Just like the original MINI changed the way people thought about small cars back in the ‘60s, the Mini Electric could change the way you think about electric cars today. Here is a detailed Mini Electric review you should read to know more about this car.
Contents
Mini Electric Review
1. Performance and drive
One of the great things about electric cars is that they have just one gear, meaning seamless acceleration is on tap the instant you squeeze the accelerator pedal. And it’s this that makes the Mini Electric feel even nippier than it is.
How so? Well, although its official 0-62mph time of 7.3sec means it’s much faster than its electric rivals the Renault Zoe, Honda E, and Peugeot e-208, it feels even quicker than the petrol-powered Mini Cooper S.
Like all-electric cars, when you lift off the accelerator pedal the energy of the Mini harvest that would otherwise be lost to feedback into its battery This process, known as regenerative braking, is fairly aggressive in the Mini, causing the car to slow down quite quickly. You can reduce the effect if you want by pressing a button on the dashboard, but annoyingly you’ll need to do this every you switch the car off and back on again.
There’s also a choice of four driving modes: Sport, Mid, Green, and Green Plus. As their names suggest, Sport sharpens up the accelerator response and gives you more of that instantly responsive electric-car feel, while Green requires you to push the accelerator pedal much harder for a good burst of acceleration, encouraging you to drive more gently.
The Mini is relatively agile by electric car standards, feeling darty and changing direction without much body lean. It certainly feels sportier than a Renault Zoe or a Peugeot e-208.
Ride comfort isn’t a Mini Electric strength, either. It jostles you around along beaten-up urban backstreets and even relatively smooth-looking motorways.
2. Interior
The Mini cockpit is dating hard now – the top-spec 8.8-inch oblong screen looks absurdly obtuse shoehorned into the circle motif that used to house a speedo. Though the screen itself is a joy to use, the caricature design is starting to grate.
But at least we’ve still got tactile, physical climate controls instead of a touchscreen sub-menu. The toggle switches still look charming even if they’re a little fiddly to use, and the new screen behind the steering wheel showing speed, charge, range and trip data is a huge improvement on the previous do-it-all dial.
Mini is at pains to point out the battery has been housed deep in the chassis where it can’t impinge on the boot volume, which remains 211 litres. That’s on the small side for a supermini, but splits the likes of the Honda e (151 litres) and the Renault Zoe (335 litres). Both of those rivals are five-doors too, while the mini is stubbornly a three-door.
As ever, the driving position is low, straight-legged, the steering wheel telescopes plenty from the dash, and overall, the driving position is superb. There’s a useful bevy of stowage in the door pockets, under the charging sockets and in the armrest. It’s all very well put-together too, certainly more expensive-feeling than say, a Renault Zoe or conventionally-fuelled Audi A1.
3. Range, Charging, and Battery Life
In the next part of the Mini Electric review, we will refer to its range, charging and battery life. The 2021 Mini Electric has an estimated driving range of 110 miles on a full charge, which is significantly shorter than what alternatives such as the Chevy Bolt EV and Nissan Leaf can cover. Mini says the car’s 32.6-kWh battery can be fast-charged to 80 per cent in 35 minutes. If you’re using home AC charging at 7.4 kilowatts, you can completely restore the battery in four hours. The little hatchback’s two-mode regenerative braking system also helps to maximize battery charge.
4. Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG
The EPA estimates the 2021 Mini Electric has a combined MPGe rating of 108. For comparison, the Bolt EV is rated at 118 MPGe combined and the Leaf, 111 MPGe combined. However, we won’t be able to confirm Mini’s government estimate until we can test its range in the real world.
In conclusion, this is the full Mini Electric review for you. Hoping that you find this post useful when deciding to choose a good electric car.
