- 2 hours ago
The electric MINI Cooper SE J01 turns out to be the surprise star here, and not just because it’s quicker and more refined than expected. This review compares the new fourth-generation MINI Cooper EV with the petrol Cooper S, covering design changes, cabin differences, boot space, charging, range, and real-world driving impressions.
The J01 model is made with Great Wall Motor and shares its platform with the MINI Aceman EV, while the petrol Cooper still uses BMW’s UKL1 base. On the road, the Cooper SE feels more compliant than the Cooper S, with sharp steering, lively front-wheel-drive handling, and strong summer efficiency. The video also looks at the new MINI OS9 infotainment system, rear-seat practicality, panoramic roof differences, and why the electric version may actually make more sense than the ICE model.
If you’re searching for a MINI Cooper SE review, MINI Cooper J01 test drive, electric hatchback comparison, or a compact EV driving review, this video covers the key details. It’s useful for anyone researching MINI Cooper electric range, Cooper S vs Cooper SE, small electric car buying advice, or real-world EV ownership and pricing.
The J01 model is made with Great Wall Motor and shares its platform with the MINI Aceman EV, while the petrol Cooper still uses BMW’s UKL1 base. On the road, the Cooper SE feels more compliant than the Cooper S, with sharp steering, lively front-wheel-drive handling, and strong summer efficiency. The video also looks at the new MINI OS9 infotainment system, rear-seat practicality, panoramic roof differences, and why the electric version may actually make more sense than the ICE model.
If you’re searching for a MINI Cooper SE review, MINI Cooper J01 test drive, electric hatchback comparison, or a compact EV driving review, this video covers the key details. It’s useful for anyone researching MINI Cooper electric range, Cooper S vs Cooper SE, small electric car buying advice, or real-world EV ownership and pricing.
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00:00by 2030 mini is supposed to become an all-electric brand for now it is offering electric variants of
00:06most of its models today i'm reviewing the electric mini cooper s e now i have driven the ice version
00:13called the cooper s and either mini has made a conscious decision to make the dinosaur juice
00:17model inferior or the electric mini is really better bear with me i'll explain
00:54so
01:26let's start with the naming scheme for three generations the smallest mini was just called
01:31the hatch and the engine variants were called one cooper cooper s etc now the small mini is simply
01:38called the cooper cooper c is the base engine variant cooper s is the more powerful version
01:44with the john cooper works coming soon or is already here if you're watching this in the future
01:49evs are called cooper e cooper se and at the 2024 goodwood festival of speed mini launched the cooper
01:57john cooper works e concept which means it's coming soon or is already here if you're watching this in
02:03the future today i'm reviewing the cooper se in jcw trim which is something like the bmw's m sport
02:09package or audi's s line this is the fourth generation of the cooper mini formerly known as the hatch under
02:18bmw's wings the internal combustion engine variant has the f65 code for the three door and f66 for the
02:25five door both are still made on the uk l1 platform and if not for the interior which we'll talk
02:31about in
02:31a moment one could say this is just another facelift external dimensions are virtually the same like in
02:38the previous generation the electric cooper has the internal code j01 and it's made in cooperation with
02:44china's great wall motor it shares its platform with the aceman electric b crossover the cooper and
02:51the cooper e have similar dimensions with the electric model featuring a three centimeter longer wheelbase
02:56and being almost a centimeter higher than its ice counterpart in the previous generation the s e was
03:02three centimeters higher than the regular model to conceal the thicker floor where the batteries were
03:07located the f56 cooper has a new front and a new rear but the middle is pretty much the same
03:14as the f56
03:16now the j01 has flattened sides it also lost the plastic cladding around the wheel arches and the sills
03:24which is masked well by the dark paint on this test unit another difference are the flush door handles
03:31which are straight out of a bmw and now i prefer the older refrigerator style handles i'm sure these are
03:37better for aerodynamics and protecting drivers from those killer bicycle or is it the other way
03:51i don't think anyone buys the cooper for its boot capacity it's now 210 instead of 211 liters the ice
03:59this variant allows you to drop the floor a notch the ev doesn't both test cars had the optional harman
04:05kardon
04:05audio system but for some reason the se has this subwoofer thingy occupying half the space under the floor
04:12while the s doesn't on the plus side both variants accommodate the parcel shelf under the floor in the ev
