Classic design with cutting-edge electric performance

WHEN Sir Alec Issigonis famously first sketched a small car on a napkin, little did he know how popular the Mini would become, and he definitely didn't have a clue what an Electric Vehicle was either.

- Willem van de Putte

Fast-forward 65 years or so, and you struggle to read a vehicle review without the words New Energy Vehicle (NEV).

This is one of those reviews, and it is the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Mini Aceman.

In the Mini hierarchy, the Aceman sits between the Cooper and the Countryman and is the result of a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors using the Spotlight EV architecture.

It's also not a small car by the original brief, standing at just over four metres long with a boot capacity of 300 litres that expands to 1005 litres with the rear seats folded, while front headroom is said to be 1003mm and rear 958mm.

Power

There are two variants of the Aceman: the E and the one we had on test, the SE.

With a permanent magnet synchronous motor coupled with a 54.2kWh lithium-ion battery, it produces 160kW and 330Nm and is good for a 0-100km/h time of 7.1 seconds.

It will accommodate DC charging of up to 95kW, which should take about 30 minutes to get from 10-80% and an AC charge of five hours and 50 minutes from 0-100%.

Fully charged, Mini says it should have a range of 400km, but in the real world, depending on how you drive, it's closer to 330 km.

Exterior