$11,000 price hack! But MINI Cooper E still can’t match the BYD Dolphin, MG4 and GWM Ora on dollars

April 2, 2024April 3, 2024 John Mahoney 11320 Views Cooper, E, ev, Mini, SE

MINI Australia has announced that when it introduces the all-new next-generation electric MINI it will be priced from an incredible $10,895 less than the current generation of the all-electric hatch.

Set to arrive this September, the MINI electric will now be priced from $53,990 – $10,985 less than the outgoing Cooper SE MINI Yours. Meanwhile the new flagship Cooper SE Flavoured will cost $58,990, around $5895 less than the old single-model line-up.

As impressive as that is, the electric MINI is still more expensive than the similarly-sized entry-level EVs from China, the BYD Dolphin, MG4 and GWM Ora.

Like before, just a three-door version will be initially offered but, unusually, the battery-powered version of the British hatch will share just its looks with the combustion powered version because it is based on a dedicated electric car platform that was co-developed by MINI and Chinese car-maker GWM.

That means electric MINI production moves from Oxford in the UK to a new factory in China.

Powering the entry-level Cooper E is a front-mounted electric motor that produces 135kW and 290Nm of torque that provides for a brisk 0-100km/h dash of 7.3 seconds, while a 40.7kWh battery sees the cheapest zero-emission MINI travel up to 305km on a charge according to the WLTP test cycle.

Pay $5000 more for the Cooper SE and power and torque step up to 160kW and 330Nm, generating a 0-100km/h dash in 6.7 seconds. Thanks to a larger 54.2kWh battery MINI claims its flagship EV hatch covers up to 402km (WLTP-verified) before it needs a top-up.

As you might hope in the fast-paced world of EVs both models have a significant improvement in range over the old 135kW/279Nm Cooper SE that featured a much smaller 32.6kWh battery and managed only 233km on a single charge.

Charging speeds have also been bettered with the new Cooper E capable of a 75kW DC recharge for a 28-minutes 0-80 per cent top-up, while the Cooper SE’s battery can be replenished at up to 95kW, with a 0-80 per cent charge taking 30 mins for the bigger battery.

When using a standard domestic 11kW AC charger, the Cooper E takes 4.5 hours for a 0-80 per cent charge, while the Cooper SE takes around five hours and 15 minutes.

As well as a better range and fractional faster charging speeds another benefit of the new platform is space – there’s an additional 69-litres of boot space available, although a 210-litre boot (800L with the rear seats dropped) is still on the small size.

Like the rest of the MINI hatch range the cabin is dominated by a 9.5-inch OLED infotainment screen that also acts as an instrument panel that can be customised with up to seven different modes.

To help compensate for the lack of instrument panel there’s a standard head-up display that is also said to cut driver distraction.

The new system follows the trend of incorporating an onboard virtual assistant and also works with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

As standard the Cooper E and Cooper SE comes with the Driving Assistant Plus pack that adds adaptive cruise, lane change warning, blind spot detection, rear crossing traffic warning and 360-degree cameras. There’s also auto-parking.

The Cooper E also comes with 18-inch rims, sports seats, a panoramic roof, six-speaker sound system and augmented reality-enhanced sat nav.

Opt for the Cooper SE and you add a 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, you get sportier John Cooper Works seats, a sports steering wheel and special silver exterior highlights.