04:20i even managed to fit the shelf as well as the type 2 charging cable because the granny charger brick
04:25would never fit
04:28it rear headroom is fine legroom is acceptable as long as the driver isn't much taller than me i'm 175
04:34centimeters tall both coopers are homologated to seat four people but the backrest splits 40 60. there is
04:42no center armrest and the only cup holder is on the back end of the center console the electric cooper
04:49features
04:49a special vent in the front designed to blow air towards the rear seats it's not on the petrol model
04:56the petrol model also doesn't have cubbies on the sides of the rear seat where one could put a small
05:02bottle of water another difference is in the panoramic roof the petrol cooper has an opening roof but it's
05:09divided into two parts the electric model has a one-piece panoramic roof which doesn't open
05:16the new generation mini cockpit is a completely new concept i have a separate episode discussing it
05:22and the new mini os9 infotainment system link on this on the screen somewhere around here and in
05:28the description now the long story short there is only a heads-up display in front of the driver and
05:33most of the settings are accessed through the 24 centimeter round screen on the center console there are
05:40also a couple of buttons the system is intuitive but not perfect for example it crashed when i was
05:47adding myself as a car user on the positive side the most important settings can be accessed via
05:53physical buttons because there are some left the new infotainment system also gives us access to
05:58navigation with augmented reality a reversing assistant which follows its own tracks or a parking
06:04system which allows you to store parking maneuvers in several locations the features like this
06:10debuted on top bmw models just a couple of years ago now the app mini app finally connects to the
06:17car
06:17mostly quick enough to be useful like so that i could turn the ac remotely on hot days and i
06:24used that
06:24a couple of times but later i couldn't get charging status to update so it's a mixed bag there are
06:32some
06:32differences between the cockpit of the ice and the ev variant that's mainly the lower part of the center
06:38console in the ice models it seems a bit more enclosed but that's rather because of the way the
06:44phone cradle is located the ice version also has a large central armrest while the ev model gets a
06:51smaller armrest attached to the driver's seat both variants feature cup holders too big for european
06:57sized drinks i hope many will sell some accessory insert to make them usable for regular bottles and
07:03cans other differences are in the doors the ice version has tight spaces to fit bottles while the ev
07:11door pockets aren't designed for it i have an older mini with the previous generation controls so i'm used
07:17to starting the car with a press of a toggle switch here you twist something that resembles a key while
07:23the
07:23toggles are for the gear selector and drive modes
07:43as i'm recording this in the late summer of 2024 the internal combustion engine range is a 1.5 liter
07:49156
07:50horsepower cooper c and the 2 liter 204 horsepower cooper s the ev powertrain choices are a 184 horsepower
07:59cooper e with 36.6 kilowatt hour battery and a 218 horsepower cooper se with a 49.2 kilowatt hour
08:07battery the john cooper works variants are in the works and at the time of recording i don't know their
08:18parameters i drove the internal combustion engine cooper s which should accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers
08:24per hour in 6.6 seconds and this is what i got in mini's core mode which is normal and
08:30i got 6.5 seconds
08:32in go-kart mode which is the sport mode i couldn't find launch control perhaps it's reserved for the john
08:38cooper works variant i have a feeling the go-kart mode manifests itself mainly by pumping more fake
08:45engine noise into the cabin i disable mini sound anyway because i don't like it and yes the sport
08:50mode keeps the car in lower gear but i can achieve a similar effect in core mode by switching into
08:55l mode
08:56probably for low that also keeps the car in lower gear so i don't have to wait for the kickdown
09:02and for the turbo to spool up minis keeping the emissions low any way it can claimed fuel economy of
09:106.2 liters per 100 kilometers combined is not far off from the mark i was averaging high 6 but
09:16i was a
09:17bit naughty behind the wheel 15 years ago i'd give up a lot for a cooper s but nowadays the
09:24ride's too
09:25harsh for my fat butt also the classic trim seats don't have lumber support adjustment it's a shame
09:31because i love the upholstery on the plus side soundproofing is miles better than in the previous
09:37generation after a few days driving the cooper s i didn't expect much from the cooper se but i was
09:48pleasantly surprised like the previous gen the electric model has a more compliant ride than its
09:53ice counterpart i guess it's something to do with masking the cooper se's heft at 1680 kilograms it's
10:01over 300 kilos more than the petrol model and the old generation se
