IT'S ACE MAN (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

...or is it? Jonathan Crouch looks at MINI's smallest EV crossover, the Aceman.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 48

MINI ramps up its EV model line-up with this car, the Aceman. It's the brand's very first EV-only design, a small crossover based on the MINI Electric hatch. If you like the idea of a small electric MINI but need a trendy dose of extra practicality, read on.

Backgroundword count: 192

MINI wants to transition into being an EV-only brand as quickly as possible and a milestone on that journey comes with the introduction of this car, the Aceman. It's the first of the company's models that will be sold only as an EV and is essentially an SUV version of the latest J01-series model MINI Cooper Electric hatch. Which means that it's very much a Chinese product. The Cooper Electric was designed by Spotlight Automotive, a joint venture partnership between BMW and Great Wall Motor which has also produced another model, the GWM Ora 3 supermini. Acemans will also be initially built at a Spotlight factory in Zhangjiagang north of Shanghai, before European production moves to BMW's usual MINI Oxford plant in 2026. The Aceman fits into the MINI line-up between the Cooper Electric hatch and the Countryman Electric, though unlike both of those models, Acemans can't be had in petrol form as an alternative. There seems to be a bit of overlap with both those other MINIs (particularly perhaps with the 5-door version of the Cooper Electric hatch). So does the Aceman have what it takes to stand out? Let's see.

Driving Experienceword count: 299

When final touches to the engineering of this Aceman were being completed at the beginning of this decade, it must have seemed a clever and forward-thinking idea to make it electric-only. Today though, as EV sales and public charging infrastructure programs falter, you wonder whether MINI wishes that, as with the current Cooper hatch and Countryman, a combustion-powered variant had also been allowed for in the line-up. Anyway, what we have here is an EV-only range that kicks off with a base Aceman E variant propelled by a 184hp front-mounted motor energised by a 42.5kWh battery offering a 193 mile range. 62mph takes 7.9s en route to 99mph. The mainstream alternative is the Aceman SE, which gets a 218hp motor, again front-mounted (unlike Countryman Electric, there's no twin motor AWD version). This variant uses a larger 54.2kWh battery, hence its longer 252 mile range. 62mph takes 7.1s en route to 106mph. At the top of the line-up is the Aceman John Cooper Works, which uses the same motor as the SE but putting out 258hp, so the 0-62mph time is reduced to 6.4s en route to 124mph; there's a 243 mile range. Like all MINIs, the Aceman's quite fun to punt around and as with the brand's other current models, there's a choice of 'Experience' drive modes, not many of which have much to do with driving. Select from 'Core', 'Green', 'Go-Kart', 'Personal', 'Vibrant', 'Timeless', 'Balance' and 'Trail'. 'Go-Kart' is obviously the setting for speed and comes with a rather unnecessary 'woohoo' when you select it, then introducing a fake rocketship thruster noise under acceleration; you might think that fun - or irritating; take your pick. Selecting the eco 'Green' mode affects acceleration quite a lot. And 'Balance' sounds like you're in some sort of new age mediation session.

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