Mini Electric review: Better than a Honda e?

In my Mini Electric review, I enjoyed a pre-lockdown day of near-silent motoring in the all-electric supermini. Read on for handling, range, performance figures, price details and my verdict.

The 2020 Mini Electric is, as you will have hopefully guessed, the fully electric version of new Mini. That means it has a battery under the car that powers the front wheels via a 181bhp electric motor.

Yes, the German interpretation of the British classic has lost its traditional combustion engine though not for the first time if you cast your mind back to the Mini E from 2008 and the hybrid Countryman from, erm, some time ago.

Apart from that, the Mini Electric (known as the Cooper SE in other countries) is basically just the three-door hatch with some minor tweaks such as a closed grille. Because there’s no petrol or diesel engine to cool anymore, remember, and the reduction in aerodynamic drag improves the range. It’s not that far from the Honda e reviewed here, but the basics first.

Mini Electric review: What’s the range?

One of the most defining elements of the Mini Electric is the 145-mile range from a 32.6kWh battery.  That’s almost half of what you get in the 2020 Kia Soul EV and the Kia e-Niro, which shares pretty much the same electric powertrain.

That’s also less than the Renault Zoe (52kWh, BMW i3 (42.2kWh), Honda e (35.5kWh), ID 3 (40kWh+), Nissan Leaf (40 to 62kWh), MG ZS EV (44.5kHw), VW e-Golf (35.2kWh) and Tesla Model 3. But, you know, it’s not as bad as the, err, Renault Twizy (6.1kWh).

There’s a sense that, like VW and the previous eGolf, Mini is on the backfoot. But realistically most people only drive a short-ish range in a day and that other areas are considerably harder to knock. But then the most basic ‘Level 1’ Mini Electric is £24k (or £300-odd a month on finance) factoring in the UK government plug-in grant, which does make it a cheap way to give EV motoring a go.

Mini Electric review: What about charging?

Also, a benefit of a smaller battery is that it takes less time to charge. 12 hours with a normal plug, not that you’d ever do that unless you’re deranged, or 3 hours and 12 minutes with a Wallbox. That you have to pay extra for. Or if you can find one of those fancy 50kW rapid chargers, then it’s a mere 36 minutes. Enough time to drain your life savings at a motorway service station.

Sadly though you cannot use AC chargers beyond 7kWh when out and about such as those 22kWh ones. So unless it’s a DC faster charger, you will be stuck at charging speeds you get from a home wallbox, which may prove restrictive on occasions.

When you’re out and about you can find a charger using the Mini Connected App, which does lots of other cool things such as pre-warming the car in the winter. Or, more conveniently, within the sat nav system that’s standard on all models.

As for a battery warranty, the Mini comes with eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever is reached sooner. There’s also no battery lease as there can be with some electric cars, which will help when it comes to selling it on.

Does it handle like a drunk pig?

The immediate impression of the Mini Electric is it retains that likeable go-kart feeling, it has pretty fast steering and it does err on the side of being a little too firm so you do feel most of the bumps through the cabin. You can certainly hear them, too.

On the flip-side, that does mean it’s quite an energetic drive. It’s quite fun when make use of the 270 Nm of torque and not that much less zippy than the John Cooper Works version.

And the numbers don’t lie. With that much torque you do get an impressive 0-62mph time of 7.3 seconds. So if you’re at the lights and you want to leave somebody behind, most cars are really going to struggle to keep up.

Highlighting that point is the 0-37mph time om the spec sheet. No idea why you would ever need to be that specific, but anyway it’s 3.9 seconds, emphasising how much instant power you get when you put your foot down. To put that into perspective, the VW eUp needs 11.3 seconds to go from standing to 62.

There are other benefits of the lithium-ion battery too, such as improving the centre of gravity and the weight balance. Both are good for driving like you stole it. Although if you do that the range will plummet into double figures.

The Mini Electric’s handling is pretty decent, it’s a very chuckable little car. Yes, fine it’s heavier and therefore it’s going to be a little less forgiving on the edge. But I was happily throwing it round bends and it gripped hard and reliably. They’re actually quite wide profile tyres.

So what’s bad about the Mini Electric?

Weirdly enough, one of the negatives of this car is that the suspension is the same as it is in the non-electrified version. This being heavier means it actually has sort of emphasised the poorer ride quality elements.

In fact, it’s 145kg heavier than a Mini Cooper S automatic at a total of 1,365kg. That’s a lot for a supermini, but only about as heavy as the average Brit when we eventually get out of lockdown. By no means a deal-breaker, but it certainly isn’t the most comfortable Mini you can buy.

