MINI Cooper - Range, charging & running costs

Electric range, battery life and charge time

Based on our experience with the car, the real-world range from the SE’s battery is likely to be around the 200-mile mark, which is only respectable in a car with an official figure of 250 miles. 

All versions of the MINI Cooper get a standard heat pump, helping deliver more predictable distances even when the weather turns cold. 

The maximum charging speed is a decidedly average 75kW for the Cooper E and 95kW for the Cooper SE, but the modest battery size ensures that a meaningful refill from 10 to 80 per cent should still take around half an hour at a suitable rapid point with both versions. Utilise a regular 7.4kW home wallbox charger, and it’ll take around six hours to fully recharge a Cooper E, and eight hours to do the same with the Cooper SE.

The charging port, meanwhile, is on the rear of the car, where the petrol filler flap would normally be. The MINI’s compact dimensions mean it shouldn’t be a problem if you park with your car’s nose closest to your home charging port, though.

Tax

The electric versions of the Cooper are likely to appeal most to company car drivers because these sit in the lowest bracket for Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax.

The electric Cooper is in the free road tax (VED) band because it has zero tailpipe emissions and can be driven into the London Congestion Charge zone for free. That will change in 2025, when EVs will be charged for using the road.

Insurance groups

We won’t know the insurance group ratings for the regular petrol model until it is launched later in the year, but for now, we can say that the ratings for the electric model compare well with rivals. 

The least powerful Cooper E starts in group 20, while the faster Cooper SE is in group 26. That’s a little higher than the Fiat 500 electric, which starts in group 16, but it is much better than cars like the GWM Ora 03 or MG4, which both start in group 27.

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Depreciation 

The desirability of the MINI badge seems to have helped with regard to residual values, because our expert data predicts that after three-years and 36,000 miles, the electric Cooper will retain between 51 to 58 per cent of its resale value. The best-performing version will be the Cooper E Classic, while the worst is the Cooper SE Exclusive.

That’s much better than the Fiat 500 electric, which has residual values of just 31 to 31 per cent over the same period, and a little better than both the MG4 (49 to 52 per cent) and the Ora 03 (51 per cent).

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