Pricing 

If you’ve been browsing electric vehicles for a while, you’ll know they are expensive to buy outright but make up for it by having tiny running costs. But the MINI Electric’s price won’t actually make you choke on your coffee in the dealership in the same way you might when you discover a Vauxhall Corsa can be over £30,000. 

For the MINI, there will be three trim levels beginning with the standard Level 1 trim at £27,000 after the £1,500 government plug-in car grant has been applied. That’s not too much more than an equivalent Cooper S with an automatic gearbox.

The mid-range Level 2 costs £2,000 more and adds seats which are partially trimmed in fake leather, additional exterior body colour and wheel options, parking sensors, a rear camera, heated seats, and some accident-prevention safety gadgets. 

The Level 3 and upwards don't currently qualify for the grant, so have a big step up in price. MINI may tweak the offering to take advantage of the government cash - we'll keep you posted!

Running costs

The first Mini was launched in 1959 as an economy car, and 60 years later the MINI Electric should also be one of the cheapest cars to run – once you’ve bought it of course. Charging at home should cost around £4, which will take you between 100-140 miles, depending on how you use the car. That’s about a fifth as much as running a petrol MINI. Servicing is set to be cheaper too, as there are less parts that need replacing in an electric car.

Insurance won’t be as cheap as the classic Minis though – the groups haven’t been set yet, but the brokers usually charge a little more for electric cars and the petrol Cooper is in group 20E. 

Which leaves depreciation as the biggest cost, as it is with most cars. The good news is that the MINI is predicted to hold its value really well, which translates into cheaper prices from leasing and PCP/PCH finance. MINI says that with a £4,500 deposit, monthly rentals for the Level 1 will be £299 per month for a 48 month Personal Contract Hire agreement with an allowance of 10,000 miles per year. That's cheaper than a mid-range petrol Vauxhall Astra. Small cars like a VW Polo are about £100 less than the MINI per month on the finance but you'll spend more than that on fuel and road tax if the petrol Polo is averaging around 40mpg.