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Following the premiere of the Mini Countryman and Cooper at the IAA 2023, the Mini brand has now presented the third model in the new electric range: the Aceman. It is the only member of the trio that will be offered exclusively with an electric drive.
While the Cooper is a three-door compact car and the Countryman is a five-door SUV, Mini classifies the novelty as a crossover. In terms of dimensions, Aceman is not far from a small car. Like the Countryman, the Aceman will offer five doors and five seats, and sits between the Cooper and the Countryman in size.
Appearance and dimensions
At 4,07 meters long and 1,50 meters tall, the Mini Aceman is roughly similar to the Jeep Avenger. At these dimensions, it's closer to a Cooper than a Countryman – not surprising since it shares a platform with the three-door model. The Countryman, on the other hand, is still based on BMW's own FAAR front-wheel-drive architecture, which is also used in the BMW iX1.
| Mini Cooper | mini aceman | Mini Countryman | |
| Length | 3,86 m | 4,07 m | 4,43 m |
| Width | 1,76 m | 1,75 m | 1,84 m |
| Height | 1,46 m | 1,50 m | 1,66 m |
| Wheel base | 2,53 m | - | 2,69 m |
| trunk | 210-800 l | 300-1.005 l | 460-1.450 l |
| places | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Doors (together with the back) | 3 | 5 | 5 |
As with the Mini Cooper, Mini also opted for a minimalistic and clean design for the Aceman. However, the Aceman has more rough edges than the Cooper and also offers some off-road elements. The angular shape of the headlights is extended to the front of the hood. The black protective arches around the wheels (ranging from 17 to 19 inches) are also very angular and are complemented by black door sills.
Mini has come up with a new trick for the grille: it's rounded with slightly octagonal edges, like the Cooper, but the bottom line of the octagon is formed by the engine guard. Another feature: the front daytime running lights can be switched to three different modes.
At the rear, there are fairly rounded but vertically positioned taillights that also allow for three different light patterns. The back glass is relatively flat; above it is a fairly large roof spoiler, and below it is a tall bumper protection.
Four contrasting roof colors are offered. There are also four different trim levels: Essential, Classic, Favorite and JCW. Trim levels can be distinguished by the design of the oval badge on the front of the door sills.
Interior
The car's interior features the same disc-shaped OLED touch screen as the Cooper and Countryman. Like the Cooper, there is no instrument display; As an alternative, a projection display is offered. However, by default, speed and battery level are only displayed on the touchscreen at the top.
Tapping the speed display opens a large, full-screen speedometer. In the main menu, additional widgets are displayed to the left and right of the current menu function, which are activated by a "swipe to the middle". In the lower part, you can directly select navigation, media, phone and climate at any time. Below the touch screen are the brand-typical switches, which are also used to start the system and select the driving mode (P, N, R or D/B).
The instrument panel is covered with knitwear, which should create home comfort. The seat covers are made of either fabric or vescine (a type of vegan leather). The back of the rear seat can be folded in a 60:40 ratio. The trunk increases from 300 to 1005 liters. For comparison: in a Jeep Avenger of the same size, 355-1252 liters are placed. Judging by the photos, the threshold at the entrance to the trunk of the Aceman is quite high.
The panoramic glass roof lets light into the cabin, and in the dark, diffused light shines along the roof frame. Two projectors that create colorful light patterns on the dashboard have also returned to the interior.
Hey Mini's voice control is complemented by an avatar or stylized minis or a Spike (voice assistant dog) figure. The system should recognize routine processes and then run them automatically. For example, a car can use GPS location to recognize a garage entrance and automatically open a window.
The new remote parking function allows you to park your car using your smartphone. There is also the Digital Key Plus function, with which the smartphone becomes the key: the front and rear lights start to greet you as soon as you approach the car and the doors are unlocked.
Engines and batteries
Mini Aceman is only available with battery electric drive. Aceman E and Aceman SE variants are already ready to enter the market. Drives are the same as the Cooper, with 135kW and 160kW front-wheel-drive models available. However, the size of the battery is slightly larger - 43 and 54 kWh, respectively. This achieves a range similar to the Cooper range: around 300km for the base model, around 400km for the 160kW variant:
| Mini Aceman E | Mini Aceman SE | |
| Transmission | FWD 135 kW, 290 Nm | FWD 160 kW, 330 Nm |
| 0-100 km/h / max. | 7,9 s / 160 km/h | 7,1 s / 170 km/h |
| WLTP costs per 100 km | 14,1-14,9 kWh | 13,9-14,8 kWh |
| Battery | 42,5 kWh | 54,2 kWh |
| WLTP-range | 294-310 km | 382-407 km |
| AC/DC charging | up to 11 / 75 kW | up to 11 / 95 kW |
| DC charging time (10-80%) | about 30 min | about 30 square meters |
| DC charging speed | 1,0 kWh/min | 1,3 kWh/min |
| Price | 34.900 євро | 38.900 євро |
The crossover is charged with alternating current (AC) with a capacity of up to 11 kW. With direct current (DC), the Aceman E has a maximum of 75 kW, and in the SE version, charging is possible up to 95 kW. It doesn't sound like much, but in both cases the battery should charge from 10 to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes. This results in a charge rate of 1,0 or 1,3 kWh/min. By comparison, the VW ID.3 achieves 1,2 or 1,9 kWh/min, depending on the battery.
If a fast charger is entered as a destination in the navigation system, the battery is thermally prepared for charging, which significantly reduces the charging time in winter. As usual, charging can be pre-programmed using a home Wallbox; You can also enter the maximum value of the charge level or the scheduled departure time.
Prices and competitors
Aceman is scheduled to enter the market in the fall of 2024. Prices start at €34, with both versions costing exactly €900 more than the Cooper. For this surcharge, five doors are provided instead of three and more space in the trunk. With a base price of €2000, the Countryman is in a different league.
Aceman's main competitors are likely to include Stellantis compact electric SUVs, from the Opel Mokka Electric to the Fiat 600 Electric. They have weaker engines at 100 or 115 kW, but offer similar travel ranges. The cheapest model is the Citroen e-C4 for 35 euros. However, the most similar in size is the Jeep Avenger, which is available from just €325. These examples show that the Mini Aceman is not overpriced.
