Launch of new Mini Cooper EV in India in Q1 2024

The introduction of the new Mini Cooper electric hatchback, together with the new Mini Countryman, signals the beginning of a significant redesign and lineup extension for the British manufacturer as it strives to become an EV-only brand.

The new three-door electric hatchback is built on a custom EV chassis, in contrast to the previous Mini Electric, which was just an ICE to EV conversion. This was created by Spotlight Automotive, a joint venture between Great Wall Motor and BMW, the parent company of Mini.

Exterior Elegance 

Mini's new Characteristic Simplicity design language, which creative leader Oliver Heilmer described as concentrating "on the essentials of the brand," is on display in the new Cooper Electric. The Cooper Electric builds on Mini's recognisable design cues with circular headlamps that lack bezels and a new, larger-than-before octagonal front grille with blanked-out surfaces. 

The door handles now lie flush, the wheel-arch mouldings have been taken off, and the exterior is chrome-free. For a Mini-malistic design, as the company likes to refer to it, even the distinctive false air vent on the front fenders has been skipped. The tail lights at the back have undergone a thorough revamp and now feature a new triangle form with customizable internals. The blacked-out pillars give the roof a floating appearance, and in terms of measurements, the wheelbase has expanded to make room for the battery, but the total length has decreased.

Interior design and features

A spherical instrument cluster sits atop a bar of toggles in the minimalist cabin, which is reminiscent of the 1959 BMC Mini. The 9.4-inch OLED infotainment display on the curving dashboard, which is said to be the first circular one installed in a production car, is covered in knitted material. The earlier Cooper featured a circular information display casing as well, but it had a regular landscape screen. The software is the most recent Android-based operating system created by Samsung and Mini. 

The instrument cluster has been completely eliminated to keep with the minimalist style, but instead, you get a reflective screen for the head-up display in front of the steering wheel, which is also brand-new and much more streamlined than before. Additionally, the cabin has several textured surfaces that give it a unique flair. 

Range and Power

Two versions of the Cooper Electric will be offered. A basic Cooper E with an 184hp, 290Nm front-mounted engine and a 40.7kWh battery offers a stated range of 305km, which is a significant improvement over the previous Electric. 

A 54.2kWh battery gives the Cooper SE's higher-spec model 218hp and 330Nm of power, which is good for a 0-100kph speed of 6.7 seconds and a stated range of 402km. Only 95kW may be used to charge them at their quickest, with 10 to 80 per cent charging in less than 30 minutes.

Both variations will have different Mini Experience modes, including a new Go-Kart Mode, which will bring its own displays and engine characteristics. New digital driving noises are also included to go along with the different driving modes.

Notably, the new Cooper EV will coexist with a new Cooper hatchback powered by a petrol engine that will be manufactured in Oxford, but otherwise be outwardly identical and be based on the present ICE Mini chassis.