MINI Cooper Electric Review 2025

Who says electric cars are soulless? The old MINI Electric was fun to drive and packed with personality, although it never sold in huge numbers – thanks partly to its limited range that would leave you stranded on a long journey. The new model – now badged the MINI Cooper Electric – addresses that from the start. Read on for our full MINI Cooper Electric review.

The entry-level MINI Cooper E comes with a relatively small battery and 190-mile official range, but many buyers are expected to go for the MINI Cooper SE. This comes with a bigger battery pack and an official range of up to 249 miles.

Now that's the ‘head’ stuff out of the way, does the new MINI Cooper Electric appeal to the heart? Well, we think it looks brilliant, while the interior is packed with fun features.

We particularly like the circular infotainment screen in the centre of the dash, while there are various immersive MINI Experience Modes available to reflect your mood.

‘Vivid’ mode, for example, will adjust the ambient lighting to match the album cover of whatever music you’re listening to. ‘Go-Kart’, meanwhile, ramps up the sportiness.

Talking of which, the MINI Cooper Electric is a lot of fun to drive. It feels more agile than any other small electric car we’ve driven, while it’s also pretty quick, too – even the MINI Cooper E can accelerate to 62mph in 7.3 seconds. That would have made it a hot hatch not so long ago.

One limitation of the new MINI Cooper Electric is that it’s only available with three doors. Access to the rear is tricky and the boot is small even by electric hatchback standards.

That’s not an oversight, though – MINI will be hoping that buyers looking for a bit more practicality will be interested in its new MINI Aceman model instead.

Prices for the new MINI Cooper Electric start from £30,000, which is pretty competitive against the likes of the MG 4 EV, Peugeot e-208 and Smart #1.

You may want to go for one of the option packs for some of the more desirable features, and that soon starts to bump up the price – but we doubt that’ll put off many MINI Cooper Electric buyers. We think it’s just the car many MINI drivers have been waiting for.

MINI Cooper Electric: Range

Is the new MINI Cooper Electric fun to drive? It certainly is – it wouldn’t be a MINI if it wasn’t. The direct steering means it feels keen to scamper from bend to bend, while our first impressions suggest it also rides pretty well for a sporty little electric car.

We’ll have to wait until we’ve driven the new MINI Cooper Electric in the UK for the final verdict on ride quality, but our initial drive on smooth Spanish tarmac suggests there’s little to worry about here.

Its brakes feel reassuringly responsive, too (not something that we’ve found with all electric cars), while there’s a separate ’B’ mode that increases the amount of regenerative braking.

This uses the electric motor to slow the car down when you lift off the accelerator – helping to increase efficiency, while (with a bit of practice) you can resort to one-pedal driving around town.

The new MINI Cooper is available in petrol or electric form. It’s the latter that we’re concentrating on here: buyers get the choice of the MINI Cooper E with an 184PS electric motor, or the MINI Cooper SE with 218PS.

Both are pretty sprightly on paper, accelerating from 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds or 6.7 seconds respectively - even the entry-level car is quicker than a GWM Ora 03 or Peugeot e-208.

We’ve driven the more powerful MINI Cooper SE and its performance certainly defies its relatively heavy kerb weight. It doesn’t feel like a hot hatch, but the no-nonsense acceleration will make light work of darting through traffic or pulling off the odd cheeky overtake.

An added quirk is found in the ’experience’ menu, which provides a soundtrack in the form of various ’engine noises’.

These are an acquired taste, although there’s no denying the sense of fun provided by a go-kart soundtrack or even one inspired by a classic 1960s Mini.

While the latest MINI Cooper hasn’t been crash-tested by Euro NCAP, we’d be surprised if it was anything other than a very safe little car.

Indeed, in MINI’s words, ’maximum fun needs maximum safety’. That’s why the Driving Assistant pack is standard across the range, with cameras and sensors acting as a second pair of eyes ready to spot potential danger and intervene if necessary.

For those sitting in the front of the MINI Cooper Electric, it actually feels like a much bigger car than it is.

That’s partly because there’s so much adjustment in the seats, but there’s also a surprising amount of headroom. It’s certainly not a diddy little city car.

It’s not quite so practical for anyone wishing to use the rear seats, however. For a start, the MINI Cooper Electric is strictly a three-door model; there are no rear doors, so even getting into the back is a bit of a mission.

Once you’re there, space is tight, and forget about carrying more than two people.

The MINI Cooper Electric’s boot can accommodate up to 210 litres of luggage below the parcel shelf. That’s enough for the weekly shop, but it’s significantly smaller than an MG4 or Mazda MX-30.

This is one area in which the MINI Cooper Electric excels. Not only does the interior look fresh and modern, it also feels like a premium car - especially compared to some of its more mainstream competitors.

