we were able to have fun with the huge central all-round screen, and we were amazed

As the 2023 Munich Motor Show opens its doors, we were able to board the brand’s new star, the new 100% electric Mini.

While the IAA Munich 2023 show is in full swing, we went there a few days before its opening to discover the new range of the Mini manufacturer. And as the brand plays almost at home (BMW, which owns Mini, is from Munich), its news is very important there: new generation of Mini Cooper, and new generation of Countryman.

The opportunity for us to approach the models, but also to get on board, in particular to discover the brand new round OLED central screen, but also the infotainment system that goes with it. And as when we talk about Mini, we immediately imagine the small city car with its big round eyes, we start with the new Mini Cooper E and SE.

No doubt it’s a Mini

We must admit that when we saw this new electric Mini Cooper arrive on stage, it did not give us a big surprise effect. Already because it’s been a few months since Mini made it official. Then, because the car evolves very smoothly. Which doesn’t mean it’s not always so cute.

It must be said that it is a real tour de force to be able to renew everything on a model while keeping everything that makes its charm and its identity. This is the case here and even if the Mini has grown over the years and generations (+ 4 centimeters, 3.86 meters long), it retains its identity as a “small” car. We immediately notice the simplified, refined general design, with fewer details here and there.

We were looking forward to discovering “in real life” the rear of the car, which changes more radically with its new design of triangular lights, connected by a band in which we can see the name of the version, Cooper E or Cooper SE at the moment. But here too, fans of the brand will not be too confused with a design that is immediately attributed to the brand.

We particularly appreciated the possibility of modifying the design displayed in the rear lights, either by taking up the graphics of the flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, or other designs. The choice being limited to three different graphics, it’s still perhaps a bit of a gimmick as a system, but it has the merit of existing and of adding to the personalization of the vehicle.

The Mini Cooper E…

… and its 17-inch rims.

A second copy of the new electric Mini Cooper was also present on site but in a Cooper E configuration, therefore slightly less upscale. The opportunity to discover a very bright yellow exterior color, which goes very well with the model, but also a set of rims a little less sexy than on the Cooper SE. In 17 inches instead of 18.

And then, we also noted the absence (on the Cooper E) of the camera integrated into the front bumper (on the Cooper SE), as well as the front radar in the center of the black band of the grille.

A screen to do everything

After a relatively long wait for the only model available to discover the interior for the few hundred journalists present on site (wait extended by a glitch on the infotainment screen, a message that wouldn’t go away), we’re ready to board. We take the time to appreciate the flush door handle and sit in the new seats that are as enveloping as they are comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.

Large central screen

Obviously, our gaze immediately falls on this very large round screen in the center of the dashboard, 24 cm in diameter. Because in fact, there is not much else to look at. Indeed, there is no longer any instrumentation behind the steering wheel, apart from an optional head-up display which is not projected onto the windshield directly but onto a small retractable transparent plastic slat.

The OLED panel of the central screen is really very beautiful with its rounded edges and a very thin thickness. Some will question the merits of displaying driving information, including speed, on the central screen. We can obviously rely on the experience of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y to answer that this does not bother too much, although we have to turn our heads slightly. And then finally, it’s a return to basics, Tesla didn’t invent anything: the very first Minis also had their speedometer in the center.

Let’s embark on a first discovery of this new infotainment. Very quickly, we are reassured by the fluidity of the menus and the reaction time of the touch screen: we are really very close to the experience that we have with a smartphone. Resides an icon bar at the bottom that stays fixed with shortcuts to navigation, media, phone, and climate control. Without forgetting the Home button in the center to easily return to the main screen.

Smartphone-like experience

In swiping from the bottom of the screen upwards, you have the option of bringing up a customizable window where shortcuts can be added. Information relating to driving (parking mode, odometer, remaining battery percentage) is displayed at the very top of the screen.

And then in the center, we find the different menus in which we then enter to have more detailed information: the menu on the current trip (mileage, time, consumption), the navigation which is displayed in a very readable way on the three quarters of the screen, the media to choose the different sources…

Otherwise, there is the possibility of displaying all the functions offered by the OS one under the other, either all together or by theme: infotainment, vehicle or even the most recent. In general, everything is very readable. The overall experience is only simplified.

Personalization

Mini also plays the customization card with different modes that affect the color of the display, for example, or the graphics. As with this “Timeless” mode which displays a vintage counter in full screen, but always with all the information. It is frankly very successful.

Moreover, these modes are accompanied by ambient lights which are projected from the base of the central screen on the fabric trim. It’s so well done that it looks like it’s under the fabric that LEDs have been integrated.

An interior camera allows you to take a picture.

You can change the wallpaper of the screen.

In Timeless mode, make way for a vintage counter.

There is also the possibility to change the wallpaper and put your favorite photo. Or even to take a picture from the central screen thanks to the camera located in front of the driver. So that, frankly, even if the interior camera is interesting for monitoring your car from your smartphone, we don’t know what it’s for.

A super comprehensive route planner

Last word on the route planner which seemed very complete to us: once the destination is entered in the GPS, you can enter both the charge level you want to reach at the next charging station or at your destination, playing with sliders.

Then the system calculates the route, taking into account the traffic and works reported in real time, and displays on your route the different stops to be made to recharge, and this in a very complete way: the maximum charging speed of the terminal, the percentage of your car, the time of arrival at the terminal, the percentage to which you must go back to continue the journey as well as the scheduled end of charge time.

Many builders could learn from it!

Habitability

The opportunity was too good not to go for a walk in the back. Obviously, it was for the moment a three-door version. Not the most suitable for bringing people to the back. But this new Mini undoubtedly benefits from the combination of its larger size and really short overhangs to maximize space on board. It remains a city car, three doors, but we feel that there is a little better compared to before.

As for the trunk, we do not yet know its dimensions or its exact volume. We just know that the rear seats fold in half, 60-40, but do not free up the flat floor.

Motorization

As a reminder, this new 100% electric Mini will arrive on the roads from the beginning of 2024, at least in its three-door version, because the five-door and the convertible will wait until the end of the same year.

In the meantime, we already know the characteristics of the two zero-emission versions, Cooper E and Cooper SE, summarized in this table:

If the presentation of this new and fifth generation of Mini was entirely made around the E and SE versions, there will indeed also be thermal. In gasoline and diesel. But this was clearly not Mini’s axis of communication during this presentation of the new city car.

Moreover, surprisingly, the new thermal and electric Minis will not be produced in the same place for a simple and good reason: it is that they do not even share the same platform. It will be in Oxford for the thermal Mini, and in China for the electric Mini, which uses a Great Wall platform.

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