2024 MINI Cooper SE review. With 218bhp & huge torque, is this the new EV hot-hatch king?

Well welcome to a new Harry's Garage video and today's car is the Mini Cooper SE and the E is yes for electric. This is the electric version of the new Mini. There is also a new petrol version of the new Mini out there but I actually wanted to get the electric one in first because four years ago I tried the Mini electric and I really enjoyed it but it had a fatal flaw and that was range. They quoted 140 mile range which is pretty awful. In real world it seemed to be around the 90 mark but it felt like a hot hatch. It had great handling and was just a bit of a giggle to drive but you just I just couldn't have owned it with that sort of range. Now wind on to 2024 and there is a new Mini electric out and it has a much bigger battery and the range has been transformed. This is a pretty easy over 200 mile range electric Mini. Does it still have those genes of the Mini Cooper S that I enjoyed in the previous version? Well let's go and have a closer look. Now the design has been freshened up and it is a I say a modern look. I think it's quite a clean design now. I like how the headlights are less fussy. I'm not quite so sure about why this has to be such a big grille. It's all encompassing and the colour across it but that's the new look. Radar in here. The S is the hotter version. You can get a Mini Cooper E with slightly less performance and a smaller battery. I would suggest it's about four and a half thousand extra to get the the S version and it comes with a bigger battery so I think most people will probably go for that. Design cues that are sort of missing. If you looked at the previous version this had a sort of plastic rim around it. They cleaned it up and brought the metal down so it's a one piece of metal rather than having that sort of slightly fussy wheel arch extension in black plastic. The wheel size is 18 inch 225 40 tyres normal brakes but it's still got the Mini signature flying roof so the white roof with the black pillars to make it all look as though it's floating and designer speak. Flush door handles here again the lack of eyebrow around the wheel arch. That's your electric charging port there so you've got two versions AC and DC in there all very easy quite quick charging on it as well. It's 11 kilowatt charging on an AC and about 95 on DC. Round the back and again a very clean design they've still got a sort of union jack going on with these rear lights but less pronounced on this version. Easy script on it Cooper S and yeah a little boot on it but dead easy on this as all Minis to tip the seats down should you want extra space and one just thing on that I like how sort they go flat and that's quite a lot of space in the back there I have no idea what's hiding under here oh yeah charging cable in there and looks like a woofer subwoofer or something like that now in Cooper form you can only buy the electric Mini in three dual format that rather than five dual whether there's going to be a five door to come I do not know they do it in the petrol version but not in the electric and we'll have a better look at the interior when we get outside very modern yeah it's all right actually I really quite like these seats we'll come to those in a minute but I just want to clamber in the back to see if I can sit behind me and I can sit behind me I'm reasonably comfortable back here it's a little bit enclosed I'm not going to the south of France in the back of there but if someone offered me a lift it would be all right just getting in and out of it is a bit of a you can also check the engine on this electric Mini I quite like that that when I lift this up it sort of looks like an engine of old almost looks like it's got a heater system in it it probably has I'm not quite sure what that is got a 12 volt battery sitting there I don't know it's probably inverters and motors and it's obviously front wheel drive this isn't a four drive electric car but front wheel drive now what I'm interested though is does it still have that hot hatch feel that I expect from Mini let's take it outside take it for a drive now all new when you get in here all very mad and dominated obviously by that display which we'll come to in a moment and all the things that can do but just yeah just some of the materials just when you look around it's it's sort of fresh that I mean it's some I mean there is no leather in this car even things that look like leather are not leather in this car and then there's this sort of textile finish that isn't and you can't decide if it's well what is it passing what's this strap do and it's just a design detail which is all very nice but you know it's typical Mini I even I noticed on the wheel you think oh there's a spoke down there no that's a sort of fabric strap at the bottom of the steering wheel as well panoramic roof there are options on this car I ought to just say the options just so we quickly know what they are the color well that's an extra blazing blue uh 550 pounds the wheels 18 inch a slide spoke a two-tone 550 pounds as well and then inside we have this is the exclusive pack on here 2200 which gives you the yeah sports steering wheels they term it uh roof in white