho unless they do a faster version later but again be more money

[@karltidman3338]

Looks mega, sat in the new Countryman a few days ago. The interior was lovely, this looks the same. Bit small for my needs but the Countryman is on the hit list for a few years down the line when my ID3 is replaced.

[@tomw8418]

Are they doing this look in a petrol??

[@jasonloader8149]

The top-selling car in 1972 was the Ford Cortina Mk3. In March 1972, an entry-level Cortina would cost you £963, with the most expensive version reaching £1,210. Adjust the Cortina’s prices for inflation between 1972 and now, and it would sell for between £13,520 and £16,988 today according to the Bank of England inflation calculator. Mini was around £600 - so around 10 grand today. 42 bags of sand for this? - you're having a giraffe.

[@VintageRKO]

I actually like the screen. In a world where every new car dashboard is starting to look the same, especially the dual wide screen on the dash setup (thanks a lot Mercedes), I really appreciate car companies that doesn't follow the trend and stand out. With that being sad, MINI is out of their mind if they think they can compete with that price

[@spud1300]

Is there an AWD option?

[@markhagge8646]

Did you mention the top speed? Maybe I missed it.

[@randomusername0121]

This just really sums up why there's no point even trying anymore. £40k for some bland electric mini cooper. Jesus.

[@norecordkk]

Old design had much more charm. I do like the center display.

[@carlosm6036]

Is this the grey or the black does anyone know?

[@Mothercityguy]

Italian job good job british tails were the best love the new screen simple

[@alexandreberthiaume9794]

2nd coolest ev today thanks to TG

[@SpartanHighKing14]

£40k for a Mini?????? 😂😂😂 Car prices are absolutely ridiculous these days

[@Tram-30]

Just saying, there is still an ICE variant. Maybe review that?

[@user-cx6hw6ix2v]

Think the new MINI looks great in and out. However that John Works Kit is a bit much…

[@jamiep61]

I enjoyed watching the Video Review, I prefer this to the New Renault 5 😊

[@offom]

Let me add some info: Mini Cooper E - 36.8 kWh useable battery (ouf of 41 kWh) - 230km real world range Mini Cooper SE - 49.8 Wh useable battery (out of 54 kWh) - 305km real world range

[@duncan2290]

Mini enthusiast here: I actually like it. I HATE the dash. It looks tacky

[@ConnorProsser]

I’d be more inclined to like it if it was petrol

[@Logansix]

I wouldn't buy it until it comes from the UK.

[@MW-zv1wg]

Where it comes?

[@colinharvey1049]

The thing is the JCW bits are just cosmetic the cheaper classic trim SE is exactly the same performance according to specs.

[@quantaccount4337]

Does the voice control also allow to easily switch off these new default driver ‘aids’ like lane assist (which doesn’t allow you to exit a roundabout, nor merging two lanes into one)

[@sentiasatransformasi]

we all know that the next mini cars are gonna share the same infotainment system so let’s just wait for the other models like the countryman or normal cooper comes out

[@rodrigoayala3526]

1:52 "I actually think it's really good looking" the nerve to actually say that about ugliest rear ever

[@7990td]

I don't know a single person who has £30k+ to spend on a car, let alone something ridiculous like an electric Mini. With already struggling sales, this will only solidify Mini's slow but inevitable downfall

[@JonDarren]

Give me this car., Manual 5-Speed. High torque and John Cooper S works tuned for less than the electric 40K GBP and it'll sell. It could be the hot hatch we've waited for beyond a Golf or Honda.

[@ojmotswane]

Mini Cooper and Jeep Renegade in the same sentence?

[@TEVAssociation]

Too bad we have to wait till 2026 to get it here in USA and Canada !

[@skellener]

With no subsides

[@sparko2012]

Just about to get rid of my 22 plate Cooper S Sport because of the JCW seats that feel harder then they would if they were made out of mahogany and the incredibly stiff suspension. Nice to see you can get leather seats in the newer Cooper S Sport.

[@ConnorProsser]

Just keep your cooper and put these seats in your car. Saved you thousands and you keep a better car

[@drink4711]

1600 kg is far too heavy for a compact car

[@davidmacphee3549]

About the same as my 'vette was in '73 Blasted thing had only 190 hp and 270 fpt. A noisy Dog

[@LarsAgerbk]

a ton more than the original

[@raychan7674]

Half of the price go for the brand

[@ianbarnes961]

Convertible? Roadster??

[@funkyhouseman]

Oh and Tom Ford is a great presenter/reviewer. On that side of things!

[@commandojack2051]

Is the interior good build quality?

[@ivanjeta1356]

I think they made a car for people who aren't old enough to drive.

