CARS OF THE WORLD

Mini Cooper SE 2021.

Electric Mini Cooper SE: production version.
The first electric Mini’s journey to the assembly line took ten years. Back in 2009, the firm produced 600 prototypes with 204 hp electric motors. based on the previous generation hatchback.

The vehicles were handed over to the drivers selected by the company for testing in real-life conditions. The result was disastrous — the project was closed.

However, in our time of environmental persecution, an electric car in the range cannot be dispensed with. Therefore, the new electro-Mini was again talked about in 2017: the company presented the conceptual Mini Electric at the Frankfurt Motor Show. And now the serial version has arrived.

The electric Mini Cooper SE, just unveiled at a special event in Rotterdam, is powered by the same 184-horsepower engine that powers the BMW i3s.

By the way, the name Cooper SE appears only in company documents. On the cars, the usual nameplate «Cooper S» plus yellow circles with a stylized letter E flaunts: the British thus hint at the power-to-weight ratio of an electric car, comparable to a gasoline 192-horsepower hatchback.

However, from the technical data, only the power and acceleration time to 100 km / h are similar: for the electric Mini this exercise takes 7.3 seconds, which is 0.6 seconds slower than for the petrol version with «automatic».

The maximum speed of the «train» is limited to 150 km / h (against 233 km / h). And the mileage per charge according to the passport is from 235 to 270 km.

After all, the T-shaped battery located under the floor has a capacity of only 32.6 kWh — even slightly less than that of the base BMW i3 (33.2 kWh), not to mention the top-end BMW i3s (42.2 kWh).

However, the British reasonably believe that customers will not buy the Mini Cooper SE as the only car, and such indicators are quite enough for city trips.

But the smaller battery has led to a relatively low price: taking into account the government subsidy of 3,500 pounds for the car asking for 24,400 pounds.

For comparison: even the simplest BMW i3 costs at least 35,350 pounds in the UK, and the Japanese are going to ask about 30 thousand for a tiny electric hatchback Honda e (150 hp, 200 km per charge).

True, the petrol Mini Cooper S at home is estimated at a little less than £ 21,000, and the simplest Mini One costs £ 16,195 at all.

But the Mini Cooper SE is richer. Even «in the base» the machine has dual-zone climate control, a navigator and a virtual dashboard.

In addition, the electric car is equipped with a new high-speed dynamic stabilization system, a selector for selecting one of four driving modes and a toggle switch for changing the recuperation mode.

And, of course, the electric Mini has its own decorations (a plug instead of a radiator grille, wheels) and an individualization program.

Even the basic car is offered in gray or silver with yellow decorative elements, and the range increases as the trim level rises.

Curiously, the acceptance of pre-orders for the Mini Cooper SE in some European countries was opened a couple of months ago.

Full orders can be placed from today, but the machines themselves will have to wait: production at the headquarters in Oxford will begin in late fall, with deliveries scheduled for March 2020.

By the way, at the same time, the production of an electric Mini is planned at the facilities of a joint venture between BMW and Great Wall in China.

However, those machines will be at least half local and may differ in performance. There are no plans to export Chinese Mini.