Retro-tinged small car enters its second all-electric generation, and it’s a big step forwards On sale Now Price from £30,000

Will Nightingale will.nightingale@haymarket.com

THE ELECTRIC MINI and Greggs’ vegan sausage roll have more in common than you might imagine; they’re both guilt-free versions of a popular British classic. However, while the sausage roll’s recipe has remained the same since it first left the oven, the battery-powered version of the Mini hatchback has just been reinvented for a new generation.

What’s changed? Well, for starters, it sits on all-new electric-car-specific underpinnings, the result of a partnership between Mini’s owner, BMW, and Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors. The previous-generation Mini Electric was essentially just a regular petrol Mini with the engine ripped out and an electric motor shoved in its place. That meant it had some pretty major shortcomings, including a feeble range between charges and even less interior room than the petrol version.

There has also been a rebrand. The previous-generation model, launched in 2020, was called simply the Mini Electric, whereas this new one goes by the monikers of either Cooper E or Cooper SE, depending on power output and battery size.

Confusingly, there’s also a new petrolpowered Mini hatch, which looks very similar to this electric version and wears the Cooper badge. However, it’s a completely unrelated car and is, in effect, a heavy facelift of the previous-generation Mini launched in 2013. We’ll be driving that later in the spring.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

Go for the entry-level Cooper E and you’ll get a single 181bhp electric motor driving the front wheels. That gives surprisingly nippy acceleration – enough to leave most rivals, including the MG 4 and Peugeot e-208, trailing way behind. The Cooper SE, meanwhile, has an even more powerful 215bhp motor that slingshots it from 0-62mph in just 6.7sec. That’s quicker than an Abarth 500e, a car its maker markets as a proper hot hatch. The SE surges forward when you put your foot down, and there’s a variety of sound effects you can choose from to add to the experience. Or, if you’re not in the mood, just switch them all off.