2024 MINI Cooper E and SE unveiled

MINI is set to deliver its heaviest Cooper three-door yet, with the new Chinese-built 2024 MINI Cooper E and Cooper SE electric hatchbacks range revealed today.

Due in Australian showrooms in the third quarter of next year, the all-new fourth-generation MINI Cooper hatch will come exclusively with E and SE battery-electric powertrains (although the combustion-powered MINI will live on with a heavily upgraded version of the current Cooper hatch), while the first battery-powered MINI John Cooper Works (JCW) hot hatch is also in the, err, works for 2025.

Slightly longer overall, riding on a 30mm wheelbase stretch and with slightly wider wheel tracks than the outgoing Cooper range, the new MINI hatch has been simplified inside and out.

The door-handles now sit flush and the car world’s only circular multimedia display doubles as the speedo and instrument cluster, essentially turning the optional head-up display into a must-have device for attentive drivers.

The base Cooper E will arrive with 135kW of power and 290Nm of torque out of its front-wheel drive layout, which MINI claims is enough to push to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds.

Its big brother, the Cooper SE, will lower that to 6.7sec, thanks to its 160kW/330Nm outputs.

Oddly, the stronger of the two MINIs has the greatest WLTP range, with the SE’s larger 54.2kWh lithium-ion battery giving it a maximum of 402km between recharges.

The 40.7kWh battery of the Cooper E pulls its range back to 305km, despite its slippery drag coefficient of 0.28Cd.

Its battery chemistry also limits the Cooper E to a maximum charging rate of 75kW on a faster DC charger (or 11kW on AC), while the Cooper SE can make do with 95kW charging and tops up from 10 to 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes.

While there are no projected price ranges from MINI Australia yet, in Europe the Cooper E will cost €32,900, with the Cooper SE a full €4000 upstream.

“BEV is now 15 per cent of the MINI mix, but we only have one car available. We think we’ll reach 50 per cent BEVs in under two years and then we will be fully electric by 2030,” MINI head Stephanie Wurst said.

The MINI is no longer sitting on an exclusive BMW platform, but shares its underpinnings with Great Wall Motors, though BMW designed and developed it.

The new MINI’s architecture can already be found in Australia, sitting beneath the GWM Ora hatchback, though the combustion-powered versions of the new MINI hatch will be built in the UK.

The new 2023 MINI Cooper will be available in four trim levels, at least in Europe, ranging from Essential to Classic to Favoured and finally JCW.

It has also been upgraded with 12 ultrasonic sensors and four surround-view cameras to give it full 360-degree coverage and, with it, automated parking assistance.

It couples that with an app that not only turns a smartphone into a car key, but gives owners the ability to monitor the car’s surroundings through the cameras and even take video and still images with them.

The digital smartphone key is also transferable, making the Cooper E and SE viable for car sharing.

The design has been simplified inside and out, with light becoming the new chrome, as the shiny metal has been ditched from the headlight, grille and tail-light surrounds.

“We have developed our new design language, defining our DNA. We call it Charismatic Simplicity,” MINI design boss Oliver Heilmer said.

“The idea behind it is a design that gives each new MINI model a strong, individual character and is characterised by a clear, reduced design language intuitively focused on the essentials of the brand.”

The Cooper has the option of three adjustable LED daytime-running light patterns, and three tail-light options as well, which was – as one of its program managers admitted – a homologation nightmare.

One of the keys to Heilmer’s design claims is the circular multimedia display, which replaces the two round dials in the instrument cluster and another in the centre of the dash, plus an array of toggle switches.

The 9.4-inch frameless display stands proud of the dash, which is now covered in 100 per cent recycled polyester, with leather banned even from the conversation. (It’s a big theme at MINI now, and even the wheel rims are made from recycled ‘aluMINIum’.)

There’s little point covering the detail of the European trim levels, given that Australia often tweaks them to the point of overlap for our market, but the star of the show is undoubtedly the multimedia display and its OS9 operating software.

As we reported two months ago, it is capable of giving a virtual assistant to owners via ‘Hey, MINI’ voice commands. It is also capable of using third-party apps and delivering a range of mood lighting and visual cues.

What it doesn’t have is a separate instrument cluster directly ahead of the driver, though the entire MMI can be turned into a full-sized speedo.

The three-spoke MINI steering wheel now features a range of buttons and toggles to reduce driver distraction and control searches on the display screen, while there is a touch-sensitive bar for climate controls and hazard lights.

The 2025 MINI Cooper John Cooper Works electric hot hatch will offer access to a direct descendent of the man himself, at least in Europe, where MINI has done a deal with Charlie Cooper to be involved in deliveries and driver training and experiences.

Cooper has his own company specialising in electric bikes and is the grandson of John Cooper, who built the rally-winning MINI Coopers and also the Cooper racing cars that delivered Sir Jack Brabham his first two Formula 1 world championships.

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