MINI Electric

Step inside the Mini Cooper SE, and you will be pleased to realize that Mini hasn’t fiddled much with the already beautiful-looking cabin layout of the Cooper. The funky-looking interior layout impresses with its colour-coded elements and is offered with three choices of upholsteries – Mini Yours lounge leather carbon black, fabric/leatherette combination black pearl, and cross punch leather carbon black.

The cabin of the Mini Cooper SE looks youthful with the rounded theme carried out for the steering wheel, full-TFT instrument console, touchscreen infotainment system’s housing, AC controls, and various buttons and controls here and there. The other interesting highlights and features of the Mini Cooper SE include toggle-like controls for various functions, a textured finish for the middle layer of the dashboard, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, and a head-up display. However, for all the positives of the cabin, the space on the inside is at a premium.

By the looks of it, the Mini Cooper SE looks exactly like its petrol-powered counterpart, barring a few minor tweaks, which successfully manage to differentiate it from the latter. On a whole, the Mini Cooper SE looks beautiful, with the neo-retro iconic design working its charm even in this all-electric avatar.

The front profile of the Mini Cooper SE consists of the same fascia with rounded edges and rounded headlamps from the ICE version of the Mini Cooper. However, here in the Cooper SE, the grille has a closed design with gloss black surrounds further making it look stylish. The rounded headlamps, which come with daytime running LEDs on their circumference, come with Matrix LED illumination. The front bumper has sleek and vertically-aligned air curtains on its edges.

The side look of the Mini Cooper SE looks exactly like the ICE version of the hatchback, save for the unique EV-specific design of the 17-inch alloy wheels. The three-door look of the Cooper SE is further garnished by contrast yellow touches on the alloy wheels, rearview mirrors, and fender chrome garnishes.

Even the rear profile of the Mini Cooper SE looks identical to that of the petrol-powered counterpart, with the all-LED tail lamps with Union Jack-inspired LED inserts and chrome surrounds. The Cooper SE also gets a gloss black finish for the pillars and rear license plate housing garnish and chrome garnish for the wraparound window waistline.

The Mini Cooper has always been known for its go-kart-like engaging handling characteristics, which have been retained for this all-electric Cooper SE too. This hatchback feels engaging to drive, and while it also gets the stiff ride quality like the ICE version of the Cooper, it is not that uncomfortable like the latter.

Powering the Mini Cooper SE is a single electric motor, which produces a maximum power output of 184 PS and a peak torque output of 270 Nm. While the Cooper SE can do 0-100 kmph in 7.3 seconds, the top speed achievable by the all-electric hatchback is 150 kmph. However, the 215 km range obtained from its 32.5 kWh battery is not up to the mark.

The Mini Cooper SE is armed with several new-age safety features and electronics, most of which are a part of the optional package available for the all-electric hatchback. The list of features includes a parking assistant with a rear view camera, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and more autonomous features.

The Mini Cooper SE might have few elements to differentiate itself from the regular Mini Cooper, but they are enough to give it a cool quotient of an all-electric car. Thankfully, all the rightful characteristics of the Mini Cooper, such as funky and youthful styling in and out, exhilarating performance, and sharp driving dynamics, are retained in the Cooper SE too.