Mini Cooper 2023 review: SE Electric

The Mini Cooper SE costs from $55,650 before on-roads (MSRP) for the base Classic trim, and our car in the higher ‘Yours’ aesthetic trim package actually wears an even higher price-tag of $63,475. Topping off the range is the limited-edition Resolute trim, which wears a starting price of $63,825 - it is only available in the ‘Rebel Green’ colour scheme with an off-white roof.

There’s no getting around the fact that’s a lot of cash for a three-door hatch. Even hot hatches in this size-category are significantly cheaper.

But in the EV space it doesn’t look so bad when lined up against the Mazda MX-30, which has a similar range, or this car’s outgoing BMW i3 cousin which cost a whopping $71,900 before it was discontinued in 2021.

However, range is a weakness. With a 233km range, the Mini is essentially confined to city limits, while for a significantly lower MSRP you can be hopping in a trendy Tesla Model 3 or stylish Polestar 2 which both offer north of 450km of driving range – enough for most inter-city trips.

I suspect the intention is for this Mini to be best kept as a second car for darting around town in a fuel-free manner and not as a primary mode of transport. Even so, the pricing makes it a tall order for a niche customer.

Regardless, the standard equipment is decent, as the now ageing third-generation Mini has been significantly augmented with better tech over time.

This version comes with 17-inch ‘Tentacle’ alloy wheels. (Image: Tom White)

This version comes with 17-inch ‘Tentacle’ alloy wheels (I like these a LOT more than the dorky standard ‘Power’ wheels on the electric version), leather ‘lounge’ seats with a leather steering wheel, an 8.8-inch widescreen multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto), a wireless phone charger in the fold-down armrest, digital radio and built-in sat-nav, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control (feels overkill for such a small cabin), and a heat pump (helps regulate the battery temp and support the car’s electrical features).

Featuring a 8.8-inch widescreen multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay. (Image: Tom White)

There’s also a head-up display and a quaint 5.5-inch digital instrument cluster to support the driver. All Minis get LED headlights and tail-lights, complete with the Union Jack pattern, which is either a fun attention-to-detail piece or dangerously close to Austin Powers levels of self-parody, depending on who you ask.

What do you miss out on? Not much. The seats are manual adjust which is rare at such a tall price, but otherwise there’s a decent active safety suite, and Mini even throws in a Type 2 to Type 2 public charging cable as well as the standard wall socket version.

There are more good things to say on the topic of charging, too, but we’ll leave that for the relevant part of this review.

Does anyone buy a car called a Mini for practicality? I hope not. How does this little hatch line up with the segment or the EV market, though?

The answer is still not well. Even compared with design-led cars like Mazda’s MX-30, the Mini is smaller again, having hardly any boot space (211 litres to be precise) and only four seats. Even then, the rear two seats are difficult to access and no good for adults.

There’s a handy space under the boot floor for charging gear, although as the Cooper uses run-flat tyres, there’s no spare.

The Mini has hardly any boot space. (Image: Tom White)

It is worth noting this electric version doesn’t actually lose any room compared to the standard combustion variants.

As driver-focused as this little car might be, it’s hardly a better story up front, as the Cooper SE trades away practicality to stay true to its retro design.

The Mini holds 211 litres to be precise. (Image: Tom White)

The driver's seat is comfy, low, and sporty, clasping your sides nicely and I like the trim a lot. But, as mentioned the space feels quite claustrophobic due to the proximity of the A-pillars and up-close dash features.

Functionally, the dash layout is a little awkward, with the small digital instrument display being partially obscured by the wheel in my driving position. The exaggerated centre screen panel and other trimmings feel as though they close in what little space is available, particularly if you’re tall and have knees.

The rear two seats are difficult to access. (Image: Tom White)

There’s hardly any cabin storage on offer, either, with a small wireless charging bay in the armrest console, a tiny bay below that for loose objects, two small cupholders with another small bin in front of the shifter, and tiny pockets in the doors.

To make things worse, the two-door Cooper design has enormous doors, making it hard to slide in and out of in tight parking spots. Ironic given how easy it is to park this compact car in the first place.

This electric Mini takes the best bits from BMW’s late i3 hatch, and one of those is its electric motor. With 135kW/270Nm on tap, it’s a punchy little thing, and in a package this small it feels energetic.

There’s a single-speed transmission with an integrated front differential, and this version of the Cooper will sprint from 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds.

The motor also uses a particularly aggressive regenerative braking profile, which is strong by default but can be adjusted down by the driver.

This Mini has 135kW/270Nm on tap. (Image: Tom White)

It can also make use of an array of drive modes: 'Sport', 'Normal', 'Green', and 'Green+' (which maxes out regen and won’t let you use the air-con!).

I spent the majority of my time in the car using Green or Normal modes, with a stint in Sport. It was nice that each mode seemed to give the steering and accelerator response a distinct but not overtly artificial character.

The Cooper SE draws its power from a 32.6kWh Lithium-ion battery pack, one of the smallest of any mass-market EV on sale today.

This grants it an official combined cycle range of 233km on the realistic WLTP testing protocol, but you can expect a real-world range of around 200km. My car was reporting around 180km at 100 per cent charge.

It has an official combined cycle range of 233km. (Image: Tom White)

The WLTP-rated energy consumption for the SE is 16.8kWh/100km, and I saw 14.0kWh/100km. That's better than the 16kWh/100km I’m getting from my MX-30 electric long-termer, but still not as adept as the smaller Hyundai electric offerings.

I drove it around with regen maxed out aside from a stint on some back roads in Sport mode which dials it back a little. As the battery is very small, expect every little change in road conditions or regen usage to have a bigger effect on the range remaining.

The Cooper SE has a single European-standard Type 2 CCS charging port on the rear driver’s side. For a car with such a small battery, the Cooper charges very fast which helps make it more convenient to use.

On the slower but more readily-available AC chargers it will charge at a max rate of 11kW which will see a charge time somewhere in the range of three and a half hours, while on a fast DC charger it will get to 80 per cent charge from 10 per cent in 36 minutes.

AC chargers it will charge at a max rate of 11kW. (Image: Tom White)

The 11kW AC inverter is particularly welcome, as with a battery this small, it means you can realistically rely entirely on AC charging which is an increasingly common feature of council parking locations.

No other car with a battery this small offers AC charging this fast, and it’s convenient to avoid the need to seek out a DC charger for a full juice every once in a while.

Mini, like its BMW parent, persists with an off-the-pace three-year and unlimited kilometre warranty promise. This includes roadside assist, and the battery components are covered by a separate industry-standard eight-year and 160,000km warranty.

Minis have ‘condition-based servicing’ whereby the car will decide when to send you back to the workshop, so intervals could be variable.

The Mini has a three year/unlimited kilometre warranty promise. (Image: Tom White)

A ‘basic cover’ service program will set you back just $940 for four years, or $1280 for six years, which includes a vehicle check, fluids, and an air conditioning filter.

The more comprehensive ‘Plus Cover’ which has location-based pricing will also include brake pads and discs and wiper blade replacements where required.