The new Mini Cooper Electric improves on the previous generation model by offering a larger battery pack. Despite the refresh in design and improved range, it fails to stand out over rival alternatives and has quite a few shortcomings for a vehicle that starts from £30,000.
In terms of its audio configuration, as standard, there is a six-speaker setup that outputs 100 Watts of power. If, however, you want to up the ante, you might want to opt for the £4,000 Level 2 Pack which comprises a 10-speaker 315 Watts Harman Kardon configuration among other things – the latter being on review.
Click here to read the full Mini Cooper Electric review
Mini Cooper Electric audio setup
To tinker with the vehicle’s audio settings, you’ll have to navigate to the appropriate menu on the 24cm diagonal circular infotainment system – here are our optimal settings for the Harman Kardon system:
- Surround Sound: On
- Surround intensity: +1 (one below the default)
- Treble: +4
- Bass: -2
- 7-band EQ: Not used
- Balance & Fader: Centre
In order to connect to the vehicle’s system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both supported over a wired and wireless connection, although they have not been optimised for the circular display and as such you have a letterbox design. Of course, Bluetooth is also an option with the SBC and AAC codecs supported only. Nonetheless, we’d always suggest plugging in your smartphone to attain the best audio fidelity.
Moving onto media controls, they can be accessed through the display, via the volume knob found just below and through the physical buttons located on the steering wheel.
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Mini Cooper Electric audio performance
For a demo of the Mini Cooper Electric’s audio system head on over to our YouTube channel.
In terms of its audio configuration, the stock six-speaker system outputs 100 Watts of power. There’s a midrange driver within each of the front doors and the rear door trim panels, and tweeters at the front too.
The Harman Kardon audio system houses 10 speakers that output 315 Watts of power; although, at the time of writing Harman Kardon has it listed at 600 Watts, which seems inaccurate considering the other Mini vehicles are rated at 360 Watts – see screenshots below. What we can confirm, however, are the speakers’ sizes and positions: within the dashboard there’s a 100mm midrange speaker; within each of the front doors there is a 26mm tweeter and 160mm midwoofer; housed in each of the rear door trims there’s a 26mm tweeter and 150mm midwoofer; and finally there’s a 200mm Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer in the boot.
The inclusion of a subwoofer makes a world of difference when it comes to reproducing low-end rumble. Sub-bass tones can be heard and felt throughout the cabin, resulting in songs such as ‘Dating Szn’ by Shenseea coming to life within the Mini Cooper Electric. With that said, it’s not quite up there with more premium systems that offer an even better lower-end extension, but it’s still a notable upgrade over the stock configuration that omits a subwoofer altogether.
The same could be said about the hearty mid-bass tones, which are punchy and exciting. To some extent they’re a bit too overpowering and thus why we took two notches off the Bass EQ. This gives the system a more well-rounded audio reproduction.
However, there’s no means of bettering the speaker’s midrange competencies. They sound recessed, pushed back and lack quality. You might be tempted to boost the individual frequencies via the seven-band EQ but unfortunately, this also alters vocal accuracy. Instead, we elected to adjust the Treble EQ, which raises the entire mid-to-high frequency range evenly.
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Speaking of which, the highs extend well both at the front and rear of the cabin. This is thanks to the inclusion of those 26mm tweeters found within the rear door trims. In comparison to the stock configuration, the extra speakers also make a positive impact on the soundstage. Instrument separation, and the overall width and depth are impressive. Thanks to the vehicle’s small cabin everything sounds more intense, resulting in an even more engaging feeling. To achieve this, we enabled the Surround Sound option and took one notch off the default level; this helps broaden the sound while not giving off that unwanted fishbowl echoey effect.
Disappointingly, the cabin isn’t well insulated and cannot provide that serene driving experience; you can not only hear the road under you but also feel it. Using a sound meter in the tested vehicle, we recorded 35-36 dBA at a standstill; 57-63 dBA at 20-30mph; 64-67 dBA at 40mph; and 74-77 dBA at 70mph. The latter figure that was taken on the motorway is among one if not the highest we’ve clocked in with an electric vehicle; it’s worth noting that our press vehicle had the 18″ Slide Spoke 2-tone alloys fitted.
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TotallyEV’s verdict on the Mini Cooper Electric’s audio system
The new Mini Cooper Electric’s Harman Kardon audio system provides a hearty and engaging sound and as such, receives TotallyEV’s Approved audio award. However, it is a shame that it’s locked behind the rather expensive Level 2 Pack and sonically lacks quality in the midrange tones. Therefore, do consider the upgraded audio system if you’re already set on getting the fully electric Mini and are into your audio; otherwise, it’s worth considering some of the alternatives on the market.
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Would you get the Level 2 Pack for the upgraded system? Let us know in the comments section below or via social media; we’re on: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.
