The
latest ‘new Mini’ represents an interesting change of tack for its maker – and in more ways than one. First, there’s the nomenclative departure. In its fourth generation, the hatchback is the Mini Cooper in a formal make-and-model sense (there will be no more Mini Ones, Mini Electrics etc). Second, there’s the technical shift: although the ICE version survives to mirror it as part of a broader model range, the allnew Mini hatchback is, in point of fact, electric-only, because the ICE version is ostensibly a thirdgeneration model with anew body and anew interior. And third? Well, as we will come to shortly, that’s all about the fine detail of the electric version’s execution.
This is a slightly different kind of electric Mini, I’d say, in its appearance, positioning and make-up: more matureand sophisticated-feeling, and a little more versatile and usable with it, but also just a little less of a singular, fun-loving kind of car. Less of a sporting statement car, more of a premium prospect. The same but different.