Mini Aceman review

Quick recap: the SE gets a single electric motor that powers the front wheels with 218bhp and 243lb ft of torque. That results in a 0-62mph time of 7.1 seconds and a top speed of 105mph.

Weirdly though, the 0-30mph burst off the line doesn’t actually feel as sprightly as some other EVs, and that’s even with the SE’s 37bhp advantage over the E. Even in the Aceman’s sportiest ‘Go-Kart’ experience mode it won’t pin you back in your seat and feels a little sluggish joining a motorway. It’s a chunky little car with a kerb weight of 1,785kg.

As with other new Minis there are seven driving modes, but only three actually affect the driving dynamics. Core is your normal default setting, Green is eco mode, and Go-Kart is the de facto sport mode.

All Minis handle well though, don’t they?

The Aceman copes with corners rather well. You can chuck it into a bend and it won’t protest too much, although the steering is a little weighty in Go-Kart mode. Still, it resists understeer well and stays flat with most of that weight low down thanks to the battery’s positioning under the floor.

In that sense it feels very much like its Mini siblings. Although, just like in the Cooper and Countryman, the ride is really very firm. Too firm, if we’re honest.

Oh. So it’s uncomfortable then?

If you’re looking for something soft and pillowy, we’d advise seeking out a Volvo EX30 or an ID.3 on the smallest possible wheels. The Aceman’s ride is fidgety and the car struggles to settle when the road surface is anything but perfect.

Thankfully the brake feel is well judged despite the need to balance regen and actual pad-on-disc friction, although having to dive into menus in order to change the level of regenerative braking (the Aceman gets low, medium, high and adaptive options) is a pain in the backside. We’d prefer wheel-mounted paddles.

And how’s the JCW one?

Rubbish. The ride is even worse, and when you pull the boost paddle for 10 seconds of full power, the result is horrific levels of torque steer. We forgave the Cooper Electric version for that because, as a hot-ish hatch, we liked how wrestly and involving it was. Not here though. It just feels like Mini hasn’t bothered fine-tuning it.

And although the afterburner sound effect is kinda cool, it also hides the fact that the JCW’s not all that quick – 254bhp might look fizzy on paper, but 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds is not all that thrilling these days.

Oh yeah, what’s the range like?

Mini reckons on a decent 252 miles of range on a single charge, but on our test run – on a bitterly cold January day, we should add – we got efficiency of 3.3 mi/kWh. So if you were able to use every last drop of the SE’s 49.2kWh battery that would give you a real-world range of… 160 miles. Not great. But that should be your absolute baseline.