ON THE FACE of it, the Mini Cooper ought to be a prime beneficiary of the switch to electrification. Small, punchy, cheeky and ideally suited to the cut and thrust of city driving, an electric motor would certainly seem preferable to an internal combustion engine. As we’ve seen in some electric city cars, however, the compromises that come with a necessarily modest battery can severely hobble all-round practicality. So is the new Cooper SE a case of all show and very little go?
Those of you with longer memories will know that this isn’t Mini’s first stab at a hatch with a battery pack. You can be forgiven for letting any recall of the old Mini Cooper SE from 2020 slip from your temporal lobe because it was a fundamentally forgettable thing: overpriced and underwhelming would be a fair summation. Its main problem was its tiny BMW i3-derived 33kWh battery which, while keeping weight down to just 1365kg, offered up only 230km of range. What’s more, BMW demanded $54,800 for the privilege.
This time round, Mini offers way more for your money. The Cooper SE now sells for $58,990 but packs a far bigger battery – the 54kWh pack being fully 64 percent larger than its predecessor. There’s also the less powerful Mini
