Review: Mini Cooper SE Prototype

Only, you can’t usually realise that potential unless you begin with a clean-sheet design. BMW’s first experiments with an electric Mini underlined that – the 600-unit Mini E of 2008 lost its rear seats, much of its boot space and gained 300kg in the transformation from petrol power.

Lessons learned informed development of the BMW i3, but BMW didn’t have an electric Mini in its product plan when the latest generation surfaced in 2013. EV technology has improved in such bounds that even the engineers say they didn’t quite expect it, but now the i3 is repaying the favour by donating its vital (electric) organs to a proper series-production electric Mini.

It’s called the Mini Cooper SE, partly because that name helps disguise the inevitably higher price of EVs (it’s estimated to be around £29k before the government grant), but also because power and torque is comparable at around 181bhp and 199lb ft, and Mini is confident it’s fun enough to honour that billing.

After chucking it through a series of cones, we’re inclined to agree: a Cooper S’s perky acceleration, direct steering and fleet-footed agility all remain intact.

This time, there are minimal changes to the bodyshell, and no deterioration of interior or luggage space – it’ll even come off the same production line as all the other Minis at Plant Oxford.

The electric motor and power electronics usually found at the rear of the i3 S – the sportiest i3 – are rotated through 90 degrees and slotted under the Mini’s bonnet to drive the front wheels. The battery is most comparable to the 94Ah square slab of lithium-ion mounted under the regular 2017 i3 (newer models get 120Ah) but here it’s rated at 92Ah and a bit smaller because it’s arranged in a T-shape across the rear axle and along the floorpan’s spine.

An 80% charge takes 40 minutes on relatively uncommon 50kW DC chargers, three hours on more numerous 11.2kW AC chargers, or 12 hours to fully charge on a three-pin domestic socket.

The stats don’t set your pulse racing, with an estimated 7-8sec 0-62mph time and a circa 90mph top end. Standing-start acceleration feels generous enough, but it’s the mid-range that’s far more exciting, with an eager rush the millisecond you plant the throttle. Re-generative braking requires acclimatisation – lifting the throttle is like braking – but you can soften it for a more natural-feeling coast, at the expense of returning less energy to the battery.

The Cooper SE really comes into its own through tight hairpins – stamp on the throttle and there’s so much torque that understeer and wheelspin would seem inevitable in a petrol Cooper S, yet somehow its electric sibling claws forward and sticks to its line, like an aggressive limited-slip diff and expert traction control conspiring in dynamic witchcraft. Here, the steering becomes the weakest link – it’s quick-witted if over-heavy in normal driving, then lumpily loads up and tugs about under hard acceleration through hairpins. Hopefully they’ll sort it for production.

The weight balance and suspension are quite different from petrol Minis. At 1,350kg, the electric version carries 120kg of ballast over a Cooper S auto, with comparable weight over the nose and more at the back – weight distribution shifts from a petrol’s 60/40 to 54/46 front-to-rear. The suspension is retuned to maintain a Cooper S feel despite changed physics, and also raised ‘1-2cm’ to give the battery more clearance, yet the low-slung mass actually improves the centre of gravity. 

The result is big grins through direction changes, the Cooper SE feeling wide, low and short, with a grippy front end and a rear that dances like a pro skier acing a slalom. The Cooper character definitely lives on in the electric era.

The big question mark relates to the range, which is awaiting homologation. What’s clear is it will fall significantly below the 146-158 miles offered by the most comparable BMW i3, which is 105kg lighter. Let’s hope it’s not by too much – and that this time there’s a hotter electric John Cooper Works in the product plan.

Stat attack 

Price: £29,000 (estimated)

Powertrain: Electric motor

Power/torque: 181bhp, 199lb ft (estimated, based on BMW i3 S)

0-62mph: 7-8 seconds (estimated)

Top speed: 90mph (estimated)

Kerb weight: 1,350kg