[@andrewschirmer3849]

Always loved the mini my wife too but I absolutely hate that circular feature unless it changes I cannot ever consider

[@user-vk9nn7cs9b]

AVP 👽 Sweet / I'll try to keep up with this // 🤨/;

[@anthonysimpson6738]

The Cooper works is just that a name there is no difference over the SE performance wise. Lack of physical controls just touch screen. The EV is actually slower than than the petrol version.

[@Logansix]

Slower? A JCW doesn't stand a chance against my SE at traffic lights.

[@jakubstrumillo]

Fiat 500 from the front, and Renault 5 Turbo from the back.

[@Pidachyo]

Elantra N makes more and more sense

[@flatspots101]

Back end looks like Suzuki Swift

[@shaunwalton8058]

Could have a yaris gr4 for less.

[@markdance574]

It kinda looks like a nice Mini Cooper slept with an over weight Suzuki swift and this was the result . This Brand is the reason Oxymoron exists in the dictionary. There’s no way I’d hand over £40k plus for it .

[@JamesJoyce12]

zero-clue who is going to spend that much for a Mini

[@jondonnelly4831]

It is made in China by collaboration with China State Company. So you'd think it would at least be cheap but somehow it's 40k with a couple options and will be worth half that in 3 years.

[@michalisgeorgiou257]

Absolutely correct.... This car staring price must be around 25k not more.

[@djgoldthing7166]

How much?? Does it come without Alan Partridge's big plate on the dashboard?

[@jeremyjohn1954]

Ah awesome. Who wants a BMW Mini that looks like a Suzuki Swift Sport? Nothing against the Swift, it's a brilliant hatchback

[@ToiletGrenade]

You're actually insane if you spend £38,000 for 215hp

[@jonathanlel9033]

It's small and nimble. Very rarely can you use 400bhp+ on normal roads.

[@ToiletGrenade]

@@jonathanlel9033 So are plenty of other more reasonably priced cars

[@r6scrubs126]

​@@jonathanlel9033I've had 700 bhp cars that are plenty of fun on the road and no you didn't have to do over 100 mph to enjoy it. Idk why people say this nonsense

[@Gmh6477]

@@ToiletGrenadeSuch as ? And let’s stay like for like so recommend a brand new alternative.

[@jonathanlel9033]

@r6scrubs126 I bet a decent hot hatch could easily keep up with you on twisty B roads, with a third of that power, having just as much fun.

[@Dan330i]

As a bmw driver I want a mini now

[@Doppo69]

I never understand you can’t use your mobile whilst driving but there touch screens to operate cars which is the same thing

[@PhonesOnaDailyBasis]

6.7 seconds for electric car 😭😭😭😭😭

[@woodtvnetwork]

Yeah it's not great actually

[@js-hl5hv]

BMW / MINI / GWM / whoever owns this hopefully is sandbagging. The original SE had 7.3s 0-100 and 6.9s 0-60 on paper, but in the real world (as tested by many people including myself), it gets 6.6s 0-100 and 6.3s 0-60mph (6.0 if you are in the states and do the silly 1ft rollout thing). In this case I doubt it, because the PWR is almost the same as the outgoing model. Maybe 6.7s is the real value after all. From 0-30mph (0-50kph) it feels *much* faster than the (even correct) figures show. The difference here is that it will be smoked off the lights, but around a corner you will wave goodbye to the other car in the rear vision mirror. A town car that does 0-100kph in 1.2s wont be any more fun than a 7s 0-100 that goes around corners (assuming you keep your license in the 1.2s car :) )

[@clintnaik]

Wow the GWM Ora Cat looks cool

[@cannavaras]

Nailed it. Strange the reviewers dont really mention it.

[@clintnaik]

@@cannavaras I actually suspect it might have been a directive from BMW that it’s not mentioned. Because it’s a hot take for those who don’t know and would gain decent exposure for a video that shouted it.

[@clintnaik]

@@cannavaras also that bird, cat and Dog…. Ora cat Easter eggs I tell you 😂

[@germainwilson800]

Electric is old technology. Companies wont build them anymore. Everyone is switching to water

[@thereallotharmatthae]

Exactly. Water is the future.

[@crocglox7797]

that "woo hoo" sounded like homer simpson

[@RoadRallyLife]

Homer did coin that term so it would make sense 😄

[@DavidBrown-bs7gg]

GR Yaris any day

[@nicksokolis6343]

And that will hold its price when it comes time to sell it. This will worth nothing in 5 years.

[@imaweerascal]

GR Yaris beats this thing in every single department

[@samljones]

38 grand is just obscene, yes it's electric but for a 215hp hatchback that is too much money. Hopefully the petrol versions are a more attractive price. Shame because I really like the look of this new shape Mini. However this JCW trim is a bit gaudy - that rear wing just doesn't work.

