Mini Electric Resolute the next step towards British brand’s 2030 EV-only future
Mini is planning big things for its Electric Hatch as the brand heads towards its all-EV future in 2030.
From 2023 the brand will start offering extensive customisation options on its Electric Hatch, which continues to enjoy solid sales.
And the company believes the early EV interest it has experienced will surge as buyers continue to show interest in electric.
In 2021 the EV Mini Hatch accounted for 291 sales in Australia, accounting for almost 16 percent of the model’s overall sales.
In 2022 that share has jumped to 41 percent for the first seven months of the year, with the Mini Electric Hatch now accounting for 11 percent of the brand’s overall volume.
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“It’s the most popular (drivetrain) of that (Hatch) shape,” says Mini Australia head of product James Orlov, who says he is asking head office for a greater supply of EVs.
“We keep asking for them. We see opportunity in our markets,” he says.
“The trend is certainly that customers who are interested in that three-door shape they’re clearly interested and open to electric.”
The Mini Resolute
Adding to the interest is the arrival of the limited-edition Mini Electric Resolute.
It shares the same body and drivetrain as other Mini Electrics, but gets design and trim changes.
The most obvious is the Rebel Green paint and black multi-spoke wheels.
There are also stripes, Resolute badges and interior trim tweaks to give it some added visual spice.
While Mini is shifting away from leather over the next few years, the Resolute comes with a classic lounge-inspired trim.
Pricing on the Resolute is $63,000 before on-road costs, compared with $55,650 for the Electric SE Classic and $62,825 for the Electric SE Yours.
At that price, it means the full Mini Electric family has access to the EV rebates offered in most part of Australia. For most that means a rebate of $3000 (sometimes more), depending on where you live.
City over country
Nothing changes with the electrics of the limited edition Resolute.
It’s an EV that shoehorns its electrics into the existing ICE space of the Mini Hatch, albeit done pretty elegantly.
There’s a single electric motor making 135kW and 270Nm and driving the front wheels.
And it’s powered by a 32.6kWh battery that’s claimed to give 233km of range – or 203km using the more realistic WLTP standard.
That number is optimistic; we found something like 180km is closer to the real-world range expectations.
Clearly it’s not an EV you’re going to tear around the country in.
Then again, many Minis find themselves confined to the city anyway, at which point the shorter range is much less of an issue.
Of course, it helps if you’ve got off-street parking to charge.
Speaking of which, the Mini Electric can charge at up to 50kW using a public DC plug, which Mini says is enough to get the battery to 80 percent in 36 minutes.
Home charging can be done at up to 11kW, for a full charge in around three hours.
The relatively modest capacity of the battery also means many buyers can get away with just using the supplied 230V charger that plugs into a regular powerpoint. It’ll do a full top-up in about 15 hours. As well as the home charger, Mini also supplied a Type 2 to Type 2 cable to take advantage of public AC chargers that don’t have a cable attached.
No shortage of fun factor
Sure, Minis have a premium price, but they also pay back with driving fun factor.
If anything, that’s ramped up in the Mini Electric, albeit unchanged in this Resolute model.
There’s a choice of drive modes, the Green and Green+ dulling things slightly.
The Mid setup works nicely for everyday zipping around, or you can sharpen the throttle response by selecting Sport, which also adds some meat to the steering. There are two levels of braking regeneration, too, with the more aggressive activating the brake lights even if you don’t press the pedal.
In typical Mini coolness the additional electronic controls are nicely integrated into the retro infused cabin.
Those drive modes and regen, for example, are selected by classic toggle switches, and the whole flavour of a regular Mini remains, right down to its circular infotainment screen that dominates the dash.
There’s no shortage of straight-line pull, either, the Mini Electric putting its generous torque to good use when you push the accelerator.
And the steering is super direct, quickly responding to any twirl of the wheel.
All of which adds up to an EV that delivers on fun, while still having Mini restrictions (only two doors, compact boot, etc).
And it comes at a sensible price considering its EV range restrictions.
More to come from Mini
Of course, limited edition versions of Minis first EV are not big news in the scheme of things for a brand with lots planned over the next few years.
Mini’s EV journey soon gets a lot more serious.
The Aceman concept is proof of that.
The crossover is built on a bespoke EV architecture and promises some funky finishes and materials. It’s officially a concept, but a close-to-concept production car is in the works.
While Mini will continue to build petrol engine vehicles for years to come, it’s the EVs that will increasingly hog the spotlight as the brand heads towards an EV-only future.
