All-electric Mini Aceman the sensible choice in carmaker's line-up
Almost nobody really remembers what an original Mini looks like anymore, and that's okay. I mean it was launched way back in 1959. In England.
It was a tiny thing with the wheels at the corners, and petrol burning engines that made them feel as nimble as they were brisk. But the entire world has changed since then.
Now the iconic Mini is mostly made in China and with battery electric power being the 'engine' of choice more often than not.
Mini Aceman makes perfect sense
Sidenote though, there has been huge investment in Mini's Oxford plant production. This will see the home of Mini become a full electric vehicle facility in the next few years. So, production of the Mini Aceman will move back to England in 2026. The more things change, the more they stay the same they say.
Anyway, back to the now, and I present to you the new Mini Aceman that The Citizen Motoring spent a week zooting around the suburbs in recently. Yes, it's a crossover and yes, its battery electric. But these non-purist things aside, I enjoyed my time in the Aceman. It's not as compact as the Cooper, but it's also not as big as the Countryman, so dare I say it, it's almost the sensible choice in the range.
The Mini Aceman is a crossover between the Cooper and the Countryman. Picture: Mark Jones
Available in two spec level, S and SE, which we covered in detail when the Mini Aceman was launched a few months ago. The car you see here is the SE, and in simple terms this means that this one produces 160kW and 330Nm. The S, with a smaller battery, offers 135kW and 290Nm of urge.
ALSO READ: All-electric Mini Cooper SE rises above weight and price issues
Faster than claimed
Right off the bat, this Mini Aceman SE felt rather brisk, which is always the case with electric cars thanks to the instant torque on tap. This feeling can be quite deceiving, but as is my job, I get to go and test these numbers in the real world. Mini claim a 0 to 100km/h time of 7.1 seconds, and an electronically limited top speed of 170km/h.
As it happens, I got this one right, the Mini Aceman SE ran a better than claimed time of 6.86 seconds, which is not slow. It was just short of 160km/h at the quarter mile and ran into the speed limiter not long after this. You don't need any more from a car that you are claiming to buy for efficiency.
Which brings me to this part. Range. Mini claims you will get around 380km from the 54.2kWh battery, but I only got around 340km on average. This though is very much on par within anything else in this segment.
The OLED display is the centre of attention inside the Mini Aceman. Picture: Supplied
Staying true to the fun element
Charging at home, like most of you will, cost me around R200. This does not get you 10 litres of fuel these days. For the number crunchers, if you do all the math, this comes out at around 2.8 litres of petrol per 100km. A figure that's hard to beat with the level of performance on tap.
ALSO READ: VIDEO: Electric Mini Aceman shines as brand's crossover pioneer
Something that will also keep the Mini enthusiasts happy, is that although the Aceman is a slightly more mature offering than the Cooper, it is still able to dart around and go look to bully a few hot hatches. Those sharp handling characteristics first envisioned in the original remain and this adds to the fun element you expect from a Mini.
Inside they have also managed to keep that old Mini feeling alive with the large centre circular OLED screen and minimalistic approach.
Mini Aceman road test data
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