Written by Alan Taylor-Jones Published: 27 May 2025

Overview

You wait ages for a fast electric MINI, and then two come along at once. The five-door MINI Aceman JCW is the sensible compact electric SUV I’ll be reviewing here, but there’s also the three-door Cooper JCW Electric for those that don’t need as much space.

Upgrading from the JCW hatchback to the more versatile Aceman JCW is a mere £2,000 but does bring a drop in performance. It takes half a second longer to get from 0-62mph although 6.4 seconds is still pretty brisk, if behind key rivals.

It is perhaps unfair to compare it to the wild Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance and the Smart #1 Brabus considering the Aceman makes do with a single motor driving the front wheels. However, the Abarth 600e and Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce both dip below six seconds for the 0-62mph blast.

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Being fast and being fun are two very different things as the EX30 proves so well, and MINIs have traditionally been all about the handling. I’ve driven the Aceman JCW over a few days to find out how it stacks up as both a performance car and a family friendly SUV. To find out more about how we test cars at Parkers, have a look at our explainer page.

What’s it like inside?

Perhaps disappointingly, much the same as a regular MINI Aceman in Sport trim when you’re sat in the driver’s seat. The red chequered flag pattern on the knitted black dashboard is the same, so it’s really only the red detailing on the steering wheel’s fabric strap and boost paddle, plus more red detailing on the floor mats that signal this is a JCW.

We go into more detail in the main Aceman review, but the highlights are an interior that looks classy thanks to fabric inserts on the dash and doors, a sharp looking and responsive circular touchscreen infotainment system and a well-covered steering wheel. There are more hard plastics than you might expect from a MINI, and few physical controls for key features.

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All Aceman JCWs get the Level 1 pack which adds wireless phone charging and crucially, a head up display that projects your speed onto a screen in your line of sight. Without it, you’d have to look at the central screen for that, your range and battery level as there’s no second screen for the driver as standard. Space up front is good, with masses of headroom, but rear legroom is tight.

Comfort

The seats certainly have plenty of side support despite not being JCW specific, although I would have appreciated adjustable lumbar support. Sadly, you’ll need the pricey Level 3 pack and its electric seats for that.

All JCWs do get heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, plus dual-zone climate control to avoid heat related arguments with your front passenger. Keyless entry with folding, auto dimming door mirrors is a nice touch, as is the auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

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MINI Aceman JCW boot space and practicality

The boot is a tiny 300-litres and it only has a 60/40 split fold with no load through facility. A variable boot floor gives some underfloor storage but whatever you do with it, the loading lip is large. An Abarth 600e is also rather tight in the back for passengers, but has a much bigger boot.

With the rear seats folded flat, you’re left with 1,005-litres of space. That’s not a lot on paper, but still enough for a decent tip run.

Safety

Euro NCAP are yet to crash test the MINI Aceman at the time of writing, although the Ora 03 with which it shares a platform scored the full five stars. You certainly get plenty of safety kit including the usual lane keep assist, automatic emergency braking and speed limit info with a warning beep. A shortcut icon takes you to a screen where the lane assist and speed limit warning can be easily disabled.

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Other standard kit includes a useful blind spot warning that also warns you of opening the door into a cyclist, for instance. All-round parking sensors, a reversing camera and a reversing assist should help avoid lower speed scrapes, and further driver and parking assist features are found in the Level 3 pack. Most people will manage with what’s standard.

MINI Aceman JCW motors and batteries

You can’t get the smaller of the Aceman’s two battery packs in the JCW, just the 49kWh (useable) one coupled to a 258hp electric motor. That figure does come with a caveat – it takes the boost paddle to deliver the last 27hp and it’s only available for 10 seconds and a time.

What’s it like to drive?

There’s good news and bad news. The good is that it still has that MINI feel, with well-weighted controls, quick steering and agile turn-in to bends. You can certainly have some fun on smooth roads, with my sports tyre-equipped test car generating plenty of grip and showing good balance in the bends. Punchy performance once your rolling also means it feels quick between corners.

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If it sounds like the last paragraph was heavily caveated, that’s because it was. Let’s start with the acceleration. It doesn’t feel all that fast off the line, almost as if a lot of the power is being held back to stop the front tyres spinning. I also feel the steering wheel writhing my hands as I accelerate hard. This is called torque steer and is generally found when you’re putting too much power through the front wheels.

You get some torque steer in the more powerful Abarth 600e, but that’s partially down to that car’s traction-boosting limited slip differential, something the Aceman JCW doesn’t have. Besides, the 600e still has less torque steer than the Aceman. The there’s the ride which is way too stiff even if you’re cornering hard. Mid-bend bumps jolt through the interior and could upset the car’s balance if you’re really on it.

I also just wouldn’t want to live with something this firm. The gentle urban crawl I encounter most mornings is jarring, and while it’s a bit more bearable at speed, there is still a constant wearing fidget that soon annoys.

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Range and charging

How far you go depends an awful lot on which tyres you go for. Those that want to pose are best served by the normal efficiency biased tyres that’ll net you up to 242 miles and 4.3 miles per kWh (mpk) according to WLTP figures. Pick the sports tyres for improved grip and this tumbles to nearer 200 miles and 3.9mpk. I’ve been averaging 3.7mpk, albeit with a long motorway run, which gives a calculated range of 182 miles.

MINI gives a 0-100% charge time on an 11kW wallbox as five hours 30 minutes, although expect nearer eight on a typical 7.4kW home wallbox. The Aceman JCW can accept a rapid charge of up to 95kW, giving a 10-80% time of 31 minutes.

What models and trims are available?

JCW is a trim in itself and comes with the Level 1 option pack included. Level 2 adds a Harman Kardon surround sound audio system, a panoramic glass roof and darkened rear glass. Level 3 really ramps up the luxury at a cost, giving you electric memory front seats with driver’s massage, semi-autonomous driving functionality, an interior camera, augmented reality sat nav and the parking assistance plus.

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You get plenty of choice regarding the exterior styling. A red roof and mirror caps and black stripes are standard, and you get a choice of two alloy wheels with your choice of tyres at no extra charge, too. Other colours are a chargeable option and gives you more choice with roof and stripe colours.

What else should I know?

MINI goes in heavily on the digital personalisation options. This includes different designs for the front and rear daytime running lights and the ability to upload custom homescreen pictures. Voice control happens through a cartoon dog called Spike.