Cheaper than petrol trucks"
Author: Qin Zhangyong, Wang Lei
After a long wait, the all-electric MINI Cooper is finally here.
The price has dropped to less than 200,000 yuan, the starting price is 189,800 yuan, and the top configuration is 259,800 yuan, and the shape is still very MINI. Even if you block the logo, you can still tell at a glance that this is a MINI car.
This may also be the charm of MINI, which was born in 1959 and has always had its own little tsundere, and the design elements are in the same vein.
And the positioning of this car is also very clear, as a pure electric car, it did not emphasize the range, and the press conference did not spend a lot of space to introduce fashionable autonomous driving, but focused on "fun".
For example, track genes, providing emotional value, round center control screen, etc., which are a bit out of place in the context of competing for book data and hands-off driving.
What kind of magic will such a "non-mainstream" small tram perform? And how about driving?
01
Go-kart-style body design
The pure electric MINI is still the MINI we know, which is inseparable from its classic design concept - "four wheels and four corners" design and "28 principles".
Compared to the petrol version, the all-new all-electric MINI has a longer wheelbase, and the classic "four-wheel four-corner" design is more prominent in this new electric MINI Cooper.
As the name suggests, the "four wheels and four corners" are the four wheels that are pushed to the four corners of the body as much as possible, and this solidly distributed chassis layout is quite similar to the design of go-karts and even F1 cars.
Its body length, width and height dimensions are 3858*1756*1458mm, wheelbase 2526mm, three-door and four-seat layout. On the basis of the longer wheelbase, the front and rear tracks have been lengthened by 54 mm and 42 mm respectively, which makes the layout of "four wheels and four corners" pushed to a more extreme position.
We can make a simple comparison, the wheelbase ratio of the go-kart is 0.69, the front suspension length ratio is 0.17, and the rear suspension length ratio is 0.14.
The MINI Cooper's data are 0.65, 0.19 and 0.15 respectively, and the length ratio of its body is not much different from the design of a go-kart.
The concept of infinite kart design can be exchanged for good handling performance, and the turning radius of 5.4 meters also gives a lot of upper limits for handling.
In addition, the so-called "28 principle" is to leave 80% of the space for passengers and 20% for machines, and the machines give way to people, which is why the MINI, which looks delicate, can accommodate a few strong European men.
In fact, this principle has become more and more popular in the past two years on new energy models, in the words of other car companies, it is called "housing efficiency", that is, to maximize the use of interior space.
In addition, the 54 kWh power battery pack is designed in an H-shape and is laid flat on the chassis, which not only lowers the vehicle's center of gravity, but also ensures that the 3.8 meter body is as comfortable as possible to drive and ride.
These designs also contribute to the vehicle's dynamic performance while taking into account ride comfort.
In contrast, the power performance parameters are not conspicuous, and the whole system is equipped with a front-mounted single motor + 51.5kWh ternary lithium battery, providing two power parameters and two pure electric range.
The entry-level MINI Cooper E has a maximum motor power of 135 kW, a top speed of 160 km/h, a 0-100 acceleration time of 8.1 seconds, and a CLTC pure electric range of 456 km. The mid-to-high-spec MINI Cooper SE model has a maximum motor power of 160 kW, a CLTC pure electric range of 452 km, a top speed of 170 km/h, and a 0-100 acceleration time of 7.1 seconds.
02
How does it drive?
Although the book data is not dominant, this does not affect its driving performance.
In terms of chassis tuning, the all-new electric MINI Cooper introduces the ARB acceleration limited slip stability control system for the first time, which adjusts the speed faster than other traction control systems, and can achieve the optimal slip rate of half-grasping and half-slipping, allowing the vehicle to accelerate efficiently in various scenarios such as straight lines, slopes, and turns.
There are also seven driving modes, including Core, Go-Kart, Green, Balance, Timeless, Vivid, and Trail.
When switching between different driving modes, the ambient lighting, the circular central display will change color and pattern, and the unique sound effects of each experience mode will enhance the driving atmosphere.
On the day of the new car launch, MINI built a go-kart track in the event venue, which flashed around various corners to maximize the performance of MINI.
