Mini John Cooper Works Electric Review

The first generation Mini Electric was among the first EVs to be properly fun to drive. It helped dispel the "soulless milk float" criticism with its lively character, but it was an outlier.

Now we’re entering a purple patch of accessible performance EVs. The Alpine A290, Abarth 500e and 600e, and Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce are hitting the roads. So it’s only right that Mini gets in on the action once again.

Unlike before, Mini has created a three-model lineup for its Cooper hatchback rather than a single low-powered model. That lineup is headed by the Mini John Cooper Works Electric – or JCW for short.

This is the first electric Mini to get the full JCW treatment.

Design and Interior Features

As is traditional for JCW Minis, the new Cooper Works Electric takes the regular Cooper SE and adds a more aggressive body kit with JCW badging. There’s a bolder front bumper with aero channels, deep side skirts, C-pillar aero blades that feed into a rear spoiler, and a new diffuser.

The whole look is muscular and in-your-face – passers-by won’t mistake it for a regular Cooper.

That’s aided by the red brake calipers, red bonnet stripes and two-tone roof that fades from bright red to black on the test car.

The interior has the same high-quality finish as regular Coopers but with JCW styling touches. There’s the huge circular infotainment screen that, at 24cm (9.5 inches), is almost as big as the wheels on the very first Minis. There’s also the unusual fabric finish to the dashboard, which in the JCW has a bright red chequered flag pattern.

Other JCW elements include knitted shoulder panels in the leather sports seats, headliner ambient illumination and a JCW badged two-spoke steering wheel with a black-and-red fabric third ‘spoke’.

Like the regular Cooper, power, drive modes and volume controls are handled via a retro-inspired panel beneath the screen. Mini has done a decent job of making the small cabin practical and user friendly.

But it is small. With the front sports seats at full stretch, they literally touch the rear seat cushions – rendering this a two-seater in all but name.

The circular OLED screen houses all the latest media, navigation and connected services. It looks brilliant and features various shortcut options but feels busy. Elements such as heating controls are small and tricky to operate on the move. The screen also suffers if you use smartphone mirroring, which is restricted to a small square in the middle of the giant circle.

Battery and Performance Specifications

The Mini JCW Electric sits at the top of the hatchback range, packing up to 255bhp and 258lb ft of torque in regular drive modes. It gets the same 54.2kWh battery as the SE, which means 251 official miles and 95kW DC charging for a 10-80% time of 30 minutes.

But this is a hot hatch – 0-62mph is more important than charging time.

With Sport mode engaged to unlock all the power, the Cooper JCW completes that sprint in 5.9 seconds and will run on to 124mph. Plenty of poke for a small three-door.

Sink the throttle and there’s an amusing amount of torque steer before things settle down. Because you sit close to the ground, the feeling of speed is increased and enhanced by electronic whooshing sound that can be turned off.

While it’s quick off the mark, what’s more impressive is the mid-range punch. There’s endless torque whenever you need it, which gives proceedings added urgency.

The regular Cooper is a well-sorted car, and the JCW builds on that with bespoke suspension tuning to stiffen and sharpen things up.

Mini has done a good job of keeping the seating position low, despite the batteries in the floor. You still get that bum-on-the-ground feeling Minis have always had. You also still have wheels pushed right out to the corners to enhance the famous go-kart feel.

It’s heavier than before – a porky 1,725kg – but largely manages to retain the small, nimble feel of previous generations.

The steering is direct, allowing the JCW to dart through twisting sections with a terrier-like quality and take advantage of strong grip and that mid-range punch to power through corners. It feels lively and the more you wring its neck, the more you get out of it.

The ride errs on the firm side, as you’d expect. It feels better composed than the unsettled JCW Aceman, but on long rides the hot hatch hardness could get wearing in a way that the Alpine A290 won’t.

Pricing and Standard Equipment

The Mini John Cooper Works Electric starts at £34,905 – £1,000 cheaper than the 217bhp Alpine A290.

As standard, it gets heated seats, a head-up display, adaptive LED headlights and wireless phone charging, plus the usual safety functions, smartphone integration and connected services.

However, as with every BMW Group car, you can spend a lot on the options list. The test car finished up at £43,370 by the time extras such as multi-tone roof and Level 3 pack including the panoramic roof, augmented reality navigation and electric seats had been added.

Fun as this car is, that feels like quite a lot.

Minis, especially those bearing the John Cooper Works badges, have always been about fun and this latest electric version continues that tradition. It’s lively, quick and engaging and once again proves that EVs aren’t all po-faced white goods.

It certainly isn’t cheap, but among rivals such as the Alpine A290 and Abarth 600e, it’s competitive as long as you steer clear of the options list.

Mini John Cooper Works Electric Specifications: