Ten months on from its global reveal, the all-new, all-electric MINI Cooper hatchback (not to be mistaken from the completely different petrol-powered model) has been launched in Malaysia, bringing the British brand’s first all-electric model into a new generation. Codenamed J01, the car comes with far greater performance and range than before, while still maintaining a cute and cuddly look and bijou dimensions.
Available in just a single variant, the MINI Cooper SE in range-topping Favoured trim, the three-door is priced at RM193,888 on-the-road without insurance – just RM55 more than the outgoing Cooper SE in base non-Resolute Edition form.
This figure includes a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty; with the four-year warranty and service package, this goes up to RM200,188. An eight-year/160,000 km battery warranty comes with every purchase.
Built on a new platform in conjunction with GWM (at a new plant in Zhangjiagang, China), the new Cooper SE is powered by a single front motor producing 218 PS (160 kW) and 330 Nm of torque. That’s 34 PS and 60 Nm more than before, getting the car from zero to 100 km/h more than half a second quicker at 6.7 seconds. Its top speed is also now 20 km/h higher at 170 km/h.
Additionally, with a much larger 54.2 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery, the car’s range has nearly doubled to up to 402 km on the WLTP cycle. For charging, the SE supports a maximum AC input of 11 kW as well as DC fast charging of up to 95 kW. The latter gets the battery’s state of charge from 10 to 80% in under 30 minutes.
With the J01 bringing MINI into a new electric future, the brand has taken the opportunity to revamp its trademark retro design for a more minimalist aesthetic. For instance, you no longer get a clamshell bonnet, front fender “scuttles”, chrome highlights and black plastic wheel arches.
Instead, you get customisable daytime running lights within the trademark circular LED headlights and matrix LED taillights, both with three different lighting patterns to choose from. In Malaysia, the Cooper SE rolls on 18-inch Night Flash Spoke two-tone alloy wheels wrapped in 225/40 R18 Maxxis Premitra 5 tyres.
An even bigger sea change can be found on the inside, where the previous MINI Hatch’s various displays and toggle switches have been consolidated into a striking 9.4-inch OLED circular touchscreen, running on the latest Android-based MINI Operating System 9. This features various themes that correspond to the different drive modes (dubbed MINI Experience Modes), as well as a new dog avatar for the voice control called Spike.
A few physical controls have been retained, situated under the screen – called the “toggle bar”, it incorporates a key-like starter twist switch as well as the gear selector and drive mode toggles. Swathes of houndstooth fabric trim, warm metallic gold highlights and cool pattern projectors behind the centre screen (which also correspond to the drive mode selected) add to the interior’s funky new-age aesthetic.
Measuring 3,858 mm long, the J01 is actually 18 mm shorter than the F66; it’s also 29 mm wider (1,756 mm) and 46 mm taller (1,460 mm), while its 2,526 mm wheelbase is 31 mm longer. Boot space remains a minuscule 210 litres, although you can expand this to 800 litres with the rear seats folded. Unfortunately, there’s no front boot for you to carry more stuff.
Standard kit includes keyless entry and start, the MINI Digital Key Plus, auto-dimming mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control, power-adjustable sports seats with driver’s side memory, Nightshade Blue Vecsin faux leather upholstery, black headlining, augmented reality navigation with optimised route planning for charging, a Qi wireless charger, a head-up display, a ten-speaker, 600-watt Harman Kardon sound system and a built-in dash cam.
In terms of safety, the Cooper SE comes with the Driving Assistant package, adding autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert with auto brake. There’s also the Parking Assistant Plus that adds park assist, reversing assist, a 360-degree camera system and remote 3D view via a smartphone app.
On top of that, the car comes with all the equipment required for the Parking Assistant Plus package (adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centring assist and traffic sign recognition), but this needs to be enabled through a paid subscription.
Colour options for the new MINI Cooper SE include Blazing Blue, Nanuq White, Chili Red II, Legend Grey, Sunny Side Yellow, Midnight Black II, British Racing Green and Melting Silver. Our man Hafriz Shah has already driven the car, and you can watch his video review below.
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laughs in byd and tesla
SE1 going to fall like hell
Who wants a used battery
Lesser tech and
So little range
Ora 07 Performance rm189k 0-100 4.3sec
Ugly car
better than your face