Mini’s new electric Cooper arrives with bold look and 250-mile range
Distinctive-looking model will cost from £30,000 in the UK.
The fifth-generation Mini Cooper has arrived, bringing with it a range of up to 250 miles from a single charge.
With customer deliveries set to commence in spring 2024, the new Mini Cooper – which is priced from £30,000 – retains the three-door layout of its predecessor but brings a fresh new design, particularly at the rear of the vehicle.
It features flush door handles for the first time, while around the back the eye-catching Union Jack lights of the previous model have been ditched in favour of triangle-shape units. A prominent black gloss plastic section links the rear lights and wears the model badging, too. Unlike previous versions, it’ll be known as ‘Cooper’ rather than ‘Hatch’, too.
Inside, the Mini Cooper debuts the first OLED screen to be used inside a car. It’s 240mm in diameter and uses Mini’s Operating System 9. The upper half of the display gives car-related information such as speed and range, while the lower area is where you’ll access features such as media and navigation. Swipe movements can bring up a ‘tool belt’ of often-used functions and the climate control settings are permanently displayed on the left- and right-hand-side of the screen for the passenger and driver respectively.
It’ll be available in three specifications – Classic, Exclusive and Sport – with entry-level versions gaining synthetic leather seats and a coloured textile band on the dashboard. Exclusive models benefit from sports seats and a houndstooth pattern on the textile instrument panel, while Sport adds in black synthetic leather with red stitching and a front grille and logo finished in high-gloss black.
Two new powertrains will be available on the electric Mini Cooper. In entry-level Cooper E models, a 40.7kWh battery provides up to 190 miles of range, while an 181bhp electric motor enables a 0-60mph time of 7.1 seconds.
The range-topping Cooper SE, meanwhile, incorporates a larger 54.2kWh battery which can help the Mini achieve a range of up to 250 miles – significantly more than the 145 miles you’ll get from the current car. A more powerful 218bhp electric motor shaves the 0-60mph time to 6.5 seconds, too.
The Mini can charge at speeds of up to 95kW, too, meaning a 10 to 80 per cent charge could be undertaken in 30 minutes.