sport seats now these seats I these seats I think deserve a special mention they are old Mini-esque and although you know they are leather they are plastic sort of covered rather than leather you wouldn't really guess and I like the fact it's got isofix three isofix in this car one in the front obviously and two in the back which is just comes as standard as far as I can see yeah all told this car on the road 39,220 pounds yeah a chunk of money isn't it nearly 40,000 pounds I'm going to turn it on because it's quite warm today very odd it hasn't been like that inside in the UK for a while but 29 degrees at the moment first thing being a 24 car I will quickly turn off how you do that I press that button down speed warning limit that has to think about it and then it will be deactivated deactivated and then I go back to here and and then lane departure warning that yes deactivate now all that is done and to get moving gear changes this little toggle here I should have mentioned actually how I powered it up no button a sort of key that isn't a key but a twist thing here with stop start on it they've moved away from the from the press start on it and on the wheel I've got cruise modes over here and control the phone and radio on there and this strange head-up display that minis do which is a separate bit of glass plaster whatever it is that then reflects up at me so instead of having the dash that was on the previous version I only get that and then that long pillar box look out onto the windscreen which is sort of narrower and further away than you expect and I've shown you the seats I can actually get in oh an armrest as well I don't know if that's standard on it but there is an armrest on this mini anyway let's get going as I say I'm keen to know how this car feels when I get it on that better bit of road I do all the tests on now on here next to where you turn it on and off there is these experiences and we'll run through those it starts off in something called car something called go car wait for it whoa that is supposedly it's more sporting look what I can't work out I've only had a long day with this car is whether it actually alters anything else within the car the actual parameters the dampers don't seem to adjust this is very annoying we float off into green mode I'll do that on the when we're underway because that is a really annoying one but yeah it's say it starts off in core mode there we are and there are these sounds you have which you can turn off other things also down here there's a wireless charging which is good there's a little cubby box here and a cup holder in the back I think but let's get going I have the sound on at the moment so this car will make sounds as I accelerate away yeah it's it's doctor who like or something and I can feel a little bit of torque steer coming through the wheel which is sort of a pleasant surprise because you don't really get that in electric cars they just go normally but yeah there is a sense that there's there's a bit of fun to be had in here and it's a good display on this one I mean the default one actually has the navigation in the middle I quite like this one it does seem to be pretty efficient this car and I suppose it's a slipperier shape yeah I'm achieving 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour which is a pretty good figure for the way I've been driving it I've tested on a noisy bit of road it's about 72 decibels or thereabouts you think it's noisier than it is on a cruise because you can hear tire noise but it's very deceptive sound that's why I use a db meter because it dominates is the sound of the tires but it's not actually that noisy or to just say about the range ignore this 170 miles when I picked it up I think it was on a 216 mile range usable range always over 200 miles I think you might eke out 230 or something like that I'm just going to change this experiences I'm just going to go to go-kart I don't know why they have to add sounds I think it actually enhances the cabin sound as we booted up the hill and I just think it's all part of MINI isn't it having that or electric sports cars like this just the sounds right here we are here's the d limit so let's see what happens a bit of torque steer it's like an old school hatch it's all pulling around as I booted it there again I think that's it just slackens off the traction control slightly the punch up the hill yeah I mean I think the claimed figures 6.7 seconds to 62 miles an hour is MINI's claim and it flatters to deceive it doesn't feel quite as punchy as that at higher speed so as you accelerate from 50 to 70 or something like that it's not doesn't feel like a 6.7 second car really and there is a reason behind that I'm afraid it's to do with weight I put it on the weight bridge earlier and it came out at 1660 kilos I look back and the previous MINI electric I drove in 2020 was 1360 kilos 300 kilos lighter than today's version of the S but it does have that bigger battery that's where the extra range comes from so a dramatic difference there in range but my goodness has it grown some weight turns in there well oh a little bit more torque steer over the those sort of bumps and yeah I am feeling the road service it feels like a typical MINI