Electric trio: Mini Aceman joins the Cooper and Countryman, but how do they compare?

Up until a few months ago there was only one option if you were looking at an electric Mini. It was the aptly-named Mini Electric. An easy buying choice. But now there are three, with Mini not only offering a new Mini Countryman that’s all-electric, but a new model too, the Mini Aceman.

The Mini Aceman was previewed as a concept in July 2022 and when I first saw this model and spotted the name, it seemed a clear evolution of the Mini Paceman design and positioning. Sure, the Paceman was a three-door version of the then Countryman design, but since then the Countryman evolved and the Paceman stopped production in 2016.

Aceman is the latest electric Mini

Mini would rather you think of the Aceman as a replacement for the Mini Clubman, although the Clubman’s most distinctive feature was those adorable barn doors on the rear. Mini has discontinued the Clubman, a car that was awarded “dog friendly car of the year“, and I can only hope we see those doors make a comeback on a future Mini model.

The new Mini Aceman, then, is the middle-sized model. It’s an all-electric offering four doors and five seats, pitched as a premium small car crossover. It jumps on the trend for SUV-lite design in small cars – like Toyota’s Aygo X – offering interior space and comfort without being too large on the exterior.

It’s a car that brings with it a feeling of adventure thanks to the standard roof rails and those reinforced wheel arches. It’s a little more utilitarian in its design than the cute Mini Cooper, with a design that’s much closer to the Mini Countryman. Despite carrying the Countryman design, it sits closer to the Mini Cooper in price, providing a true alternative to Mini’s smallest model. That might make it extremely popular.

The Aceman concept was also used to preview an alternative interior design with a truly round OLED display. That was subsequently launched in the new Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman, but also finds its way into the Mini Aceman. That central round display carries on a design feature synonymous with Mini, but it now sits in the centre of a fabric covered dash.

Projectors are built into the interior to extend the Experience Mode across the dash, bringing colour and ambient lighting, but there’s no driver display. Instead, the driver will have to concentrate on the top half of the central display for driver information. There will be an optional heads-up display, which might be worth investing in.

Two different battery capacities are offered for Mini Aceman. The 42.5kWh battery in the Mini Aceman E will offer 193 miles of range, while the 54.2kWh battery in the Aceman SE will offer 252 miles.

There’s a 135kW motor (184hp) driving the front wheels in the Aceman E, which will do 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds. The Aceman SE will cover that distance in 7.1 seconds, thanks to a 160kW (218hp) motor.

Charging isn’t hugely fast, with the Aceman E offering 75kW charging and the Aceman SE topping out at 95kW charging, which reflects the positioning on the Mini Cooper.

Make your choice: Mini Cooper vs Mini Aceman vs Mini Countryman

With three models in the Mini range it’s now a tougher decision for anyone who wants to go electric. To help you navigate the options, here are how the models compare in a couple of key specifications. All the Mini models offer an S model which is standard and an SE model which is a step up.

Dimensions and boot space

All these models are designed along the same sort of lines, but the Mini Cooper is distinctly different to both the Aceman and the Countryman when it comes to design. The Cooper is the most compact, measuring 3858mm in length, 1967mm in width and 1460mm in height.

The Aceman is 4079 x 1991 x 1514mm, while the Countryman is 4445 x 2069 x 1635mm. That results in the Countryman having the largest boot capacity at 460 litres, while the Aceman has 300 litres and the Cooper gets 210 litres.

It’s worth noting that the Cooper only has four seats, while the others both have five.

Power and performance

Turning to the battery capacities and the Mini Cooper and the Mini Aceman are closely aligned in terms of power. The Cooper and the Aceman E have a 135kW (184hp) motor, the Cooper SE and the Aceman SE have a 160kW (218hp) motor driving the front wheels.

The Mini Cooper is slightly faster, with a 0-62mph time of 7.3 seconds in the S or 6.7 seconds in the SE, compared to 7.9 seconds and 7.1 seconds in the Aceman models.

The Mini Countryman offers more power and performance. The Countryman E features a 150kW (201hp) motor driving the front wheels, but the Countryman SE has 225kW (302hp) with a twin motor arrangement. This results in the Countryman SE being able to cover 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds the fastest of the lot. Ironically, the Countryman S only covers the distance in 8.6 second, making the standard front-wheel drive version the most sluggish.

Battery capacities and charging

The Mini Cooper offers either a 36.6kWh battery in the Cooper S or a 49.2kWh battery in the Cooper SE. It offers 75kW and 95kW charging rates respectively. The range is listed as up to 190 miles and 250 miles.

The Mini Aceman S has a 42.5kWh battery with a range of 193 miles, while the Aceman SE has a 54.2kWh battery offering 252 miles of range. It also has 75 or 95kW charging.

The Countryman offers a 64.7kWh battery in both models, with the range up to 287 miles, but if you opt for the Countryman SE, that’s cut to 269 miles. It does offer the fastest charging though at 130kW.

Which Mini is the most affordable?

The Mini Cooper starts at £30,000, the Aceman is a little more at £31,800 while the Countryman jumps up to £42,080.

Based on the cited ranges for the models, you get the most range for your money from the Mini Cooper SE, while the worst range for the price comes from the Countryman SE – but that’s also the only all-wheel drive model in the range (at the moment).