Many years ago, my daughter received a present from friends overseas. A toy rocketship that made some very amusing sounds when you swung it around in the air. This particular toy ran on batteries and had small figurines that you placed into the seats, and when you did so, it would make futuristic sounds. Absolute annoyance aside, this toy brought my daughter hours of untold joy, running up and down the passage, flying this rocketship with it, emitting cartoony Jetsons sound effect noises.
Related: Mini SE (2020) video review: All-electric first drive
I relate this story because driving this week's test unit brought back these memories; the Mini Cooper SE never failed to bring a smile to my face every time I accelerated, and it began playing back its Mini sound. Despite its cartoonish nature, the Cooper SE is a treat to drive and a constant reminder that EVs can be fun and whimsical, and you can feel like a kid again.
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Styling
Compact and squat with wide fenders, the Cooper has some serious road presence. It is also very hard to miss in its bright yellow paintwork and black roof. Our test unit was fitted with the optional 18" wheels and tyres, giving it a very aggressive and sporty look. The Cooper gets LED lighting front and rear, rose gold badging, and bold Cooper badging on the tailgate.
The Drive
The Cooper is fitted with "Experiences", a flip button on the central console that allows you to scroll through several "themes," each changing the vehicle's interior lighting, central screen UI, and dynamics. Our favourite was the Go-Kart theme, which rendered the central screen black with red accents and sharpened the throttle response.
The Cooper is heavy for its size due to the battery. Couple that with the low-slung sporty suspension, and you get a dynamically excellent vehicle, turning on a dime and handling very well, but boy oh boy, is it harsh. The larger wheels and low-profile tyres compound this, so if you're looking for comfort, perhaps the larger Aceman would be further up your driveway.
Performance
A single electric motor powers the Mini Cooper SE and delivers power through a single-speed automatic transmission to the front wheels. The electric motor delivers 160kW and 330Nm, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds and will go on to an electrically limited top speed of 175km/h.
Space and Comfort
This is a Mini, so don't expect much in terms of space. The small boot at the rear will give 210 litres of luggage space, and 800 litres if you wrangle the rear seats down. This also happens to be where the charging cables are stored, so take that into account if you're going on a weekend getaway. The rear seats are that in name only and make a great place to store groceries or a school bag, but not so much for passengers.
The Cooper gets automatic climate control and a nifty voice-activated assistant that can open and close windows, adjust temperature, change audio sources, and handle your telephony functions.
Safety
The 2025 Mini Cooper SE has earned a 5-star safety rating from Euro NCAP. This rating reflects its strong performance in both adult and child occupant protection and in assessing safety assist features and vulnerable road user protection. Specifically, the Cooper SE scored 89% for adult occupant protection, 87% for child occupant protection, 79% for safety assist features, and 77% for vulnerable road user protection.
Fuel Consumption
Mini claims you should get 362km - 402km of range from a single charge on the 54.2kW/h battery. This equates to roughly 15.1 kWh/100km usage. This could likely be achieved if you drove in the ECO Experience mode and limited your throttle inputs and braking. We returned closer to a prospective 325km of range on a charge; however, we did not test this thoroughly as EV habits have set in, and we ended up charging the vehicle up after every drive, never dropping below the 50% battery mark.
Price
| MINI Cooper SE | R 802 000 |
MINI offers a 2-year/unlimited km warranty on the vehicle and an 8-year/100 000 km warranty on the battery. There is also a 5-year/100 000 km maintenance plan.
The Verdict
The Cooper is the epitome of fun. It will bring a smile to your face, whether from the addictive acceleration, silly sound effects, or fun and engaging tech. Coming in at a keen price and delivering a super cool driving experience, it's hard not to like the Cooper SE. Mini has done a great job migrating all the aspects of the petrol-driven model over to the EV model. It's a great little city runabout that's just cheeky and enjoyable to drive.
