Mini Aceman SE first drive: Pleasingly firm crossover suspension

Sporty, funky and with a smart display, the car has what it takes to be a sales success

Photo by: Mini

By: Stefan Leichsenring

Oct 31, 2024 at 4:49am ET

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In May we tested the Mini Cooper, now it was the Aceman's turn: the car is the big brother of the three-door model and has five doors. But at 4.08 metres, the car is no longer than an Vauxhall Corsa. We tested the small electric crossover around Copenhagen.

Like the Cooper, the Aceman is also available in two motor-battery variants, called E and SE. We drove the SE version with 218 PS and a range of around 250 miles. Here are the most important data:

Fast data	Mini Aceman SE
Drive	1 permanent magnet synchronous motor at the front
System output / torque	218 PS / 330 Nm
0-100 km/h / top speed	7.1 seconds / 105 mph
WLTP fuel consumption	4.2-4.4 mi/kWh
Battery	49.2 kWh net (54.2 kWh gross, NMC chemistry)
WLTP range	237-252 miles
DC charging power / DC charging time	up to 95 kW / 31 minutes (10-80%)
DC charging speed	1.1 kWh/min (10-80%)
Length / height	4.08 m / 1.51 m
Base price	£36,300

Exterior

Mini describes the Aceman as a crossover, and that fits: At 1.51 metres, the car is significantly higher than the aforementioned Corsa (1.43 m) or even the Cooper (1.46 m), but doesn't tower as high as the Smart #1 with its 1.64 metre height.

Like organ pipes: Countryman, Aceman and Cooper Electric in comparison (from left to right)

The exterior of Thomas Sycha, Head of Mini Exterior Design, has kept it emphatically simple; this is recognisable by the smooth surfaces and the lack of chrome. However, to set the car apart from the Cooper, Sycha has given the car black off-road trim mouldings, for example on the angular-looking wheel arches. The sill is also finished in black, which makes the car look slimmer from the side.

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As with every Mini, the transition from the roof to the A-pillar is angular; this also results in angular glass panes, which to be honest we had never noticed before. The version we drove had a Rebel Red paint finish and a black roof. The equipment version is called Favoured Trim, which is reflected in the "grille frame" in Vibrant Silver, among other things. This is a matt silver colour, not chrome like the old Mini three-door.

The angular light signature and the angular "grille frame" match the angular wheel covers

Interior

Inside, the Favoured Trim version has a petrol-coloured dashboard with a bright red pattern. This combination alone is quite unsettling, plus the patterned hard plastic near the windscreen and the spots of ambient light created by a projector.

Cockpit in a favoured trim: round touchscreen, restless dashboard with ambient lighting and petrol-coloured seats

Admittedly, the interior really isn't discreet, and my travelling colleague found it too much. If that's important to you, it's better to buy a Volvo EX30 with its light grey wool fabrics. Designer Sycha referred to the Classic Trim, in which there should be a more restrained colour combination of black and blue. But none of this would have bothered me; Volvo designs its car cockpits more like a Scandinavian living room, while Mini likes it funky - that suits the brand, whose website and price lists are also in yellow and pink...

A projector behind the touchscreen produces ambient lighting on the dashboard.

The visual highlight of the cabin is the round OLED display. It looks very brilliant, and this impression is reinforced by the beautiful Google Earth map display.

The glass roof cannot be opened. Sycha told me that this is due to the strict specifications he receives from the technicians. The rails and the motor for a sliding roof would certainly increase the weight by 20 to 40 kilos, Sycha estimates. On top of this, the height would also increase. "One centimetre can easily add up to 20 kilometres," says the expert. The exterior designer also emphasises how tight the straitjacket into which his creativity is squeezed is. In order to accommodate all the sensors and the relatively large headlights, and also to maintain pedestrian safety (the front lights are hard), millimetres are often haggled over.

