2020 Mini Cooper SE electric paves way in Thailand!

MANILA: Hailed as the Land of Smiles, Thailand gives a warm welcome to Mini's first-ever fully electric car- the 2020 Cooper SE electric. Though it's first of its kind, fully electric car, the new Mini looks just like any other Mini Cooper with no playful designing features.

The three-door hatchback features the same powertrain as BMW i3S producing 184hp and 270Nm of torque. It is adapted for front-wheel drive with a lithium-ion battery pack locked on the floor.
Mini SE goes from 0-100kph in 7.3sec before hitting a top speed of 150kph. The calculated driving range is somewhere between 235-270km.

One can buy the Mini SE with a suitcase full of 2.29 million baht (RM304,422) from showrooms in Thailand. This sounds like a fair deal when the BMW i3s goes for 3.7 million baht (RM491,976).
With such a whooping cost, Mini SE becomes the most attractively priced battery-packed car in the Thai luxury car market.

Focusing on the design aesthetics, the yellow highlights on the closed grille, wing mirror caps, scuttle plates and wheels, are interesting to observe. Going inside the car, the cabin feels similar to other Mini Coopers. It is accompanied by a new 5.5-inch digital instrument panel, a yellow start-stop toggle, and eDrive mode (Sport, Mid, Green, and Green+). The floor mats with Mini Electric logo also add to the styling.

For charging, you’ll get a 11 kW onboard AC charger with a Type 2 connection. Fueling-up can be done via a 7.4 kW MINI Electric Wallbox for a single-phase AC outlet, and this takes 4.2 hours (or 3.2 hours to 80%). DC fast-charging is supported up to 50 kW, and it’ll take just 35 minutes to get 80% from flat, or 1.4 hours from 0 to 100%.

Living up to the safety features, the Mini has an array of driving aids and connectivity features.

Though the Mini SE does not stand out from the conventionally driven fueled Mini Coopers, perhaps the EV feature will grab the extra attention for the car.

Also Read: MINI and Great Wall Motors to build electric Mini cars in China