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Battery: 37 - 49kWh
Miles per kWh: 4.4
E-Rating™: A+
Max charge rate: 95 kW
Range: 189-252 miles
Introduction
The MINI Aceman is a small electric car that offers a (slightly) more practical, five-door alternative to the electric MINI Cooper that it shares a platform with. At just under 4.1m long, 1.51m tall and 2.0m wide with the mirrors out, its 22cm longer, 8cm higher and 2cm wider than the MINI Cooper; a very similar size to the Jeep Avenger, a fraction bigger than the Peugeot e-208 and Renault 5, but smaller than the Kia EV3.
MINI will tell you that it’s a crossover, and the standard roofrails and plastic wheelarches may well justify that classification, but the compact size of the Aceman, the fact that you can only have it with front-wheel drive, and the fact that it isn’t really any higher-set than plenty of ordinary hatches makes the crossover branding seem like a stretch, to me.
Range, Battery and Charging
The Aceman shards its platform and drivetrain bits with the Cooper, which means a choice of either 38.5kWh li-ion NMC battery in the entry-level Aceman E, or 49.2kWh in the Aceman SE, for a WLTP range of up to 185- or 252 miles respectively. Those are the usable battery capacities, too, so you can work out how much a full charge would cost using those figures. If you’re paying 20p per kWh then it’d be £9.84 for a full charge in the SE, for instance, or £4.43 if you’re paying an overnight tariff of 9p per kWh.
As for real-world range, I managed 3.8 miles/kWh (which is mpg for electric cars) on a warm day and in varied conditions in the Aceman SE on 19-inch wheels, which is equivalent to just over 180 miles of range. We haven’t spent time in the Aceman in the UK, yet, but on that basis I’d expect the SE to manage 160- to 210 miles of range depending on conditions, while the E will more likely do around 120 – to 160 miles. You also get a heat pump as standard, which should help with cold weather efficiency.
That’s not bad for range, but the EV3 and MG4 will go usefully further to a charge, for a similar price.
Rapid charging speeds peak at 70kW for the E and 95kW for the SE, which is good enough for a 10-80% top-up in around 30 minutes in the SE, and more like 40 minutes in the E. Unfortunately, the MINI doesn’t get vehicle-to-load charging, which means that you can charge your devices from the car’s high voltage battery and features on the Kia EV3 and is optional on the Renault 5.
The MINI Aceman uses a CCS and Type 2 socket, which are the European standard and are compatible with just about every public rapid charger in the UK and western Europe. Plug into a normal 7kW home charger and you'll have a full battery in around six- to eight hours depending on which battery you've got. You'll need to buy a cable if you want to plug into a normal, three-pin domestic socket, but it can still be a useful trickle charging option to deliver around 6- to 8 miles of range per hour, if you're staying away from home.
Practicality and Boot Space
The MINI Aceman might be a bit disappointing if you’re hoping it’ll suit family life. This is a small car, after all, but legroom in the back is a bit limited and there’s no centre armrest. It’s fine for a couple of shorter adults or kids, but chunky car seats will feel like they take up all the space and you’ll want to be prepared for muddy footprints to appear all over the backs of the front seats.
There’s 300-litres of boot space in the Aceman, but I stuck my normal-sized cabin bag in there and there was only room for one more… It’s not a huge boot, basically, and if you’ve anything chunkier than a lightweight single buggy to haul about, you may struggle. You can drop the seats in a 60/40 split, if you need to, and there’s some underfloor cable storage but no frunk.
Basically, the Aceman will be great for a couple or individual who wants the added usefulness of five-doors (which the electric MINI Cooper hatchback doesn’t offer), but other small cars will be better for families. In fact, you’ll have more passenger- and boot space in the Jeep Avenger, and even the Renault 5, while the Kia EV3 is a whole lot more practical in every way.
Interior, Design/Styling and Technology
You can’t mistake the Aceman for anything but a MINI – and it’s all very familiar from the Cooper hatch, too. The woven, recycled polyester fabrics sound awful but look and feel brilliant, and allow MINI to introduce some very clever graded colour fades across the textile finishes around its dash and door-cards. I think that the Aceman’s dash looks absolutely brilliant, and feels much classier than just about any other small car. Quirky and fun, but also very premium - and definitely one of the chief reasons you’d buy the MINI over its more affordable rivals.
Of course, the huge, circular OLED touchscreen dominates the cabin. It’s the same system that you get in the Cooper and the Countryman, which means that you get fantastic graphics, standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – although some of the car’s settings can be tricky to find as they’re hidden two or three menu layers deep. More important is that you don’t get a speed readout in the driver’s eyeline on the lower two trims of the Aceman E - you have to add the head-up display, which is part of the £2,000 Level 1 pack that’s included as standard on every SE model. That pack also includes keyless entry, heated seats, and adaptive LED headlights, so let’s face it – everyone will add it! But, it’s still annoying to have to add do that just to avoid relying solely on the speed readout that’s permanently visible at the top of the touchscreen display.
Motors, Performance and Handling
The way that the Aceman drives is one of the chief reasons that you’d buy it. Entry-level Aceman E gets 181bhp and will 0-62mph in 7.9sec, while the SE ups power to 215bhp and reduces the sprint time to a brisk 7.1sec. And it does feel brisk, too. I drove the Aceman SE (on 19-inch wheels) all around the beautiful countryside around Copenhagen, and it feels seriously peppy with plenty of power for a rapid overtake or fast motorway merge. In fact, this feels like a very grown up car that’s more than planted and confident enough to do big motorway miles, yet it’s also fun to drive on a good road.
The steering is quick and makes the Aceman feel darty, and you can toggle through the Experience modes to prioritise efficiency or fun – whatever your mood suits! These modes change the colour and design on the touchscreen as well as the head-up display, and alters the accelerator response and synthesised noises that the Aceman makes. In Sport, the steering is really weighty and you get a booming ‘exhaust’ noise that I find really rather entertaining, although it’s also good that you can turn it off.
What will be more tiring than the noise, is the ride comfort. The payoff for the MINI Aceman’s zesty handling is that it is also quite restless over poor road surfaces, bobbing about and thumping into bigger potholes. It’s damped well enough to take the sting out of potholes and the like, but the ride never quite lets you forget that you’re in a sportier car.
Running Costs and Pricing
The Aceman costs from £31,800 for the E, or £36,300 for the SE – or it goes up to over £40,000 for the John Cooper Works. That’s £1,800 more than the equivalent three-door MINI Cooper E or SE, which puts it in contention with some usefully bigger and longer range rivals, or is dramatically more than you’ll pay for the Renault 5 or Citroen e-C3 – albeit none have the premium finish and peppy handling of the Aceman.
Equipment is decent on the SE, but the E really needs that £2,000 Level 1 pack to give it the level of comfort and convenience that you would expect of a MINI. And while it’s good that you get a bright metallic colour as standard on the Aceman (varying depending on whether you go for Classic, Exclusive or Sport), you can also spend a lot on style and comfort upgrades, so try not to get too carried away…
A standard three-year, unlimited mileage warranty is much the same as you get on a lot of rivals, but can look underwhelming next to the longer warranties offered by Lexus, Kia and Hyundai. The MINI’s battery is warrantied for eight years and 100,000 miles.
Verdict
The MINI Aceman is charming, fun and feels like a much more premium car than any of those rivals that we’ve mentioned. That alone is enough to justify it, and is why I really do like it. But it has to be said that it’s also quite pricey, and not as long-range nor as practical as other electric cars out there for the same money. As long as you’re happy to pay for that premium feel and brand image on your small electric car, the MINI Aceman is a good option.
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