Honda City vs Mini 3D Hatch

What's the difference?

Small sedan sales are on the wane, and as a result, the cars that remain in the market often aren’t the best in a brand’s lineup.

This is the case with the Honda City. While it’s got plenty of space for passengers and it’s economical, the performance of the drivetrain in terms of composure leaves a lot to be desired.

The underdone steering, too, makes the car uncomfortable for passengers more often than not, while the buggy, hard-to-use multimedia system is unforgivable in an almost-$22,000 car.

Put it this way… the larger, newer, more refined base model Honda Civic is tantalisingly close in price to the top-spec City, and we know which side of the dealership we’d be walking towards.

The Mini Cooper surprised me. I didn’t expect this little car to be electrified with such success. It’s fun to drive, easy to charge, and aside from its range, which is naturally limited by its size, the remaining drawbacks are no different from the rest of the Cooper range.

Who is the Cooper SE Electric best suited for? Probably a buyer who is looking for a second car to use primarily as a runabout who also happens to love the art of driving. Few EVs fit that bill so well.

The City does a good job of disguising the fact that it’s a micro-sized sedan; at first glance, the revised front bar and grille that’s meant to mimic the one on the new Civic does such a good job that some people will need to look at the bootlid badge to find out it’s not a Civic.

A high waistline and a solid yet stylish sweep over the roof keep the City from looking overly twee, and even though the 16-inch wheels look a bit narrow, the overall impression is one of a larger car.

The interior, too, is spacious and airy, while the controls and steering wheel give the City an upmarket feel. There’s a little too much grey plastic inside, and hard plastics aren’t difficult to spot, but the City presents well, on the whole.

The Cooper SE, at least in this ‘Yours’ trim, is iconic Mini. Like the concurrent Fiat 500, the Mini is one of those cars which does ‘modern classic’ so well it’s hard to tell how old it is underneath.

The commitment to the core shape of this car is admirable, but to me this is a particularly rare case of everything clad in black working brilliantly.

The little green bits which hint at the electrified nature of this variant contrast so well, and are much more subtle as a flourish on these ‘Tentacle’ wheels than they are on the somewhat ham-fisted ‘Power’ rims which normally come with the SE.

This extends to the inside of our test car, which also had black seats and black headlining to match the black dash.

Again, normally this would be a recipe for undue claustrophobia, but in this Mini it just feels right.

The seats are more comfortable than they look, and adjust for a low-slung and sporty feeling arrangement. The dash is a little clumsy, though, with its lumpy design and plethora of material choices, perhaps shaped more for style than to induce a feeling of spaciousness.

I’m still not a particular fan of it, but when you combine it with things like the toggle-style buttons and Union Jack imprints in the tops of the front seats, there’s no question Mini is committed to unique styling.

This is particularly true of the huge round centre panel, which in its original incarnation used to house the speedometer, but now houses a multimedia suite.

The positioning of the screen doesn’t feel entirely right for the driver to use as a touchscreen, and the software is overcomplicated at best, and downright painful to use at worst.

Thankfully, once you’ve managed to get the wireless Apple CarPlay working, you’ll be forced to use it less often.

This is beginning to sound overly critical, but the context is this car isn’t designed to feel spacious or function seamlessly. It’s designed to be a statement all on its own.

When you combine the unmistakable exterior presence with this particular colour scheme and wheels, the whacky interior falls into place to make for one somehow completely charming package.

It has so much charisma I found myself constantly forgiving, or at least overlooking, its flaws to enjoy it as an experience – just as intended.

Up front, the City is a great fit even for taller drivers, and its height-adjustable seat also means that the, err, less vertically inclined pilot can find a comfortable position behind the tilt-and-reach adjustable wheel.

A regular gear shifter and manual handbrake means the two cupholders are squashed under the centre console, but there are bottle holders in all four doors, as well as two more cupholders in the rear centre armrest in the VTi-L.

The VTi-L also gains two extra 12-volt accessory power points in the rear to complement the USB and a third 12V point up front, while the keyless entry system is not something you’d usually find on a car at this price point.

Sadly, the City’s multimedia system lets the side down - big time. Try as we might, we couldn’t connect a phone to our tester, no matter what we did, and it’s just utterly unintuitive to use in most situations.

It’s a bit of a rude shock, actually; most manufacturers have media systems sorted, but there’s simply not a even a half-decent one in any Honda that’s currently on sale. And there's no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, though you can find those mirroring systems in the larger Civic.

Rear seating has adequate headroom – just – for taller teens, and there isn’t a lot of compromise required from front seaters to comfortably accommodate four people. Five? That’s getting crowded, but it can be done.

Two ISOFIX baby seat fixtures are present, along with three top-tether mounts. Boot space measures 536 litres - which is actually 12 litres bigger than that of the new Camry - while both rear seats fold flat(ish) to increase load capacity further.

