Mini electrifies the hot hatch
Can Mini make its first electric car, the Cooper S-E, fun to drive? We drive an early prototype.
It might be fully electric, but just one run through a coned course reveals this zero-emissions prototype Mini retains all the fun of a Cooper S. Perky acceleration, direct steering, fleet-footed agility – it all survives the transition from petrol to plugs. Even the price is likely to be similar when the first cars leave Oxford late this year, at £29k before a government grant.
Called the Mini Cooper S-E, it marks BMW’s first shot at a series-production Mini EV over a decade after the 600-unit, lease-only Mini E. That test-bed’s EV hardware was so bulky it consumed the rear seat and demolished boot space, but it informed the BMW i3. Appropriate, then, that the i3’s electric drivetrain has been engineered into the Cooper S-E.
Beneath the floor, a lithium-ion battery is mounted in a
T-shape. It shares the i3’s battery chemistry, but the T makes it smaller than the square i3 battery, and it’s rated at 92Ah, not the 94Ah of the 2017 i3. New i3s have since improved to 120Ah.
The power electronics normally found at the rear of the i3 S – the hotter i3 – are packaged under the Mini’s bonnet, with a single 181bhp e-motor driving the front wheels.
The 1350kg kerbweight represents a palatable 120kg penalty over a Cooper S auto, and changes to the body-in-white are minimal, so there’s no compromise to interior or boot space.
Flick a switch in the Mini’s familiar central row of toggles and the Cooper S-E wakes with a synthesised greeting. There are three drive modes; only Mid setting is accessible today.
Claimed acceleration is in the 7-8sec 0-62mph ballpark and that’s how it feels – energetic enough if never truly rapid from a standing start. The wow factor comes with powering through a tight corner – torque not only feels instant and generous but the S-E puts it down staggeringly well, exhibiting little of the scrabble of punchy petrol Minis. The Mini EV then carries that enthusiasm into silent mid-range thrust.
The Cooper S-E feels four-square squat through slaloms, with a grippy front end, swift steering and limited roll. There’s just as much weight over the nose as a petrol Cooper S, but the centre of gravity is lower and the battery shifts the weight balance significantly rearwards, from a petrol’s 60:40 front-to-rear to 54:46. Throw in that short wheelbase and you get a highly throttle-adjustable machine that dances through cones like a shopping trolley dodging pensioners –though stability control damps the fun and can’t be entirely disengaged.
There are two flavours of regenerative braking. The first is as fierce as we’ve become accustomed to with EVs – lifting the throttle often suces for braking. The second is more comparable to a petrol model, with a natural coast off-power.
The biggest negative relates to the steering during aggressive driving. It feels lumpy and inconsistent, tugged by torque flowing to the front tyres. Balancing the S-E’s rollercoaster on-power cornering thrills with more consistent steering will be a challenge for the remainder of the development process.
Overwhelmingly, though, the Cooper S-E entertains as the label says it should. The biggest question regards how easy it’ll be to own. We know an 80 per cent charge will take 40 minutes on relatively uncommon 50kW DC chargers, three hours on more numerous 11.2kW AC chargers, or 12 hours to charge fully on a three-pin socket at home.
The range requires more guesswork. The 94Ah i3 is most comparable; that offered a range of 146-158 miles on the WLTP test, yet it was a more aerodynamic car some 105kg lighter. The Mini’s range will almost certainly fall below that. The killer question is by how much.