MINI Cooper Electric Review & Prices

This is the Mini Cooper Electric, a small but upmarket electric car that’s easy to drive around town and good fun on a twisty road. Sure, it’s not particularly practical and it can get very pricey indeed, but it’s sure to put a smile on your face in a way most alternatives simply can’t.

It’s a bit like buying a Balenciaga jacket – posh, expensive, but not necessarily the most practical option.

There are plenty of small EVs to consider alongside the Mini Cooper Electric, with the Fiat 500 Electric and Peugeot e-208 having a similar fashion-conscious ethos, while bigger but similarly priced options include the MG4 EV, Renault Megane E-Tech and Smart #1. There’s also a petrol-powered Mini Cooper if you’re not looking to make the switch to electric just yet.

The Mini Cooper Electric looks great, with a simpler design than before, though if you go for the Sport trim you get some lairy body upgrades such as the rear spoiler and larger alloy wheels. These are a bit Max Power magazine, but certainly give the car more presence.

It’s just as cool inside, with a circular infotainment screen and fabric upholstery on the dashboard and doors – though the latter can be a bit rough on your arms if you’re wearing a short-sleeved top. Meanwhile the infotainment screen is sharp with nice, modern graphics, though it’s a bit sluggish to respond to inputs and smartphone mirroring doesn’t fill the screen properly, which looks a bit half-baked.

Mini Cooper Electric: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 190 - 249 miles
Efficiency: 4.4mi/kWh
Battery size: 36.6kWh / 49.2kWh
Max charge speed: 75kW / 95kW
Charge time AC: 5h 45mins, 0-100%, 7.4kW / 7h 45mins, 0-100%, 7.4kW
Charge time DC: 28mins, 10-80%, 75kW / 30mins, 10-80%, 95kW
Charge port location: Right side rear

Still, it’s fairly roomy up front for a small car, and the seats are nice and supportive. The steering wheel is a bit chunky for our tastes, but the flip switches for the gear selection and drive modes are solid and satisfying to use. There are a couple of cup holders and some clever storage that makes the most of the space on offer.

The same can’t be said for the rear seats. The Cooper Electric is only offered as a three-door (the petrol version has a five-door option, though) so you have to fold the front seats forward to climb in the back, and once you’re in it’s really cramped. Fitting a child seat is a real challenge, but once in place, it’s actually not too bad so long as your front seat passenger doesn’t mind their seat being pushed forward…

Boot space is similarly unimpressive. At 210 litres it might be roomier than a Fiat 500 Electric, but just about everything else has more space. Even the Peugeot e-208, another small EV, manages about 50% more capacity than the Mini.

There are three trims, each with a choice of two battery and motor options. The E has less power and a smaller range of up to 188 miles officially, while SE models get more power as well as bigger battery that increases range to up to 249 miles. That’s a bit more than a Fiat 500 Electric and a bit less than a Peugeot e-208, though top-spec MG4s cost less than a fully loaded Mini and can go up to 323 miles.

Out on the road and it’s a bit of a mixed bag for the Mini Cooper Electric. Starting with the downsides, the chunky pillars mean visibility isn’t great, particularly over your shoulder, while the suspension is rather jiggly over bumps. This is more of a problem at higher speeds on a lumpy B-road, but it’s definitely noticeably firmer than alternatives around town, too. It’s also quite noisy at motorway speeds.

With all that being said, though, the Mini Cooper Electric will put a smile on your face behind the wheel. It just feels fun to drive, particularly on a twisty road, and you get a quirky synthesised sound when you put your foot down.

So, yes, the Mini Cooper Electric has flaws – it’s not particularly comfortable, nor is it very practical. And although the starting price isn’t terrible, it’s easy to spend a lot of money on one. However, it has more character than most other electric cars combined, which is exactly what you want from a Mini.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, check out the latest Mini Cooper Electric deals on Carwow. You can also browse used versions of the old Mini Electric, as well as other used Minis from our network of trusted dealers. You can sell your current car through Carwow, too.

