2024 Mini Cooper electric hatch unveiled, due in Australia next year

The 2024 Mini Cooper electric hatch has been unveiled at the Munich motor show, ahead of first Australian showroom arrivals due sometime next year.

Unveiled alongside the new Mini Countryman, the electric version of the first new Mini three-door hatch in almost a decade represents the start of the most comprehensive new model offensive in the company's 64-year history.

Due in Australia between July and September 2024 (the third quarter), the electric Cooper will spawn the five-door Aceman electric city SUV, which was unveiled as a concept last year ahead of the production version's reveal due next April, as an indirect replacement for the Clubman wagon.

The new Mini Cooper hatch will be available with a choice of petrol or electric power, as with its predecessor, aimed at providing customers with greater choice in increasingly-diversified market conditions across the globe.

However – whereas the new petrol Cooper will use a revised version of its predecessor's underpinnings, BMW's front-wheel-drive FAAR architecture – the electric model sits on a new dedicated electric-car platform developed with Chinese car giant Great Wall Motors.

The electric version of the new Cooper will be produced exclusively in China in a joint venture with GWM operated under the name Spotlight Automotive, in the city of Zhangjiagang.

Petrol-engined Cooper models will continue to roll off the production line at Mini's traditional factory in Oxford, UK.

In a realignment of its model naming, Mini also confirms it will now use the Cooper name for all three- and five-door hatchback and two-door cabriolet models, irrespective of their drivetrain and power output.

In overseas markets, the entry-level Mini was simply referred to as the “Hatch” – though all versions in Australia have included the Cooper badge in their model designations since 2017 (Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper SE and John Cooper Works).

For its public premiere in Germany, Mini unveiled the new Cooper in three-door electric form, saying it would go on sale in selected markets by the end of the year.

More traditional petrol-powered versions of the new three-door – which will be a heavy update of its predecessor – as well as petrol five-door hatchback and two-door cabriolet variants, are planned to follow shortly afterwards, Mini boss Stefanie Wurst told Drive.

Power for the initial electric Cooper models comes from a front-mounted asynchronous electric motor. It develops 135kW and 290Nm in the Cooper E, and 160kW and 330Nm in the Cooper SE.

The former is claimed to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds, with the latter claimed to run the benchmark sprint in 6.7 seconds. Top speeds are yet to be announced.

The Cooper E receives a 40.7kWh lithium-ion battery and claims an official WLTP driving range of up to 330km, while the Cooper SE gets a larger 54.2kWh unit and a maximum claimed range of 402km, according to information on European specification models released by Mini.

The first Cooper SE launched in 2020 offered 135kW and 270Nm, as well as a 0-100km/h time of 7.3 seconds and a 233km WLTP range from a smaller 32.6kWh battery.

The styling of the new Cooper, known internally under the codename J01, draws heavily on the traditional shape and detailing of its predecessor, the R56.

The front end is distinguished by a modern reinterpretation of Mini's signature grille, which takes on an octagonal form instead of the hexagonal shape used previously, and round LED headlamps.

Further back, it receives a slightly-more angled windscreen than the model it replaces, together with a gently sloping roofline that comes with an optional panoramic glass roof.

It's at the rear where the biggest design changes are concentrated. Mini has fitted new triangular-shaped tail-lights with familiar Union Jack-inspired LED graphics. The Cooper name is also featured within a panel across the tailgate.

The clean new look of the Cooper is accentuated by the lack of chrome and black plastic cladding within the wheel arches – design features that have largely characterised all Mini models since the launch of the first modern-day model under BMW ownership, the R50, in 2000.

The 'side scuttle' trim element behind the front wheel arches has also been deleted.

As with existing models, buyers will be able to specify the new Mini model in a range of different colours, including a traditional two-tone paint scheme.

With a length of 3858mm, the new Cooper bucks the trend towards ever larger cars, measuring 5mm shorter nose to tail than its its predecessor. Width and height are, however, increased by 19mm and 46mm, to 1756mm and 1460mm respectively.

The wheelbase has grown by 31mm, to 2526mm.

The interior of the Cooper has been reworked with a fabric-covered dashboard, horizontal air vents and a reduced control layout that does away with a traditional instrument cluster.

All information is concentrated either within a new 9.4-inch round OLED infotainment touchscreen or on the windscreen via an optional head-up display unit.

The distinctive-looking infotainment display uses Mini's new Google Android-based 9.0 operating system. It allows the driver to choose between eight different Mini Experience modes and also supports 5G over-the-air software update functionality.

Mini has also given the Cooper a new multi-function steering wheel. Further controls, including the gear selector, are set within a small panel below the infotainment display.

The nominal luggage capacity of the new Cooper is quoted as 200 litres – some 11 litres less than its predecessor in electric guise, extendable to 800 litres with the rear seat folded down.

Originally published at 7:01pm AEST on 1 September 2023.