New Mini Cooper: SO Much Better But Still Not Perfect...

No excuses for EV price gouging. Battery prices have dropped off a cliff and are still falling. Good to see Fully Charged reviews becoming more objective and calling out the bad points if necessary.

"Not that I've had much experience of science fiction robots". Said with a perfectly straight face.

for 150 miles of range, it should cost under 20K, not 38K

In 2024 I'd expect more real world range than 150 miles, for that price. Car itself looks alright.

Nice to see they are not all getting bigger, that is the size a mini should be. A little to expensive. Good to see Bobby doing testing.

Great review, simple and honest. With the battery prices falling I don't see how the new EV's are still at a premium over ICE versions. Well said and keep pushing that point. I look forward to the day that a similar spec ICE car and EV are at price parity. That is then truly giving the choice to consumers.

I don't know what figures you achieved in the end, but in 2024 for a car that small anything under 4 miles/kWh is inexcusable. 5 or more is perfectly doable and it allows cars to have a smaller battery without compromising on range. Seat did it with the Mii which wasn't even a dedicated EV.

I do wonder if the EU legacy manufacturers are even trying tbh. 4 mpk is atrocious for a car that size. My ioniq 5 regularly exceeds 5.5 in mixed driving so something this small with 2/3rds the battery size should be over 6.

Nice to see more Bobby reviews, I was half wondering if once he got in the back the rest of the review would be done as he was 'trapped'. Thanks for another great vid

Great to watch another brutally honest car review from Robert. Who really cares about the 0-60 time or the top speed nowadays. Tell us what it's like to drive and how it feels. Top job Kryten :-)

This is a much better review than most: I love how instead of trying to describe how the car handles and ‘feel’ through steering and inches of legroom, he just got straight to the point: it’s not boring, it’s fun to drive, range is less but still sufficient for most people, getting in the back can be hard for some, but once in it’s decent. And focused on: the screen, the ease of use, the head up display position, the styling elements because it’s a mini, and the price. All of this without so much drama. Can’t all reviews be like this one (and the others by Robert?)

Cant believe the range is still so bad 😂

Love the show (as usual!) but as a product designer it pains me to see this car. One of the most iconic, recognizable, and loved car design ever to be made was totally disconfigured here. The back looks horrendous. The front fascia lack personality - and to say this of a mini is to say a lot. I hope Frank Stephenson does a critique of this, I'd love to watch it. Also, Bobby, you should have him on the show!

I knew what Robert was going to say about the suspension long before he said it; you could SEE how rough it was from the inside camera as he was driving along (roads I know), that arent that bad. 150 mile real world range is really barely adequate unless you only want to potter around town; come winter - unless it has heated seats/HVAC (not mentioned), the range is going to plunge. it isnt a case of inadequate charging infrastructure, more a case of always needing to be conscious of where you need to stop next; and a short range also means those out-of-range trips are going to cost a lot more; home charging is so much cheaper than using even the cheapest Rapid charger. I occasionally do a run to Heathrow (through the Cotswolds = ~120 miles); a 100% home charge costs me ~£3 for my remaining 26.1KWh of battery, then I need 3x 20-80% rapid charges along the way, that cost me ~£33+; if I had the newer version of my car, I could JUST make the trip on my initial charge - which would cost me ~£10.

I would disagree that 150 miles (240km) is enough range for long-range driving: You want the range for 70% of the battery (10-80%, as this is the range where charging is fast), to give you more than two hours on the highway (a comfortable interval to stop at). 70% of 240km is 168km, which is barely an hour and a half driving. So about 300-350km range is the sweetspot.

Happy to see more bespoke EV platforms being designed. And I really love the circular screen, very cool. But Bobby is right, the price needs to come down. And yes, why the heck are some dimwits still making fossil cars in 2024??

Good to see the fully charged show going on the road and travelling all over the world. So good to see that we’re all helping the planet and flying around the world!

Better, but still pretty poor miles/kWh per £ compared to the competition

The Mini website says that the head up display (+ a few of the other features in the Mini tested here) are not standard but come as part of a £2000 Level 1 upgrade package! Sorry Robert, but it looks like someone fibbed if they told you that you were driving the base model.

The old version did about 130 which is way more that most people drive in a day.... I always wonder what daily mileage people who moan about EV range actually do.... truth is 10yrs ago lots of people bought EVs with a 80 mile maximum range and had no issues at all as a daily driver, seems to me people convince themselves they are doing intercontinental tours all the time when in reality they go to Aldi on a Saturday and 20 miles a day to work 😂