ELECTRIC DREAMS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

What's this? A MINI Hatch John Cooper Works powered by a battery? Really? Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 48

MINI has rejuvenated it's John Cooper Works hot hatch - and this time, there's an EV version too. There's still a combustion model if you really can't cope with the idea (or the price) of that. Can this EV JCW model really be the ultimate kind of MINI?

Backgroundword count: 138

Legendary British engineer John Cooper (1923-2000) never got to see his full name attached to a BMW-engineered MINI. Hot John Cooper Works variants are now an expected part of any new MINI model line, but it's the JCW version of the small 3-door Hatch that the great man would have most readily recognised. You wonder what he'd have thought of it in its latest form, where the John Cooper Works MINI Hatch can be had not only in combustion guise but also in full-electric form. The combustion version (also offered as a Convertible) carries forward much the same engine from the previous generation Hatch JCW. But the EV variant is a new departure for John Cooper Works MINI fans - the brand's entry into a hot hatch EV sector that's filling up nicely. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 196

If you want a MINI Hatch with a 0-62mph time beginning with a '5', you'll need the John Cooper Works Electric version, which has a 258hp electric motor pushing the car to 62mph in 5.9s. But of course that's much heavier than the usual 228hp 2.0-litre combustion model (which needs 6.4s), weighing 1,425kg, which isn't very MINI-like at all. That bulk is down to a mid-mounted 54.2kWh battery pack (49.2kWh usable) which could give a range of 251 miles if you were to drive this car in the kind of manner a typical owner hardly ever would. The full 258hp output by the way (43hp more than an ordinary Cooper Electric SE) along with 350Nm of torque, is only achievable for short periods via a selectable 'Electric Boost' function. Normal running sees the motor restricted to 227hp. Because power comes from just one front-mounted motor, that's some way short of dual motor rivals like the MG4 X-POWER or the smart #1 BRABUS. A closer match would be with other single motor hot hatch EV rivals like the CUPRA Born VZ or the Volkswagen ID.3 GTX. Neither of which will feel quite like this hot MINI does.

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