New colours but the same zippy electric hatch: we spent some time with the Mini Electric Resolute Edition

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SINGAPORE

1. It comes in special edition colour schemes

The newest feature about the Mini Electric Resolute Edition lies in its colours, with a two-tone offering. The special edition features Rebel Green paintwork on the body and a Pepper White roof and exterior mirror caps, previously only available on the top of the range Mini John Cooper Works.

Bronze stripes adorn the hood and door sills, with the latter featuring the lettering ‘Resolute’ for that extra unwavering Mini spirit. This lettering can also be found on the steering wheel. Plus, 17-inch alloy wheels can be found with the ‘three-pin plug’ rim design.

2. It’s the fun of a go-kart in a proper car 

It’s no secret that Minis are fun to drive with their compact sizes, and the combination of that with the instant power delivery from an electric motor is almost too much fun. Under the bonnet is the 2021 facelifted Mini Electric with 184hp and 270Nm of torque, but putting the car through a corner undeniably leaves a smile on your face and your passengers gripping their seats in fear. 

In our first review of the Mini Electric we mentioned the one-pedal driving mode, a feature that takes the energy lost when you lift your foot off the accelerator and feeds it back into the batteries. A potential bother for those of the ‘EVs feel like driving golf-carts’ persuasion, but there’s a switch you can flip to reduce the energy recovery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxS0G0hjNPA&t=48s

But if you aren’t immediately put-off by the jerking when you get behind the wheel for the first time, it can prove to be great fun once you get used to it. With a controlled enough right foot it could also prove helpful towards the car’s range…

3. It has the range

A common gripe for the Mini Electric tends to be its limited range – 270km on paper, and roughly 230km in real world driving conditions. But if you’re driving a Mini, it’s also unlikely you’ll be driving the 50km length of Singapore from east to west, repeatedly throughout the day. More realistically you’ll likely be stopping once a week to charge the car, which isn’t off-putting considering the expansion of the charging network around the island. Which brings us to our next point:

4. Charging is convenient enough (and for some, free)

While a few years ago purchasing a Mini Electric might have been for those among us with enough wealth to own our homes and therefore our own charger, these days it’s less fear-inducing when the charge left on your battery approaches zero. 

“But what do I do while it charges?!” you cry. Well, it might be worth seeing charging as a ‘side quest’ before getting on with the ‘main storyline’. When time comes to take a break from all that darting around Singapore, there’s plenty to fill the time with. Have a cuppa and catch up on reading you miss out on because of the corporate hustle. Pick dinner up for the family before heading back home. Take a Hot Girl Walk if you find yourself somewhere you rarely visit. 

Plus, new owners of BMW and Mini EVs and PHEVs get three years worth of free charging up to 10,000kWh, thanks to a partnership with Shell Recharge and BMW Group Asia. 

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5. It’s got a Harman Kardon sound system

If you’ve always wanted to star in your own version of classic 60s road trip film Easy Rider, the Mini Electric Resolute Edition has a Harman Kardon sound system to accompany you as you cruise through Singapore. Whether it's the latest Taylor Swift album or classic dad rock the sound system in the Mini bumps any track to pure aural delight. And because it's an EV, there’s less engine noise to compete with the sound quality.

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