Electric MINI Cooper SE Range, Charging Time and other Data

For years we’ve been estimating and guessing what the electric MINI Cooper SE range and charging time will be (among other facts). Today we’re starting to officially get those numbers from MINI. Combine that with a few educated guesses and here’s what we know.

MINI Cooper SE Drivetrain

No surprise here it’s based on the i3s which produces 181 horsepower motor and 94 Ah with a 33 kilowatt battery. Interestingly the 441 lbs battery is a 96-cell lithium-ion from CATL and not Samsung

The entire electric drivetrain is designed to for fit more or less where the standard ICE unit is on standard MINIs. Weight distribution and center of gravity is improved with this new layout.

MINI Cooper SE Range and Performance

It would appear that the range will be 120 miles given what we know about the drivetrain of the i3s. In our recent testing we also found the i3s to be fairly quick. Officially it tops out at 100 mph and does 0-62 in 7.7 seconds.

MINI Cooper SE Pricing

MINI’s official line is that this will cost roughly what an automatic Cooper S runs. Yes that’s purposefully vague. We’ll know more in the months ahead.

MINI Cooper SE Charging Time

According to MINI, the Cooper SE take 40 minutes for an 80 percent charge when hooked up to a 50 kW D/C charger. But lets talk real world. In our testing of the i3s with its near identical drivetrain, charging from 0-100% on a normal outlet takes 8-12 hours. On a quick (Level 2) charger that’s 4-5 hours.

But what about the all new Level 3? That’s where the i3 starts to make some sense. Level 3 DC fast chargers can recharge the i3 battery up to 80% in as little as 20 minutes (80-100% slows to protect the battery from overcharging). It’s interesting that that number differs slightly from the 40 minutes MINI is quoting. Perhaps there are more differences between these two cars yet to be uncovered?

MINI Cooper SE – Now it’s Your Turn

All you EV-heads – lets hear from you. Based on these numbers and what you’re seeing what else can we gleam from these early reviews. What have we missed here?