Is This The Electric Mini We Actually Want?

It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the ‘new’ Mini came onto the scene. BMW’s take on a British classic mixed, and continues to mix, retro and modern with a ‘cheeky’ attitude and a charming drive. Over the years, it’s evolved to the point where ‘Mini’ isn’t simply a hatch but a brand all of its own with sporty, economical, practical, and, in the years gone by, one that looked oddly like a cycling helmet. 

2024 saw a Mini reinvention. The hatch is simply ‘Cooper,’ the lineup’s chunky Countryman SUV sits at the biggest end of the range, and, as the year faded, a new sibling arrived: the Aceman. 

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InisdeEVs: Alex Goy

What Is It?

Electric only, the Aceman fits neatly below the Countryman and snugly above the Cooper. Europe’s voracity for small SUVs is seemingly unending, and as Mini remains a manufacturer that no one seems to hate, it makes sense for the German/English firm to enter the fray so we can all buy ever more of them. 

Starting at around £31,000 (around $40,000), it’s a smidge spendier than the three-door Cooper. For your extra cash, you get rear doors, an easier-to-access cabin, a new (if slightly froggy) face, and some extra usable space. While it’s an SUV in shape, it’s not a load lugger – the trunk can fit 10.6 cubic feet of stuff with the seats up and 35.5 with them down. You also get Mini’s new rather smart cloth-clad interior look – a big ‘ol disc screen to sort infotainment, nav, CarPlay/Android Auto, your speed, and all the things you expect, with a small row of physical buttons down below to turn the car on, select gears, and choose your ‘Experiences.’ The rest of the cabin is fairly minimalist. It does look good, but it follows the lead of others in keeping costs down. Fewer physical touch points and a big central screen to do all the heavy lifting means Mini didn’t need to spend too much on the rest of the interior – saving cash for batteries. 

Photo by: InsideEVs

How Much Range Does It Have?

Short of the upcoming hot JCW Aceman, there are two versions on sale right now. The Aceman E gets a 42.5 kWh battery, 181 bhp, a 0-62 mph time of 7.9 seconds, and a top speed of 99 mph. A bit more money will net you the perkier Aceman SE, which gets a 54.2 kWh battery, 215 bhp, 0-62 mph in 7.1 seconds, and 105 mph on the top end. Mini says they’ll manage 192 and 252 miles (WLTP) on a full battery while taking up 70 and 95 kW DC charging, respectively. Those recharge speeds won’t set your world alight, but they’re enough to get you from 10-80% SOC in around 30 minutes. 

There’ll be people moaning that the range isn’t enough to immediately jump in the car and drive at breakneck speed to another continent, but this isn’t that sort of car. It’s a small family car for the city and occasional trips further afield. You could well manage a longer drive, sure, but if that’s your jam, those numbers suggest you’re better off looking elsewhere. 

Photo by: InsideEVs

How Does It Drive?

Driving both the E and SE, if you ARE part of a small family, you’ll either love it or end up being annoyed by its quirks. One such quirk? The ‘Experiences.’ Flipping a switch, fiddling with the screen, or asking the car’s excellent ‘hey Mini’ voice command system to change which one you’re in. There are eight to choose from, all of which change the look of the infotainment screen, but only three do anything meaningful to the car. The core is the standard driving mode, Go Kart is Mini-ese for sport, and Green is, well, green. Swiping through all of them is a pain, especially when so few of them have a discernible effect on the car, though if you like the aesthetics one or the other offers… who am I to begrudge you?

Photo by: InsideEVs

You can, rather helpfully, use Mini’s excellent voice assistant (represented on screen by a cartoon dog called Spike) to flip between them with relative ease—it only dropped the ball once. It’ll do more than just swap modes, taking plenty of contextual commands to change radio stations, turn up heating, and other things. The days of naff voice control are long gone. The car’s navigation software is accurate, too, though the voice used on Mini UK’s test cars is a touch down in the dumps. Poor chap sounded like he’d just caught his wife sleeping with his best mate. Cheer up, nav man! There’s plenty more fish in the sea; just don’t, y’know, navigate yourself into it in a fit of ennui. 

The E, while brisk on paper, doesn’t feel super quick. If you’re after more grunt, the SE genuinely feels more hot-hatchy thanks to its extra power. Power delivery is predictably smooth, and the car is quiet when you’re on the move. Of course, it makes wibbly, wobbly noises to match what you’re doing with the throttle, which is a nice touch and makes you feel like there’s something approaching an engine under the hood. The various drive modes play with throttle mapping in the ways you’d expect – eco is soft ‘n floppy, core feels normal, and go-kart makes things a touch more brisk. 

The Aceman E will, apparently, manage 4.2-4.4 mi/kWh, but mixed driving saw a maximum of 3.8. The perkier SE promises 4.2-4.5 m/kWh on the WLTP cycle, but I only managed 3.0. I was enjoying its power, though. 

Photo by: InsideEVs

Mini’s steering is always a highlight. It changes with the drive modes, too, but it’s never too heavy or too light and offers feedback that keen drivers would appreciate while not being so driver-focused that normal humans would find it a bit much. It’s as much fun to hurl it around as it is to gently bimble around town. 

No matter which you go for, there’s a problem that’s hard to overlook: the ride is not great. I found the SE to be slightly better than the E, but the car’s 3792-3935lb (E:SE) weight puts a hell of a stress on the springs ‘and dampers, which means every lump in the road (and in the UK there are MANY) seems to upset the car. It can get rather tiresome. That said, it’s a fun thing to throw around. Smooth power, good steering, and a strong chassis are a great combo. While it’s all-electric, it’s still very much a MINI at heart.

Early Verdict

America’s hesitance to adopt smaller cars means it’ll miss out on a charming if occasionally lumpy, little SUV. It packs all the Mini charm you’d expect into a marginally more practical and rather good-looking little package. The Aceman is, well, Ace.