2022 Mini Yours Electric, Is it Worth the Money

I’m a self-confessed Mini lover. Despite the fact that the classic mini would fit in the glove box of a 2022 model, Mini retains the gravitas and chutzpah that made it a favourite with rock stars and royalty.

Mini Yours is the value-add pack that gives you a couple of extra goodies like leather and a glass roof. Sadly, it doesn’t give you extra range.

Get List of Inclusions HERE: 2022 Mini Yours Features

Let’s deal with the bad news first: range.

If a promised 230km seems piffling, the reality of well under 200km makes Mini Electric a city car only. It charges at a max of 50kw “fast charging”, so is really only suitable for peeps with a plug at their place. Those schlepping round to the local for a quickie atop-up are in for a bit of a shock. You have to wait a while, or worse still, you might even be locked in at the shopping centre for the night. See my experiences HERE and HERE.

Confined to backstreets with the occasional freeway, Mini EV doesn’t need to try to be all things to all people. That doesn’t mean it isn’t ridiculously cute, fabulously fun, and has an aura that keeps that Beatles-esque vibe alive and kicking. I rather admire BMW for having the balls to ask over 60 grand for an EV with so little range. Considering EV6 and IONIQ5 charge at 6 times the rate, have 3 times the range, and costs only 10 grand more, it all looks a bit grim for the Mini Electric.

Perhaps it was the ghosts of Sloane rangers past, or the memories of Princesses in party frocks alighting, stellies brandished, but I still loved Mini Electric. You see, it isn’t about value, or class, or range, it is about making a statement.

Servicing EVs can be done every few years, for 2-and-sixpence. Mini Electric is almost silent, and costs bugger-all to run.

This Week Review: 2022 Mini Yours EV FULL REVIEW: How I almost Got Locked IN a CarPark Overnight!

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ABOVE: 2022 Mini Yours EV FULL REVIEW: How I almost Got Locked IN a CarPark Overnight!

The buyer isn’t a commuter from the central cost, no, the buyer is someone who harkens back to the halcyon days of motoring. They’ve sufficient funds so that cost isn’t the main concern dinner time. Like Prius owners, the buyer wants a car that says something about what they believe in. In a short while, a few shekels more will get an electric BMW X1. It’s the same company and not a world away in size, yet Mini Electric will carve itself a niche no other car will ever fill.

The cabin has changed little since the birth of the modern Mini around 20 years ago.

It is retro without being a tragic pastiche. The sound system is most excellent, and wireless CarPlay and Mini’s subscription concierge service continue to add value. Provided a computer doesn’t break, Mini Electric should last ages.

You get the mod cons like an HUD and active cruise, and great climate control, comfy seats, and a decent infotainment system.

It drives smoothly, one might even say it has pep in its step. 135kw through the front wheels is oodles. Minis have always had a sporty reputation, even in the basest of base models. Mini Electric handles well, but above all, has bags of atmosphere. There is no difference between driving a Mini, and a Mini Electric, so grandma would feel as comfortable as any Gen Z with their obligatory god complex.

You simply cannot help but feel superior. Each time you glide wraithishly through a car park, your smugness grows. The same company who makes Mini Electric also makes a Rolls Royce Ghost and BMW M4, you know it, and they know it. You don’t buy car like this for what it is, you buy it for what it isn’t. Even regular Minis are as rare as rocking horse poo, and electric Minis are unicorns.

Think of Mini Electric as a gent’s club you don’t need to be nominated for. It asks no membership fee, and no matter how badly behaved you are at the next Christmas party, it won’t kick you out with a life ban.

At the top of the review, you expected me to conclude by saying Mini Electric was a completely ill-conceived, expensive, rarely patronised experiment. Perhaps to some it is, but I don’t, I love it. So, to answer the question, yes. Mini Electric is like a piece of modern art. Do you remember what the conservatives said about Lord Sir Saint Gough buying Blue Poles? Yes, me too. Clever old Gough picked it up for a cool mill in ’73. Almost 50 years later, it is worth 350mill. Value can only be defined buy one person, the buyer, because doubters are almost always wrong.

  • Price: $62,825
  • Engine: Electric
  • Power: 135kw/270Nm
  • Range: 230km (claimed)
  • Charging: 50kw max

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