A good point; the seats can be unlatched via boot-mounted buttons. A bad point; you still have to reach in and push the seats down by hand. A space saver spare nestles under the boot floor, as well.

Does anyone buy a car called a Mini for practicality? I hope not. How does this little hatch line up with the segment or the EV market, though?

The answer is still not well. Even compared with design-led cars like Mazda’s MX-30, the Mini is smaller again, having hardly any boot space (211 litres to be precise) and only four seats. Even then, the rear two seats are difficult to access and no good for adults.

There’s a handy space under the boot floor for charging gear, although as the Cooper uses run-flat tyres, there’s no spare.

It is worth noting this electric version doesn’t actually lose any room compared to the standard combustion variants.

As driver-focused as this little car might be, it’s hardly a better story up front, as the Cooper SE trades away practicality to stay true to its retro design.

The driver's seat is comfy, low, and sporty, clasping your sides nicely and I like the trim a lot. But, as mentioned the space feels quite claustrophobic due to the proximity of the A-pillars and up-close dash features.

Functionally, the dash layout is a little awkward, with the small digital instrument display being partially obscured by the wheel in my driving position. The exaggerated centre screen panel and other trimmings feel as though they close in what little space is available, particularly if you’re tall and have knees.

There’s hardly any cabin storage on offer, either, with a small wireless charging bay in the armrest console, a tiny bay below that for loose objects, two small cupholders with another small bin in front of the shifter, and tiny pockets in the doors.

To make things worse, the two-door Cooper design has enormous doors, making it hard to slide in and out of in tight parking spots. Ironic given how easy it is to park this compact car in the first place.

The Mini Cooper SE costs from $55,650 before on-roads (MSRP) for the base Classic trim, and our car in the higher ‘Yours’ aesthetic trim package actually wears an even higher price-tag of $63,475. Topping off the range is the limited-edition Resolute trim, which wears a starting price of $63,825 - it is only available in the ‘Rebel Green’ colour scheme with an off-white roof.

There’s no getting around the fact that’s a lot of cash for a three-door hatch. Even hot hatches in this size-category are significantly cheaper.

But in the EV space it doesn’t look so bad when lined up against the Mazda MX-30, which has a similar range, or this car’s outgoing BMW i3 cousin which cost a whopping $71,900 before it was discontinued in 2021.

However, range is a weakness. With a 233km range, the Mini is essentially confined to city limits, while for a significantly lower MSRP you can be hopping in a trendy Tesla Model 3 or stylish Polestar 2 which both offer north of 450km of driving range – enough for most inter-city trips.

I suspect the intention is for this Mini to be best kept as a second car for darting around town in a fuel-free manner and not as a primary mode of transport. Even so, the pricing makes it a tall order for a niche customer.

Regardless, the standard equipment is decent, as the now ageing third-generation Mini has been significantly augmented with better tech over time.

This version comes with 17-inch ‘Tentacle’ alloy wheels (I like these a LOT more than the dorky standard ‘Power’ wheels on the electric version), leather ‘lounge’ seats with a leather steering wheel, an 8.8-inch widescreen multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto), a wireless phone charger in the fold-down armrest, digital radio and built-in sat-nav, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control (feels overkill for such a small cabin), and a heat pump (helps regulate the battery temp and support the car’s electrical features).

There’s also a head-up display and a quaint 5.5-inch digital instrument cluster to support the driver. All Minis get LED headlights and tail-lights, complete with the Union Jack pattern, which is either a fun attention-to-detail piece or dangerously close to Austin Powers levels of self-parody, depending on who you ask.

What do you miss out on? Not much. The seats are manual adjust which is rare at such a tall price, but otherwise there’s a decent active safety suite, and Mini even throws in a Type 2 to Type 2 public charging cable as well as the standard wall socket version.

There are more good things to say on the topic of charging, too, but we’ll leave that for the relevant part of this review.

The i-VTEC four-cylinder 1.5-litre single cam engine is naturally aspirated, and it makes its 88kW at a high 6600rpm, while its modest 145Nm of torque peaks at 4600rpm.

It means the CVT gearbox needs to work pretty hard to get the best from the engine, which has been superseded by a twin-cam version in other markets.

This electric Mini takes the best bits from BMW’s late i3 hatch, and one of those is its electric motor. With 135kW/270Nm on tap, it’s a punchy little thing, and in a package this small it feels energetic.

There’s a single-speed transmission with an integrated front differential, and this version of the Cooper will sprint from 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds.

The motor also uses a particularly aggressive regenerative braking profile, which is strong by default but can be adjusted down by the driver.

It can also make use of an array of drive modes: 'Sport', 'Normal', 'Green', and 'Green+' (which maxes out regen and won’t let you use the air-con!).

