BMW i3 vs MINI Aceman

The BMW i3 costs £6,870 more than the MINI Aceman. For that premium it adds a 5.4s quicker 0-62mph time. The MINI Aceman is not just cheaper - it also offers 25 kW faster peak rapid charging and 1 more seat (5 versus 4). On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the MINI Aceman comes out ahead overall.

The MINI Aceman is £6,870 cheaper to buy. The MINI Aceman is cheaper to charge, roughly £136 a year versus £168 for the BMW i3, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the MINI Aceman comes out roughly £7,030 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 129 miles for the BMW i3 and 159 miles for the MINI Aceman - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The MINI Aceman goes roughly 30 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 42 minutes in the BMW i3 and 29 in the MINI Aceman, so the MINI Aceman loses less time at each stop. That makes the MINI Aceman the stronger long-distance car.

The two are within 21 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 646 mm of total clearance for the MINI Aceman and about 625 mm of total clearance for the BMW i3. The BMW i3 also turns in a 0.9 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 88% battery health for the BMW i3 and 84% for the MINI Aceman. That gives the BMW i3 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.