10:10the cooper se should accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.7 seconds but i got 6
10:16.3 seconds
10:16both in core and go-kart modes again go-kart mode feels more about fake sounds which i turned off
10:22again
10:23i don't like them especially in an ev when taking off quickly the cooper se fights for grip after all
10:31this is a front-wheel drive car there are some funny squeals from the tires as the traction control
10:35allows a bit of slip to keep the momentum the top speed is electronically governed at 170 kilometers per
10:41hour taking into account this car's use case scenario i think it's enough i'll elaborate in a moment
10:50the cooper e has a battery not much bigger than in the previous generation and therefore similarly
10:57modest range of around 300 kilometers however the cooper se with a bigger battery has a range of around
11:06400 kilometers now during the summer it feels like a realistic claim as long as you're not speeding down the
11:12motorway driving outside the city with some dual carriageway sections and some b roads i saw below
11:1913 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers now it was a hot day so the ac was working overtime
11:29around town the cooper se used around 15 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers and on fast motorway section
11:35above 20 kilowatt hours so with the traction battery capacity of just below 50 kilowatt hours
11:41you're going to get around 400 kilometers of moderate speed extra urban driving more than 300 kilometers
11:48around town and 200 250 on the dual carriageway i imagine your mileage will drop 15 to 20 percent during
11:56the winter months mini gets 11 kilowatt ac charging in 95 kilowatt dc charging so five hours to full at
12:03home
12:03or 10 to 80 percent on a dc charger in about half an hour
12:10the cooper se is great to drive on twisty roads the go-kart handling that many advertises isn't curbed
12:18by emissions restrictions like on the petrol model instead it's turned up to 11 every time i press the
12:26accelerator the steering is precise and around the corners the car seems to defy the laws of physics
12:32it feels like it's got a permanent all-wheel drive rather than being front-wheel drive of course i'm
12:40driving in the summer on dry tarmac i'm sure it would be a handful in the winter but this is
12:45something
12:45i'll get to taste in the aceman which is likely to launch here in late autumn if i was to
12:53compare the
12:54mini cooper to something i'd say it's a bit like my mx5 of course the mx5 is rear-wheel drive
13:01it's a roadster but the use case scenario is similar when we bought our nc in 2012 it was our
13:08only car so we delayed it for 10 years but today it's more of an occasion we rarely take it
13:14for
13:14longer trips the weather's got to be right etc now the cooper se would also stay in and around the
13:21city
13:22but if we were interested in some road trips well you know if the road was interesting at our
13:28destination i could probably do it but it would also be a fun daily around town where evs get some
13:34privileges and this is an interesting car to drive now dynamics aren't the only reason i'd choose the
13:41electric cooper over the petrol model the cooper e is currently made in china while the oxford plant
13:48is gearing up for its production as of 2026 now the british factory makes the petrol model and there
13:55the quality leaves a lot to be desired for example the rear lamp seems to be only friction secured
14:08the parcel shelf is flimsy at best the rear seat comes off with a gentle tug the stitching on the
14:15seats looks like it was finished on the first day of suing classes for the blind the chinese mini has
14:21better fit and finish and i wonder whether it's a conscious choice to steer clients towards evs
14:25or is the british factory so bad if it's the latter i'd really scramble to get the electric mini before
14:31the brits go all leyland on it and then there's the price in poland there's about 8 000 euro difference
14:39between the petrol and the electric models in the uk it's 7 000 pounds difference in germany it's just
14:45four grand and no government incentives to sweeten the deal so the cooper c starts at 28 900 euro while
14:52the cooper e will set you back 32 900 euro if i'd spec the cooper s to the same level
14:58as the cooper se
15:00review unit it would cost 46 500 euro meanwhile this test cooper se costs 49 330 euro it's not insignificant
15:11for a small toy but not a deal breaker when you think about the tech it packs
15:18quality issues aside because maybe the oxford plant will still surprise us i think this is the first
15:24time i found an ev that makes more sense to me than its ice counterpart i'm sure it is possible
15:29to unlock
15:30the petrol version's full potential but i felt more fun driving the ev and how do you like the new
15:35mini
15:36cooper are you into the ev's design or do you prefer the old ice styling and which powertrain better
15:42suits your needs let me know in the comment section below if you like my sarcastic down to earth and
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