There’s no getting away from the fact that the Mini Cooper Electric is on the expensive side, which is the price you pay for that fancy interior and desirable Mini badge. Fiat 500 Electric prices start considerably lower than the Mini, though that does come with much lower range. A better comparison is the Peugeot e-208, which costs a bit less but entry-level models go further on a charge.

Step up to the bigger battery and you get closer to the long-range version of the Peugeot, but this quickly pushes the price up. Big-battery SE Minis in the top-spec Sport trim push north of £40,000.

That’s a hell of a lot of money for such a small car, and more than fully loaded versions of the Renault Megane E-Tech and MG4, which are bigger. You can also get the MG4 XPower for less than the top-spec Mini Cooper Electric, and the Smart #1 Brabus for a similar price, both of which have twice as much power.

Adding options is easy because there are three packs called Level 1, 2 and 3. These let you enhance the specification of your car easily, though it doesn’t give you much freedom to pick and choose individual items.

The Mini Cooper Electric is great fun to drive, but its suspension is very firm over bumps

In town

The Mini Cooper Electric is an easy car to drive around town, with the punchy electric motors and one-pedal driving, which will bring you to a complete stop if you lift off the throttle. You also sit a bit higher than you might expect from a small Mini, which helps improve your view of the road ahead.

However, what doesn’t help your vision is the rear-view mirror, which sits quite low blocking your view forward along with the large pod behind it that’s home to various assistance system sensors. The pillars are quite chunky, which is particularly noticeable when you’re checking your blind spot.

Fortunately, a system that parks the car for you is standard, which takes the stress out of getting into tight spots, as do the excellent cameras that help you judge the car’s extremities.

On the motorway

Small cars are typically not at their best at higher speeds, and so it rings true for the Mini Cooper Electric. It has enough power that it can easily get up to speed and pull off overtakes, but there’s quite a bit of wind and road noise entering the cabin, which can make long drives rather tiresome. The fact its range isn’t particularly huge, even with the larger battery, means you’ll be charging more often than some alternatives on a long drive, too.

You do at least get adaptive cruise control as standard, which maintains your speed and distance to the car in front. If you want a system that nudges the wheel to keep you centred in your lane, you’ll need to go for the top option pack called Level 3.

On a twisty road

It’s twisty roads where the Mini Cooper Electric really puts a smile on your face. It’s a heavy car, but it’s not really noticeable because it turns into a corner keenly when you turn the wheel, and there’s plenty of grip. The front wheels can scrabble a bit if you accelerate hard out of a corner, which tugs lightly on the wheel a bit like a hot hatch, which makes things a bit more fun. It’s certainly more enjoyable in corners than a Peugeot e-208 or Fiat 500 Electric. The only complaint is that stiff suspension – on particularly bumpy stretches of B-road it can cause the car to skip and fidget about.

Space in the front isn’t too bad, but the boot and rear seat space are tiny

Sitting in the front of the Mini Cooper Electric, it’s obvious you’re in a small car, but it doesn’t feel claustrophobic. Sure, the footwell around the pedals is a bit tight, but it’s easy to get a good driving position and there’s lots of adjustability in the steering wheel.

Storage isn’t terrible either, with an acceptable glovebox and door bins that will at least take a typical 500ml drinks bottle. You also get a covered bin in the centre console with a nice fabric lid, and a pair of cup holders. Ahead of this is the area for your wireless smartphone charging, which also has a pair of USB-C slots.

Space in the back seats

It’s not quite so rosy in the rear seats. Cosy is a better description. A six-footer will struggle to fit behind another six-footer, with both kneeroom and headroom particularly tight. You have to fold the front seat forward to climb in the back; this is electrically operated and just slow enough to be annoying. The Electric model doesn’t have a central seat so it’s strictly for two.

There's not much in the way of storage, with no door bins – just a mobile phone-sized slot – and a single cup holder in the middle. The windows are quite small and don’t open, either.

Unsurprisingly, fitting a child seat is a bit of a nightmare. Being a three-door, you’ll struggle to squeeze it in behind the front seats, though once it’s in it’s not too cramped so long as the person in the seat in front doesn’t mind being a bit closer to the dashboard. There are ISOFIX mounting points in the front passenger seat to make things easier.

