I hadn’t expected this. Known SUV-grump that I am, and as the former owner of a (surprisingly brilliant) Mini Clubman estate (yes, the one with the weird rear-hinged side door) I was unsurprisingly waspish about the prospect of Mini replacing the Clubman with yet another SUV.
Never mind that it had a kinda-kitsch name – Aceman – and never mind that it was to be distinctly smaller and lower-slung than the elephantine Countryman (only 1mm shorter than a 1990 US-market Ford Explorer), I was pretty cranky that my precious, beloved estate was being replaced by an SUV.
And yet, the Aceman, when you stand up close to it, has a kind of instant appeal. Yes, it’s a touch on the chunky side by traditional Mini standards, and I’m honestly not sure about the square-shaped headlight graphics – surely half the appeal of a Mini is in its cute, round-eyes “face”? – but in the mean black-on-black colour scheme of our test car, I am pretty easily hooked.
It helps that the Aceman isn’t all that big. At 4,079mm long, it’s barely any bigger than the dearly departed Ford Fiesta, and at 1,514mm tall, it’s barely 70mm – a handspan – taller than the old Clubman.
Something tells me that Mini’s engineers, like their cousins at BMW, don’t actually appreciate the lure of an SUV and its weight and bulk being in all the wrong places, so have nudged and winked that the Aceman is a rugged 4x4, and have actually just made an estate with slightly more air between the body and the tyres. Well done, if that’s the case.
Slip inside (no frameless doors this time around, unfortunately) and the Aceman’s interior also instantly impresses. At a time when many premium brands are delivering new models with slightly cheap-feeling cabins, the Aceman’s interior looks and feels great. The chunky three-spoke steering wheel (the bottom spoke is actually a fabric strap) is excellent to hold, while the fabric coverings – made from recycled polyester – on the dash and doors lends a distinctly classy air.
This being a Cooper SE model, currently the most powerful Aceman, there are high-backed bucket seats that clamp you firmly in place like a hug from a friendly Alaskan Malamute.
Thankfully, Mini has banished the old square-screen-in-round-hole mess that afflicted the last-generation of models, and instead has paid homage to the original 1959 Mini’s large central speedo with a 14-inch, perfectly circular OLED touchscreen.
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As with SUVs, I’m a bit of a touchscreen grump (too fiddly, too bright at night – bring back buttons) but this one I love, if for no other reason than the sheer theatre of it all. Using the “experiences” button on the dash panel, you can flick it between various different modes, from a dark green for, well, Green mode to an olde-worlde speedo dial with delicately presented graphics for Timeless mode, and moody black, white and red for Go-Kart mode (which activates with an odd and annoying Homer Simpson-esque “woo-hoo!”) there’s quite probably a setting for everyone. As with all touchscreens, it takes way too long to find the bit you’re actually looking for (yes – bring back buttons) but at least it looks good while it’s confusing you. And you can use an on-screen function to switch out the union flag motif in the LED brake lights.
Underneath the screen, and alongside the “experiences” toggle switch, there’s a round switch that, like an old-fashioned key, you twist to fire up the Aceman’s electrical synapses. Next to that is another toggle switch, your gear selector. All of these buttons, and the volume control for the stereo, are nicely tactile, so with a flex of a fingertip, you select D and head off.
Instantly the Aceman feels a touch too stiff. All Minis, since the brand and the model were reinvented in 2000 by BMW, have been firm on the road, but the Aceman feels really, really firm and it doesn’t really matter which of the driving modes you’ve selected. Too firm? For some, definitely, and around town in particular, it felt very crashy, which is a shame for an electric car that should surely be doing its best work in urban settings.
However, this is one EV you’ll definitely want to take on the open road. While the Aceman isn’t especially refined on motorways (too much tyre roar), go in search of a twisty country road and suddenly the whole thing comes alive. With 218hp and 330Nm of torque, the Aceman has performance aplenty, even with a kerb weight that nudges 1,800kg. Zero-100km/h takes 7.1 seconds – not especially rapid, but the electric motor’s on-the-move urge makes the Aceman feel perkier than that.
On a twisty road, with bumps, you run into the same overly stiff suspension problems again, but the rapid and responsive steering and the way the body stays utterly flat in corners helps to make up for that. It’s like flinging a speedboat around on a choppy sea – you might barf, but you’ll have fun first.
There are a couple of issues. The first is the price tag, which starts at a seemingly reasonable €39,065 for the basic E model, but our sporty Cooper SE model had been specced up to a wild €56,896. Ouch. Equally, space in the back and boot are both rather tight, in spite of Mini’s efforts to scoop out extra foot space by putting indents into the battery pack.
The range is the real limitation, though. With a 49kWh battery pack, officially the Aceman Cooper SE is limited to 405km range on a full charge. Well, in the mixed town, country, and motorway conditions of our test drive, 300km is a more realistic figure, and it’ll be less than that if you spend all your time on the motorway. The cheaper Aceman E gets a smaller battery yet, and a mere 308km of claimed range.
It’s just not quite enough to enjoy yourself. The fun you’ll be having with the steering and acceleration will be tempered – too much so – by keeping one eye on the range-to-empty meter, and with a maximum DC fast-charging speed of just 95kW, you won’t be able to top up all that rapidly when you’re out and about.
It’s a shame – the Aceman, a car that I initially bristled against, has me sufficiently charmed by the end of my time with it that I’d have seriously considered putting my own cash down for one. But for the range.
Lowdown: Mini Aceman Cooper SE
Power 160kW e-motor developing 218hp and 330Nm of torque, powering the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.
CO2 emissions (annual motor tax) 0g/km (€120)
Electric consumption 14.6 kWh/100km (WLTP)
Electric range 405km (WLTP)
0-100km/h 7.1sec
Price €56,896 as tested, Aceman starts from €39,065
