Remember the subcompact MINI Paceman from 2012 through 2016? Its heir apparent will be revealed in the flesh tomorrow at the 18th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition with front-wheel drive and a choice of two high-voltage batteries.
Why China and not the home market of the BMW Group or the United Kingdom? As it happens, the first dedicated electric vehicle from BMW-owned MINI was developed by the Chinese joint venture Spotlight Automotive. Said joint venture brings together BMW Group and Great Wall Motor.
Come 2026, both the Paceman-replacing Aceman and the electric version of the Cooper will be manufactured at MINI Plant Oxford in the United Kingdom. That said, the battery-electric Aceman slots right between the Cooper and Countryman. At just under four meters in length, the Aceman is considered a subcompact crossover.
MINI claims a rather disappointing 300 liters (10.6 cubic feet) of trunk load volume. Folding the rear seats into the floor means 1,005 liters (35.4 cubic feet), which is perfectly adequate for a vehicle of this footprint. In the first instance, customers will be presented with three grades: Classic, Exclusive, and Sport. Obviously enough, the latter is treated to John Cooper Works-like front and rear bumpers, as well as a slightly more aggressive rear spoiler.
From the standpoint of exterior design, the matte-black cladding around the bulbous wheel arches helps the Aceman stand out from the zero-emission Cooper. Bulbous is the most appropriate word to describe its rear end, which is rocking Union Jack-inspired taillights. Very British of MINI, especially when you consider that MINI failed to mention China in the press materials for the Aceman.
Photo: MINI
Angular headlights and the octagonal front grille convey a distinctive presence, and the interior is pretty characterful as well. A knitted material made from recycled polyester dominates the cabin, whereas the seats are wrapped in either a textile material or Vescin. The latter is MINI's way of saying vegan leather, a.k.a. 100 percent recyclable synthetic leather made of recycled materials.
There is no instrument cluster to speak of, but rather a rounded infotainment system touchscreen that offers all the vital information one would normally expect from the instrument cluster. Below the quirky-looking display, there is a toggle bar with five toggles. In no particular order, said toggles comprise the start/stop key, gear selector, parking brake, volume control, and experience mode.
Eight experience modes are in the offing, including Go-Kart Mode. Speaking of sporty things, Aceman E packs 184 horsepower and 214 pound-feet (290 Nm) of torque, resulting in 7.9 seconds from zero to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour). The Aceman E packs a 42.5-kWh battery good for up to 193 miles (310 kilometers; WLTP) of range.
The 2025 MINI Aceman SE levels up to 218 horsepower from its front-mounted electric drive unit, 243 pound-feet (330 Nm), 7.1 seconds to 62 miles per hour, 54.2 kilowatt hours, and 253 miles (406 kilometers) of range under the WLTP testing procedure. Fast charging at 95 kW from 10 to 80 percent is estimated to take around 30 minutes. It should be noted that the base Aceman E can't do better than 75 kilowatts on direct current.
In the United Kingdom, the sweet-looking subcompact crossover starts at 31,800 and 36,300 pounds sterling, respectively. Over in Germany, that's 34,900 and 38,900 euros. According to MINI, deliveries will kick off in November 2024.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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