2020 New Electric Mini Review and Pre-Order Info

Published Date: 25th Jul 2019

The Mini, first seen in the UK in 1959, has been given the full electric treatment with order books open now for this new chapter in the life of one of the most iconic cars to grace UK roads.

For those wishing to be one of the first proud owners of a brand-new Mini Electric, contact us on 0161 946 3500 for further information on pre-ordering for delivery as early as March 2020. If you can’t wait till 2020 you may also be interested in the the new Mini Hybrid available to order on the new 69 plate.

2020 Mini Electric - Key Info

• At launch the new Mini Electric will be available in a 3-door hatchback model.
• It will be available in 6 colours with familiar MINI customisation options.
• AC for home charging and DC for fast charging when out and about.
• New 17-inch Corona Spoke alloy wheels add to the stylish looks.
• It has a range of up to 144 miles on a full charge.
• ‘MINI Navigation’ comes as standard.
• Live traffic integration helping you avoid the traffic jams and black spots.
• eDrive shows you the nearest charging station from over 6000 available in the UK.
• A full digital instrument display gives the new Mini Electric an impressive, hi-tech look.

2020 MINI Electric Battery & Performance

The new MINI Electric is powered by a 32.6 kWh Lithium-Ion battery and is powerful enough to maintain the ‘fun factor’ associated with driving a MINI.

With a power output of 184bhp it can take you from 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds which is certainly brisk enough to compliment the traditional sharp handling, making it one of the most enjoyable small cars to drive.

If you will be charging mainly from home, it will take 12 hours using a 3 pin AC charger or around 4 hours if you have an AC wallbox fitted. If you do not yet have a charging point the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS)  provided by the government could cover up to 75% of the cost of installing one.

On a full charge you should get a range of 122-144 miles, with selectable drive modes: Sport, Mid, Green, Green+; the latter ensures the most efficient driving and extended mileage.

There’s also some clever technology that utilises heat from the motor to heat-up the interior cabin, thus minimising battery usage in the winter.

Brake regeneration technology recycles some energy too and there are two programmable modes to control automatic braking and how much energy is recycled whilst coasting, giving you the ability to eek-out a few more miles before your next charge.

Charging at work or in public stations should take around 2.5 hours via an AC charger or just 35 minutes connected to a DC rapid charger.

At the time of writing this article there is an estimated 6100 public charging stations in the UK with plans in place to build more. Highways England is investing heavily with a target of a charging station for electric and plugin hybrids within 20 miles of every major road and motorway by 2021.

New MINI Electric Exterior

It’s a fraction bigger than the traditional Mini hatchback but its not noticeable, it looks just as cool and stays true to the Mini look.

Available in 6 different metallic paint colours with customisation available plus options like contrasting wing mirrors and roof. Alloy wheels are either 16-inch or new stylish 17-inch ‘Corona Spoke’ ones.

Its equipped with LED lights (front and rear) and at the rear with the omission of an exhaust or twin pipes it’s an altogether neater looking affair. The front bumper also looks more contoured for improved aerodynamics and the MINI electric gets its own unique front grille so it stands out in the line-up.

New MINI Electric Interior & Infotainment

The interior upholstery is classy looking carbon black cloth with small details in ‘energetic’ yellow and a leather steering wheel.

The 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system is built on a platform called ‘MINI Connect’, which is based on the BMW iDrive system widely considered one of the best car infotainment platforms available.

The infotainment system includes sat nav with live traffic and Apple CarPlay for full integration with your iPhone. It should be noted and this maybe not be a surprise that like BWMs, the MINI does not offer Android Auto. Given that it comes with the very polished ‘MINI Navigation’ app, it should make this less of an issue for disappointed owners of Android smartphones.

Also integrated into the infotainment system is something called e-Drive services which lets you control and monitor charging and can also find the nearest charging station from over 6000 stations located in the UK.

The MINI Connect platform allows you to access and control features remotely too, for example there’s a feature called ‘Preconditioning’ which allows you to remotely heat up or cool down the cabin in advance, perfect for those winter mornings when the last thing you want to do is get into a freezing car!

The impressive infotainment system is complimented with a beautiful 5.5-inch digital instrument display (pictured left), giving the MINI an altogether hi-tech look.

The MINI Electric appears to have retained all of its charm and despite being a tad bigger and heavier and not quite as nippy as the conventional MINI hatchback it is still offers the same enjoyment when you’re behind the wheel.

You can start your search for your perfect MINI here.