[@julianlawrence-ball2279]

Could you not find a charger in that quaint English village? Theres a a shocker (or not)

[@andrewparker5800]

They're right next to the 16-pump Shell garage...

[@nickfox4766]

I’d rather buy a one or two year old petrol power JCW, get one for about £30-32k

[@AThomas-ro4ru]

GR yaris?

[@Ledguer]

It's a Suzuki swift... The only mini worthy is the R53

[@tbray]

you know that "woo hooo" is probably a nod to Mario - as in Super Mario Kart. It's cute.

[@abbarasheed8599]

£40,000 FOR A MINI???? That's insane!!!

[@sunsetter]

The previous SE has more character, easier interior controls, more elevated design in and out, but less range. I will probably pick another of the last gens to keep as a back up.

[@harveywang9516]

Great car with an unjustifiable price

[@rossadamdixon]

Who is buying the 37k model over the RWD model 3?!?! Less range Less power Less features You have to really like mini or really hate tesla to pick the mini!

[@js-hl5hv]

Far more fun if you go around corners. An F1 is much faster than a go kart, but most people would have far more fun in the go kart.

[@Andrewlevski65]

Just got rid of my F56 JCW worst car ive ever had shocking reliability terrible build quality. The relief its gone never to be repeated. 38k are they serious

[@wings9925]

I've been a fan of all the 3 door MINIs since the R50/52/53 first gen, but the exterior styling isn't to my taste and the ridiculous "Go Kart" 'experience' and its "woohoo" video game cheese arw so naff as to be repellent. The plastics and operation of the toggle switches are terrible too. £42K for a well-specc'd S is beyond ridiculous too. Imagine what a proper JCW will cost?!?!

[@Janton17]

must be the only person to say the F56 design was fussy 😂 The cost is wild, every option is in packs vs individual options, colours at launch are a step back for JCW models. It might be the new but the options are a step backwards. Less Mini, more china.

[@SWR112]

We have had five MINI’s, two currently on the drive in two factory ordered Car in a hatch and Clubbie and £42k for this Car to get well over 200 miles is just silly priced. If this sport SE was £28k that would even be a push. Right so a one year old sports SE for £30k. To be fair the acceleration is poor to todays EVs. Renault 5 retro is going to hit sales, but then I’d pity anyone buying this over envying them and that’s from a huge MINI fan that done road trip and factory tour even.

[@sixpots]

Similar story here- we're on Mini number 6, having just bought the outgoing SE new for a hair under £27k. There is a 0% chance we'd be spending £42k on that tacky abomination. For all of their talk about it having more power, the new one is so heavy it works out at 5bhp/ton more. £15,000 more for a smaller boot, odd styling and a bit more range. Why anyone would have this over a Cupra Born is beyond me.

[@js-hl5hv]

Around town, 6s 0-60mph is more than adequate. Most petrol cars won't touch that to 30mph (city speeds) - in fact most bikes have trouble unless they notice the electric badge and give it all off the lights. This is my experience from almost 4 years with the F56 SE. The handling is awesome, and to be honest, low speed acceleration and handling makes for a much more fun drive. For example, a Golf R with much faster 0-100kph times will be smoked off the line (from experience). Yes, to appease their honour, they fly past after the 60kph limit is reached :) This is a city car, and as that it rules supreme. I can't argue with the price. A full 10k pounds more than the original, just as fast - if not faster SE.

[@sixpots]

@@js-hl5hv I own a Golf R and electric Mini, and while I agree the Mini is nippy enough and much quicker than people expect, the Golf would destroy it in every situation, save for initial pickup, and that doesn’t last nearly long enough for the Mini to stand a chance. If you’re going faster than a Golf R, it’s because the Golf is choosing to not go faster.

[@js-hl5hv]

@@sixpots I totally agree with you. The caveat is around town, it is normally the initial jump. The main superpower of the SE is you can floor it for maximum acceleration at every light without drawing much attention. If the golf R was in launch control at 4k revs waiting for a racing start, it would be ahead after maybe 1-2 car lengths and then *+"! Off into the distance. Most people don't use launch control in the city, so the MINI ends up quicker. Sort of backwards logic, but hopefully you get my point. There is no way a car with only 135kW weighing 1365kg should be able to go as fast as it does. It will never be faster than a well driven R or any performance car. It does do it without being noticed though :)

[@upbox251]

2.0 Turbo / 330hp+ please oh and

[@jonathanboreham8717]

No thanks happy with my jcw 2023 but the shape will grow on u at some point

[@johnborges5938]

Hate those tail lamps. And the interior seems to be a random assemblage of gimmicks rather than a well-thought-out driver-oriented machine.