Nor is it the most practical. The Mini Electric is three-door only, compared with the Zoe’s five doors. It’s also got a small boot at 211 litres compared to the Zoe’s 335, but it owns the Honda e’s 151 litres. Laughs, wow. Also, some interior space has been lost in the electrification process and there are only four seats, which apparently is a way to make passing some road compliance test easier, but kind of annoying for everyone else.

Price-wise, when you compare the Mini Electric 2020 with its competitors it is a little harder to justify. You have the Honda e, which is roundabout the same size, has the very cool interior but is quite limited in range. But the Mini Electric is, in top spec, also the same price as things that will do well over 250 miles quite happily. You’re not really that far off a very poverty spec Tesla Model 3 if you find a good finance deal.

However, this car has something about it that’s just a little bit more interesting. It does feel very solidly built, it is particularly fun to drive and you can be an EV owner discreetly, if such a thing bothers you.

What about the Mini Electric’s interior?

Inside is the classic mini aesthetic. You’ve got everything round in here, the infotainment display. Yes, fine, it’s like they’ve put a letter box in the middle of a circle and it’s a bit weird for the map itself. But in terms of other infotainment stuff it’s generally nice to look at, easy to use, it has a similar version of BMW’s iDrive control control system, complete with a rotary controller. It’s easy enough to use once you get to used to the button layout and keeps your attention on the road. Even more so if you get the head-up display.

I have to say, the interior is a big reason why you’d consider the 2020 Mini Electric or any Mini. I love the airplane style overhead switches you also get in a McLaren Senna. I love that it’s comfortable and has loads of headroom even with the wonderful, from a filming perspective anyway, panoramic roof. I love the presentation of the digital display behind the steering wheel that tells you in various ways how far you can go before it runs out of battery and you’re up shit creek without a paddle.

Refinement is another positive. Okay, so the tyres are quite wide. There is a little bit of noise coming from rolling resistance. But wind noise is low and at 70mph it was certainly quieter, I would say, than the 2020 Kia Soul EV and definitely good enough for any electric car on the market.

Running cost-wise, this thing is going to be pretty decent once you get past the initial outlay. It’s worth bearing in mind that the Government the plug-in grant by £500 to £3,000, which is reflected in the price. However, because it’s zero grams of CO2 that means you’re not paying anything in terms of car tax or Vehicle Excise Duty as it’s officially known.

If you’re a business user, the Mini Electric benefits from 0 per cent Benefit in Kind (BIK) from April and that will rise over the next couple of years to 2 per cent.

What about the trim levels and optional extras?

When it comes to speccing this car, it’s actually very easy but quite inflexible. You have three levels, 1 being the most basic and 3 being the all-singing and all-dancing. Unfortunately what that means is if you want the car with best of everything, the navigation, the Harmon Kardon system, you can’t have the lower spec and add that. You have to go for the level 3 or it’s nothing.

You do, at least, get navigation on the £24,900 Mini Electric level 1 as well as LED automatic headlights and fog lights and automatic air conditioning.

Level 2, meanwhile, costs £2,000 extra and that gives you the Mini Excitement pack with fancy interior and exterior lighting, plus a rear parking camera and Driving Assistant comprised high-beam assist, traffic sign memory and collision warning.

The level 3 car I’m in costs £33,900. For that you get that the lovely-sounding Harmon Kardon sound system, adaptive LED headlights, head-up display, panoramic roof, parking assistant for helping you parallel park and enhanced navigation that includes Apple CarPlay. But not Android Auto, I’m afraid, unlike new BMWs. And no face mask, loo roll or hand sanitiser.

That’s steep when you consider a basic Mini can be had for 1.6 million pennies, or £16,000 if you prefer. But then if you recharge at home at night using off-peak electricity, you could be paying as little as 4 pence per mile and £5.31 for a full tank, I mean, charge.

Fun fact: One of the two-tone 17-inch alloy wheel options is called Corona. Don’t worry, they’re not dangerous.

Should I buy one, then?

Despite some reservations, I will say the Mini Electric feels like one of the more exciting electric cars to drive, I like how it looks, I like how it feels. I like that it feels quality.

It definitely tries hard enough to justify the fact that it isn’t the cheapest electric car to buy. If you love the Mini and you can afford this thing and want to be a little greener, it’s going to be hard to resist.

However, those more anxious about driving range and overall practicality are better off looking elsewhere, such as something from from Kia or, if the budget allows, something from Tesla.

But a Mini is a Mini. A Mini is cool. If there is a good way to get people into an electric car this has to be one of the most compelling. Even with those oddly-named corona wheels.