they never had good ride and this one just has that jiggly sporty sort of feel it's definitely on the sporty side of comfort I don't think it makes any difference if I go back to its normal setting it makes a place a funny little tune again I can't sense there's any difference in the ride quality I can feel the accelerator doesn't quite have the initial punch so they slow up the reaction to your accelerator foot and how much power it adds but apart from that very little difference slightly well slightly different sound but uh but it is pointy it does feel the steering is quite quick and it's quite quick to change direction when we turned in there yeah it it just dives into the corner which is very MINI-esque over this little bump yeah as expected yeah doesn't swallow it you feel it but it's a strange sound isn't it they must spend days weeks months dreaming up these sounds but they sort of all they've got to do is watch a few episodes of Doctor Who and they're there felt good around there yeah I think it's time to do some flights and dislikes because there's a sort of dislike I want to talk about there the weight just blunts everything the the slight positive with the weight at least they can place it where it has the least effect on this ride handling it's not as though it's top heavy anything it's all down below and therefore makes it feel pretty dynamic round bends like that it's corners flat it's quite exciting and I like the way it's front wheel drive and very definitely has a front wheel drive feel to it I'm meant to be on the dislikes here I'm not doing my job very well another dislike was price this car is £34,000 in its SE mode as tested £39,000 previous one I tested I think there was £23,000 on the road but that was after a £3,000 government grant but they have gone up and I think the trouble they've got now is they've also got a new version of petrol hot hat Cooper s out at the same time and there's a slightly lower power this but it's much lighter than this and that's £24,000 and it's about £27,000 in the same performance mode of this so that's between 25 and 40 percent less money than you pay for the electric mini Cooper s that's quite a difference another thing on it there's five door Cooper petrol version available there is not in the electric one you can only buy it as a three door and I think with Renault 5 rocking up and the Alpine version of that they're five door cars and I think many have missed the trick there also not that keen on all the experiences I don't mind go-karts but some of the others are some weird ones on here I mean this is a nonsense look at this one right why do I need a flapping hummingbird saying oh I'm doing efficient if I put my foot down or I get high consumption and some tiger comes in or something no nonsense uh which isn't there's one vivid I've no idea she's put the radio on and then I've got timeless which is this what have we got oh no I've got I don't want radio where's this one timeless that gives me this classic dash layout like this they all come with their own little tube I'm in my favourite bed so I'm going to move on to the lights and I just think it's the chuckability of this car I can be quite naughty with this car crazy sounds so yeah it just feels mini that is a real positive with this thing and I'm very pleased about that every time I see a mini it sort of feel like something to smile at another one I have not shown my favourite button of all drive off support I thought you didn't have any way of controlling traction control it's because they give it a weird name drive off support they term it and now if I just there's nothing behind all clear if I just stop here and then try and move away it's it's just wheelspinning and old star torque stick we used to think that as a criticism but in this age of endless four-wheel drive and very controlled cars and very safe cars I love that I know this is a front wheel drive sort of hot hatch not I'm going to call it a tepid hot hatch but that just makes me feel alive and it brings out a child in me and I'm sorry but I just like the way it lays a set of 11s anytime you want a look away from the standstill so do I think this is a better car than the previous version I'm afraid it's not quite got the full-on fun factor of the previous version the downside of the previous just didn't last long enough you only got 90 miles of it so this is a much more rounded version of mini electric a cooper and it is exciting drivers say it's more sort of mild hot hatch than full-on hot hatch a member of the hot hatch club but usability off the scale freshness of design I feel good in here is a showroom factory I wish it wasn't so expensive but every time I see a mini I smile I think we should be proud of it built in Oxford I know this is going this is built in China this particular one but they are going to move production of this car to Oxford and that's to be celebrated as well so I have enjoyed my time in it it is an enjoyable electric car and there aren't that many of those as a sea of dullness out here but this one isn't dull it's good fun and I've really enjoyed it I hope you've also enjoyed this video review if you have well keep watching keep subscribing more videos coming along very soon