BMW owned Mini has renamed it’s 'Corona spoke' wheels available on the 'Iconic' trim of the carmaker's first-mass produced electric car- Mini Cooper SE. The unfortunate reference to the global Coronavirus pandemic was made before the novel coronavirus had surfaced. While other car manufacturers are faced with a variety of problems due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdowns enforced to contain the virus's spread, Mini's problem is unusual, to say the least. The 'Corona spoke' wheel has now been renamed as 'Power spoke' and continues to be offered on higher trim levels of the Cooper SE
Mini Cooper SE is available with a single powertrain option where the motor churns out 181bhp of power at 7000rpm and 270Nm of torque. The Mini EV is powered with a 32.6 kWh high-voltage lithium-ion battery that offers a range of between 235-270km on the WLTP cycle. The charging time to attain a full-charge is 3.5 hours with an 11kW charger and 1.4 hours with a 50kW DC charger. The Cooper SE can attain a top speed of 150kmph where it goes 0-60 kmph in 3.9 seconds and 0-100 kmph in 7.3 seconds. Cooper SE also gets a 5.5-inch digital instrument cluster paired to a navigation system. It also gets a 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system, dual-zone climate control and more. The buyers also get an option to choose from four exterior and interior packages.
While driving the Cooper SE one also gets an option to select from four different driving modes which are Standard, Sport, Green and Green+. While Sport is geared towards enthusiastic driving, the Green and Green+ modes focus on attaining maximum efficiency. The Green+ goes a step further by even deactivating heating and air-conditioning functions for increasing efficiency especially when one is running out of power.
The 3-door hatch is the first-ever electric from Mini and could go on sale in India 2021. The car was unveiled in the USA last year and was expected to make its way to India as a CBU as a low volume product.This isn't the first time a carmaker has had to change the name of a car/ part because of a disease. The Tata Zica became the Tiago.