In go-kart mode, the DSC will be turned off, the power response is very direct, the steering wheel steering is more precise, there is no vanity when driving, it can be said that it refers to where to hit, the chassis is also very tight, and the whole driving experience is indeed like a go-kart.
Even when driving intensely, the car's suspension can give excellent support, coupled with the layout of the battery pack, the car's center of gravity becomes lower, and the entire cornering attitude and driving confidence are very sufficient.
And there is also an easter egg, in go-kart mode, stepping on the accelerator will also ring the tire, and the adrenaline will soar directly.
In other modes, the layout of the four wheels and four corners and the strong thrust-to-weight ratio (0.126 hp/kg) can also allow the MINI to play a great handling advantage, especially at the moment when the green light is on, you can enjoy the feeling of pushing back.
As a pure electric car, the pure electric MINI Cooper also has kinetic energy recovery, and the feeling of drag is very obvious after opening, and it can also realize single-pedal driving.
03
The styling is still very MINI
For MINI, the most important thing is heritage, and the new electric MINI Cooper still uses classic design elements from the past, such as the ubiquitous round elements and the rice flag design.
Although it is an all-electric model, the grille profile has been retained, but it has been semi-enclosed and filled with body-coloured panels.
The round headlamps are arguably the MINI's most iconic design, with the oval-shaped LED headlight clusters retaining the ring LED daytime running light design, and the parallel light strip design on the inside of the lamp cavity.
In addition to three adjustable "light languages", the LED daytime running lights also provide the function of interaction outside the car, and will present a welcome or farewell welcome animation when the vehicle is unlocked or closed.
From the side of the body, it is still a familiar taste, and the blackened roof design with a smooth waistline visually suppresses the posture of the body.
At the rear, there are new design elements, with the split taillight clusters replacing the retro circle and adopting a fan-shaped shape, with a double V-shaped light source structure inside, and a black decorative strip between the taillight clusters.
The shape of the top wing, combined with the surrounding structure supported by a large black diffuser, strengthens the sporty nature of the MINI Cooper.
The interior design is still very MINI, with no instrument cluster and a HUD head-up display instead. The classic round center display has also been retained, but replaced with a more technological bezel-less round OLED display with a diameter of 240 mm.
It integrates the MINI OS 9 operating system, which can be used for voice interaction, and the UI interface is also designed according to the circular screen, but the official has not yet announced what type of chip is used in the car machine system of the new car.
In addition, MINI has also designed a lot of fun functions in terms of interaction, such as taking a selfie in the car and uploading the round screen as a wallpaper, and using two fingers to rub the screen on the round screen to DJing when playing music.
However, at the moment when the domestic intelligent driving is quite involuted, the intelligent driving level of the electric MINI Cooper is somewhat mediocre, and the whole system is only equipped with 2 single-front front perception cameras, which can realize cruise control, automatic parking and tracking reversing functions, but there are no full-speed adaptive cruises, lane centering keeping, traffic sign recognition and other functions that are commonly available on new energy vehicles.
04
The "beam car" has basically no presence
As a matter of fact, one of the best-selling convertibles at the moment is the MINI convertible.
In the 65 years since its birth, MINI has changed from a car to a brand, and was later acquired by BMW to usher in the peak of sales. Up to now, MINI has sold more than 6 million units and has many fans around the world.
Before that, everyone was curious about what kind of card MINI would play in the face of electrification, after all, the pure electric MINI made people wait too long.
The pure electric MINI Cooper has an imperceptible tail mark - a beam car, which also directly indicates its localization identity.
As the first model launched after the establishment of the Beam Automobile by Great Wall and BMW, the pure electric MINI Cooper carries a lot of expectations, and it is also a strategic model for BMW's pure electric transformation.
Compared with the Mercedes-Benz Smart, the pure electric MINI Cooper obviously has its own style and persistence, both in terms of positioning and body styling, it is as MINI as ever. Moreover, the electrified MINI has not compromised on "comfort", but has developed in the direction of sportiness and fun.
Therefore, the pure electric MINI Cooper is not a tool car, if you judge from the book data and intelligent driving dimensions, the pure electric MINI may have too many slots, but if you treat it as a "big toy" and a way of life, you can find a lot of shining points.
As for whether these flashes are worth the price, everyone's judging criteria are different.
Would you buy a pure electric MINI Cooper for "fun"?