Travel to Batangas and back on a single charge in this electric Mini

All-electric Cooper SE features 270 km range, 184 horsepower

A new era has ushered in at Mini. The British automaker has just launched their first electric production model called the Cooper SE. Based on the current-generation Cooper, the all-electric SE heralds back to the electric concept car introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2017.

Design wise, the style of the Cooper SE is very toned down compared to the concept shown two years ago. Gone are the aggressive front and rear bumpers, sharper headlights, vented front fender, and the aggressive diffuser. Today, the all-electric Mini looks nearly identical to other Cooper models offered on the market both inside and out.

To indicate that it's no standard Mini, the SE features the concept's bright yellow accents on the front grill and side mirrors together with a small badge at the rear hatch. Probably the coolest design cue would have to be the wheels, essentially being carried over from the concept car. Though its not seen, Mini says the Cooper SE has a mostly closed underside in order to reduce drag.

At the heart of the Cooper SE is an electric motor located under the hood. It produces 184 horsepower and 270 Nm which is sent to the front wheels. As it is an EV, power delivery is almost immediate, allowing the electric hatchback to go from 0 to 60 km/h in just 3.9 seconds and 0 to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds. Flat out, the SE has an electronically limited top speed of 150 km/h. To help give the car a go-kart like feel when driving, the SE uses an “innovative driving dynamics system with wheel slip limiting close to the actuator”.

Powering the electric motor is a 32.6-kWh lithium-ion battery pack which Mini claims has a range spanning between 235 to 270km. The charging port is located on the right side above the rear wheels, exactly where the fuel cap is on a standard gasoline/diesel powered Mini. With a standard charger, it takes two and a half hours to get to 80%. It only takes 35 minutes though with a 50kW fast charger to get to 80%.

The all-electric Mini Cooper SE is set to be built at the Oxford plant in the UK, where their very first car was built 60 years ago.