Although the Mini is synonymous with the “Swinging Sixties” the car was first launched in 1959 at a retail price of 497GBPs. Built for purpose the four- seater fuel efficient city car certainly changed the shape of British motoring and was credited with being the first compact car for the premium segment. When BMW bought the Rover Group in the mid-1990s the Mini brand was part of the purchase and subsequently retained it when selling Rover in 2000. Fast forward to 2020 and another new era of urban mobility has been launched with the introduction of the new MINI Electric in South Africa. Officially launched in October 2020 at a starting price of R642 000 makes the MINI the most affordable electric vehicle on sale in SA.
The New MINI Cooper SE is based on the Mini 3 door with an internal combustion engine. The electric MINI will stand out on the road and easily be identified by the accent points in an “Energetic Yellow” colour. The closed radiator grill, mirror caps, tailgate and side scuttles will all be highlighted in the yellow colour. The car is a full import being built along with conventionally powered models at the British MINI plant in Oxford England. The new Mini Cooper SE accelerates from 0-60kms/hr in 3.9 seconds and from 0- 100km/hr in 7,3 seconds. The electric motor produces 135 kW/270Nm and provides spontaneous power delivery.
With a range of 217 kms on a full charge the new Mini electric is ideal for sustainable urban mobility. The high voltage battery located deep in the underbody shifts the vehicles centre of gravity down considerably assisting the new MINI in achieving impressive agility and dynamic cornering performance. All in all, a thrilling drive combining electric performance with typical MINI go-kart feel. The all new drivetrain consists of far fewer working parts than an internal combustion engine and therefore there are fewer parts that need to be repaired or replaced over time. This contributes to the low cost of ownership and low running costs. Using a standard charging cable or the optional MINI Wallbox at home, the cost of charging is 75c/kWh and the MINI consumes 17kWh per 100kms. It will cost around R12. 75 to run the vehicle for 100kms or R28 for running the battery from full to depleted.
In South Africa charging at all BMW and MINI branded public-chargers using thestandard MINI charging card is however free of charge. Allow 35 minutes for a charge of 0 – 80% using a 50kW fast charger and two-and-a-half hours using the 11kW charger. BMW also provides the buyer with piece of mind offering 8-year/100 000km battery warranty.
