Cupra Raval vs MINI Electric

The Cupra Raval is £905 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £152 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Cupra Raval comes out roughly £905 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 139 miles for the Cupra Raval and 121 miles for the MINI Electric - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Cupra Raval goes roughly 17 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 23 minutes in the Cupra Raval and 31 in the MINI Electric, so the Cupra Raval loses less time at each stop. That makes the Cupra Raval the stronger long-distance car.

The MINI Electric is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 57 mm narrower than the Cupra Raval. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 673 mm of total clearance for the MINI Electric and about 616 mm of total clearance for the Cupra Raval. The MINI Electric also turns in a 0.3 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the Cupra Raval and 84% for the MINI Electric. That gives the Cupra Raval a modest edge in retained real-world range. The Cupra Raval's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the MINI Electric's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.