You’ll find a knitted textile covering (made from recycled polyester) on the dashboard, while everything you touch feels tactile and well-finished.

A super thin, circular touchscreen display – dubbed the ‘MINI Interaction Unit’ – sits in the middle of the dashboard.

This also doubles up as a speedometer – a nod to MINIs of old – but those fitted with the Level 1 pack and above also get a handy head-up display that allows you to check your speed without taking your eyes off the road.

We like the main infotainment system. It’s easy to use, with sharp graphics and fun menu layouts all adding to the ‘premium’ vibe.

It also houses things like the heater controls – we much prefer physical buttons but, alas, that’s a battle we’re losing in 2024.

If you don’t wish to faff around with the central display, shouting ‘hey MINI!’ will awaken the intelligent personal assistant.

This can be used to perform tasks such as adjusting the climate control or skipping radio stations. It works perfectly well and MINI says it’ll even learn your routine habits – meaning it’ll automatically open a window when pulling up to a car park payment machine, for example.

The new MINI Cooper E is priced from £30,000, while the MINI Cooper SE starts from £34,500. That’s quite a lot of money on the face of it but, as you’ve probably noticed, £30,000 doesn’t go very far in the world of new electric cars.

A new Peugeot e-208, for example, currently starts from £31,600. The GWM Ora 03 is £31,995, while the sporty Abarth 500e is more than £34,000.

Of course, you can soon spend quite a lot more on a new MINI Cooper Electric. The MINI Cooper SE Sport, for example, starts from around £38,000. By the time you’ve specced metallic paint and one of the desirable option packs, you can comfortably spend more than £40,000 on an electric MINI Cooper.

How far you’ll be able to travel on a charge will depend on whether you choose the MINI Cooper E or the MINI Cooper SE. The entry-level model comes with a smaller 40.7kWh battery pack which provides an official range of up to 190 miles.

That figure will drop slightly in the real world – especially over winter or if you regularly drive with vigour. Don’t automatically write off the smaller battery model, though – if most of your journeys are less than 100 miles, it could be ideal.

For those wanting a longer range, you’ll need the MINI Cooper SE with its 54.2kWh battery pack and 249-mile range. Again, this isn’t the car for you if you actually want to travel 249 miles between charges, but it should comfortably manage 180 miles or so (depending on conditions).

On a longer journey, the MINI Cooper E can be charged at a rate of up to 75kW, while the MINI Cooper SE will take a rate of up to 95kW. This means the battery can be charged from 10% to 80% in around half an hour.

As with all electric cars, the MINI Cooper Electric will prove to be very cheap to run for company car drivers. Private buyers shouldn’t get excited about free road tax, though – that’s set to end from April 2025.

Standard equipment on all MINI Cooper Electric models include MINI experience modes, a heated steering wheel, floor mats, front armrest, two-zone air conditioning, cruise control, parking assist, a rear-view camera, navigation, front ISOFIX points and MINI’s Driving Assistant.

On top of this, there are three levels of equipment available. Level 1 is standard on MINI Cooper Electric SE and adds Comfort Access, the Exterior Mirror Package, anti-dazzle mirrors, heated front seats, extended LED lights, high beam assist, wireless charging and a head-up display.

The optional Level 2 pack builds on this with a Harman Kardon surround sound system, panoramic roof and sun protection glass. Level 3 adds Active Seat for Driver, electric seats, interior camera, Driving Assistant Plus, Parking Assistant Plus, personal eSIM and MINI navigation AR.

There are also three trim levels to consider: Classic, Exclusive and Sport.

MINI Cooper Electric Classic models come in a choice of four colour options (Midnight Black, Nanuq White, Melting Silver, and Sunnyside Yellow) and two roof colour options (body colour or Jet Black). 16-inch wheels are standard, while 17-inch alloys are available as an option. Inside, the Classic trim comes with Grey/Blue Vescin/Cloth or Black/Blue Vescin/Cloth.

The MINI Cooper Electric Exclusive is offered in four exterior colours: Midnight Black, Nanuq White, British Racing Green and Blazing Blue, along with three roof colours (body colour, Jet Black or Glazed White). 17-inch alloy wheels are standard with 18-inch available as an option. There are two interior upholstery options: Vescin Beige or Vescin Nightshade Blue.

The MINI Cooper Electric Sport model comes with four colour options (Midnight Black, Nanuq White, Chilli Red and Legend Grey) and three roof colour options (body colour, Jet Black or Chili Red). 18-inch JCW two-tone alloy wheels are standard, while the interior is finished in a Vescin/Cord combination JCW Black (dash knit in black with red accents).