Mini will launch its all-electric Cooper SE in India on February 24. The carmaker opened bookings for the electric hatchback late last year with all 30 units of the first batch already booked.
For the uninitiated, the Cooper SE is based on the Cooper 3-door hatchback, and, while both cars look near identical, the SE swaps the internal combustion engine for an electric motor and a battery.
All traditional elements of the Cooper’s design, like the round LED headlamps, the Union Jack-themed LED tail-lamps and, of course, that familiar silhouette, have all been retained.
There are, however, some key differentiators like the blanked-out front grille with a new ‘E’ badge, a slightly reprofiled front bumper, a redesigned rear bumper that does not need to house exhaust pipes, and the yellow accents on the door mirror caps and wheels. Speaking of which, the distinctive wheel design on the Cooper SE is made to look like a British plug-socket. It also sits 15mm higher than the combustion-engined model to allow clearance for the battery pack.
The Cooper SE will be offered in four colour options in India — White Silver, Midnight Black, Moonwalk Grey and British Racing Green.
On the inside, again, the cabin of the Cooper SE is instantly familiar. The overall dashboard design is very similar to the standard Cooper hatchback. Mini says the interior and boot space remain largely unaffected by the new powertrain.
The Cooper SE is powered by an electric motor that produces 184hp and 270Nm of torque, drawing juice from a 32.6kWh battery-mounted beneath the passenger seat in a T-shape. Power is sent to the front wheels only, resulting in a 0-100kph sprint in 7.3 seconds and a top-speed of 150kph. The Cooper SE also gets four drive modes — Mid, Sport, Green and Green+ — and the powertrain, incidentally, is shared with the BMW i3 hatchback.
The Cooper SE has been optimised to find a balance between an acceptable city driving range and desired levels of performance, which results in a WLTP-certified range of 235-270km. Mini says the Cooper SE is capable of fast-charging from 0-80% in 35 minutes via a 50kW charge point, while a 11kW wall box can charge it from 0-80% n 150 minutes or 210 minutes on a full charge.