There is enough space in the rear for the 1.76 metre tall author; a few centimetres are left free both in front of the knees and above the head. The boot offers 300 to 1,005 litres of volume; this is less than the Jeep Avenger (380-1,277 litres) of the same size, the larger Smart #1 (323-986 litres) is on the same level, the VW ID.3 (385-1,267 litres) transports more. Apart from this, the boot is only usable if the shelf is placed in the upper position; in the lower position, there is a high threshold at the boot entrance and a smaller threshold at the folded rear seat backrests.

High threshold when the shelf is in the lower position

The step on the rear seat backrests is levelled out if the floor is raised (as here)

Drive and battery

To keep the height of the car low, Mini has also realised another trick, as product manager Dirk Schätzel tells me: The battery is H-shaped, meaning there are recesses where the occupants' feet are. The Spotlight platform, which supports both the Cooper and the Aceman, therefore has foot garages like the Porsche Taycan or Lucid Air, but not just at the back, but also at the front. This is probably also the reason why Mini does not install an inexpensive LFP battery: Only with NMC chemistry (nickel, manganese, cobalt) is the energy density high enough to afford the foot garages.

As motors, Mini uses permanent magnet machines from a supplier, whereas BMW models always use externally excited machines without permanent magnets. However, I have already experienced this at the Cooper test event.

As far as recuperation is concerned, the Mini Aceman has no steering wheel paddles, which would have been a good match for the car's sporty character. But at least you don't have to constantly search for the settings in the depths of the touchscreen: You can activate B mode with one of the toggle switches under the touchscreen. This switches on strong recuperation and deactivates creep speed.

Transmission mode, system start, driving modes and a rotary control for the volume: the toggle switches in the Aceman

Driving impressions

After the first 20 metres in the Mini Aceman, my colleague in the passenger seat groaned: "Wow, it's hard," he said, expressing concern for his spinal discs. After a few kilometres, I admit that the suspension is really firm. You can even feel it on undulations on a perfectly asphalted motorway. Of course, that doesn't suit a family car. I also don't know whether I would want to drive long distances in the Aceman. But hey, the car is 4.08 metres long, a small crossover, so it's neither a family car nor a long-distance vehicle.

Furthermore, the steering is fairly direct and the car hardly rocks at all. If I wilfully shake the (rather thick) steering wheel at 50 mph, the car remains level and only the nose moves to the left and right. In this respect, you only really need the good lateral support of the seats in extreme situations.

The Aceman should already have a certain mininess, agrees chassis expert Patrick Häussler. This also includes allowing the wheels to spin in some situations. Häussler obviously didn't want to eliminate everything that smells of temperament. We noticed this with the Cooper SE, but not with the Aceman SE, although this may have been due to the tracks. However, Häussler also says that the Aceman has been tuned to be a little "rounder" than the little fun machine.

As far as propulsion is concerned, the Aceman SE with its 218 PS is not bad, it certainly feels fast, but it is not as breathtaking as the Volvo EX40 with 544 PS. When cornering, you can feel that the car is front-wheel drive, as the engine really tugs at the steering. Yes, rear-wheel drive would have suited this car much better, but unfortunately we didn't ask why Mini opted for front-wheel drive.

Gallery: Mini Aceman SE (2025)

Source: InsideEVs

Prices, EU tariffs and competitors

The Mini Aceman has been available to order since June; since then, the list prices have been £31,800 for the Aceman E with 184 PS and a range of around 192 miles and £36,300 for the SE portrayed here. At the time of publishing this review, prices remain the same. However, the prices may still change, as the EU is now really imposing punitive tariffs on the Aceman built in China by Spotlight. The Aceman is currently arriving at the first dealerships, the official market launch is in November. However, those who order now will not receive the car until January 2025.

Competitors include cars such as the Smart #1, small electric cars such as the Opel-Vauxhall Corsa Electric, the small Stellantis SUVs such as the Jeep Avenger.

Conclusion

The Mini Aceman has what it takes to be a sales success. The chassis is pleasingly firm, the car doesn't wobble at all and the steering is sporty. Another big plus point is the brilliant display in the stylish round shape with the Google Earth maps. The car is the right choice for anyone who likes sporty driving and for whom a Cooper is too small, but the Countryman is too sedate.