Boot space

The Mini Cooper Electric’s impracticality continues in the boot. At 210 litres there’s not a lot of capacity – that’s just about enough for a weekly shop for a small family, but not much more – and there’s no front boot to compensate. The Fiat 500 Electric has less space at 185 litres, but another small car, the Peugeot e-208, is miles ahead with 311 litres.

At this price you could also stretch to larger cars such as the Renault Megane E-Tech and MG4 EV, which have 440 litres and 363 litres respectively.

On the plus side, there’s not a large lip to lift heavier items over, and when you fold the rear seats flat there’s no ridge, so it’s easy to push items through. You can also lift the boot floor a little, which lets you hide the parcel shelf beneath it.

Cool design and a crystal clear infotainment display are plus points, but that screen is a bit clunky to use

Cool design is obviously a priority for the Mini Cooper Electric, and this is clear on the inside perhaps even more than it is on the outside. You get sustainable fabric upholstery for the dashboard and doors, which gives it a retro-inspired yet ultra modern feel.

Build quality is generally really good, and scratchy plastics are mostly reserved for lower down in the cabin where you have to go looking for them. The steering wheel is a bit too chunky and the fabric can rub your arms if you’re wearing short sleeves, though.

The dominant feature is the circular infotainment display. It’s a crystal-clear OLED screen with lovely graphics, and various ‘experiences’ that change the menu design and the mood in the cabin, as well as throttle response in some settings.

However, it does feel a bit like a case of form over function. For example, the climate controls are always displayed in the corner, but they’re not the easiest to tap on the move, and there’s a bit of a delay in loading up each menu after you tap it. It’s no iPad, that’s for sure.

And while you do get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, they appear in a square in the centre of the circular screen, which looks a bit naff. Furthermore, if you switch to a different ‘experience’ while using phone mirroring, it switches to the main homepage, so you need to tap a button to show your maps and music again.

Still, on the plus side the Harmon Kardon sound system, available with the Level 2 upgrade, is fantastic, and highly recommended for music fans.

There are two engine and motor options available on the Mini Cooper Electric. The first is called ‘E’ and makes 184hp, with its 39.9kWh battery providing a range of up to 190 miles. The ‘SE’ gets more power at 218hp, but it also has a higher range of up to 249 miles thanks to a larger 49.2kWh battery. Real world testing of the SE indicates about 200 miles should be possible in normal driving situations.

That’s fairly comparable to other small EVs – entry level versions of the Fiat 500 Electric are cheaper, but only go up to 115 miles according to official tests, while big battery versions of the Peugeot e-208 can go up to 254 miles. If you’re shopping around the top of the Mini’s price range and want maximum miles between charges, the MG4 EV ‘Extended Range’ can go up to 323 miles.

Charging speeds are pretty low, at 75kW for the small battery and 95kW for the larger one. However, because the batteries aren't particularly big, the 10-80% fast charge should still only take around half an hour, which is a typical figure.

Being an electric car, there’s no Vehicle Excise Duty to pay, and even if you go for a top-spec version, you won’t have to pay the extra surcharge for cars priced over £40,000. You also get the lowest Benefit-in-Kind rate if you’re a company car buyer.

The latest Mini Cooper Electric hasn’t been tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP, nor have any other Mini models in recent years that could give us a hint at how it might perform. Mini is part of the BMW Group, and its cars typically perform well, which should be reassuring.

The Cooper Electric gets some useful assistance kit as standard, such as adaptive cruise control and a system that parks the car for you. It’s not too expensive to add option packs with extra tech, either. One of the most interesting features is a digital key, which lets you use your phone as a key, and you can even allocate up to 10 other keys to friends and family, allowing them to use the car.

Being a new model with new underpinnings, it’s not clear how reliable the Mini Cooper Electric will be. The brand had a pretty average result in the Driver Power ownership survey, coming 20th out of 32 manufacturers. If you’re also considering the e-208, it might interest you to know Peugeot finished a highly respectable sixth.

Mini’s standard warranty of three years is the minimum you’ll get from a car manufacturer in the UK, but this does at least come with unlimited mileage, which is better than some alternatives. MG offers an excellent seven-year warranty, though the brand came bottom of the latest Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, so this might not be enough to sway you.