I spent the majority of my time in the car using Green or Normal modes, with a stint in Sport. It was nice that each mode seemed to give the steering and accelerator response a distinct but not overtly artificial character.

The underdone performance does offer a benefit at the petrol pump, with the City returning a claimed 5.9 litres per 100km on the combined fuel economy cycle.

A 320km test loop netted us a dash-indicated figure of 6.3 litres per 100km, which is impressively close.

The 40-litre fuel tank is happy to accept standard unleaded petrol, too.

The Cooper SE draws its power from a 32.6kWh Lithium-ion battery pack, one of the smallest of any mass-market EV on sale today.

This grants it an official combined cycle range of 233km on the realistic WLTP testing protocol, but you can expect a real-world range of around 200km. My car was reporting around 180km at 100 per cent charge.

The WLTP-rated energy consumption for the SE is 16.8kWh/100km, and I saw 14.0kWh/100km. That's better than the 16kWh/100km I’m getting from my MX-30 electric long-termer, but still not as adept as the smaller Hyundai electric offerings.

I drove it around with regen maxed out aside from a stint on some back roads in Sport mode which dials it back a little. As the battery is very small, expect every little change in road conditions or regen usage to have a bigger effect on the range remaining.

The Cooper SE has a single European-standard Type 2 CCS charging port on the rear driver’s side. For a car with such a small battery, the Cooper charges very fast which helps make it more convenient to use.

On the slower but more readily-available AC chargers it will charge at a max rate of 11kW which will see a charge time somewhere in the range of three and a half hours, while on a fast DC charger it will get to 80 per cent charge from 10 per cent in 36 minutes.

The 11kW AC inverter is particularly welcome, as with a battery this small, it means you can realistically rely entirely on AC charging which is an increasingly common feature of council parking locations.

No other car with a battery this small offers AC charging this fast, and it’s convenient to avoid the need to seek out a DC charger for a full juice every once in a while.

Weighing just 1100kg, you’d expect the 1.5-litre powered City to have a bit of get up and go… but unfortunately it’s already gotten up and left by the time you drive off.

The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine is a carryover unit from the previous generation, and it feels like it, too. It’s also teamed with a CVT gearbox that isn’t a patch on more up-to-date trannies from the likes of Subaru and Toyota.

On any sort of incline, the CVT ups the revs of the engine to a point between bloody annoying and mildly painful, too. The VTi can be ordered with a manual gearbox, which has to be better than the CVT in this example.

The underdamped suspension tune is adequate for light duties around town, but the electric steering feel very odd underhand, especially at the very beginning of a turn.

There’s a big initial motion at the front wheels when you start to turn which then quickly tapers off, meaning that you have to be ultra precise with your steering to prevent the City from lurching into the corner and falling over its soft suspension.

On light throttle, with no hills and few corners, though, the City is just fine…

The Cooper SE not only nails the Mini brief of feeling “like a go-cart” on the road, but to me this car particularly proves electric vehicles can have distinct and engaging characteristics.

Immediately, all the Mini cornerstones are present. This car feels low-slung, firmly sprung, with heavy and direct steering ensuring you really feel the road.

Few electric cars have come close to something so engagement-oriented. The Model 3 is firm and fast, but somewhat removed from the road with its unusual cabin and heavily computerized steering, while Mazda’s MX-30 is a similarly lightweight and engaging EV, just with the ride height and pleasantries of an SUV.

The Cooper has more the personality of a track-ready hot hatch. It leaps into action with the responsiveness of its electric motor, and the steering tune gives it a dart-like feel in traffic.

The firm ride won’t be for everyone. It’s a little hard on the day-to-day, and its lack of wheel travel compared to, say, an SUV gives it more trouble balancing out bigger bumps and corrugations which can get unpleasant in the cabin.

Carving up a curvy road on the weekend, though? There’s no EV better than this bar Porsche’s Taycan, and even then, you’ll need one hell of a road to make the most of it.

The tightly-wound little Mini simply comes alive in the corners. Anyone who doubts electric vehicles can still be fun needs to drive one of these before they settle their mind.

The downside? While the Mini will put a smile on your face, the electric drivetrain here feels a bit like cheating. No transmission and an instantly responsive regen brake makes it all too easy to carve corners without the need to even take your foot off the accelerator pedal.

And having the weight so far down in an already low car makes it stick to the road like glue. You never really feel like something can be done wrong in this car.

While it’s so much more fun than most electric cars, it’s still missing the engagement of the need to grab a gear yourself.

On the topic of regeneration, the Mini’s aggro little motor will slow you down as quickly as it can accelerate, and in Green mode in particular it can be driven as a ‘single pedal vehicle’ around town.

You have to watch its bite, as a minimal release of the accelerator will bring you to a halt. This is good for economy though, and you’ll need it to make the most of this little hatchback’s short range.

Despite being a few years old now, the Cooper SE comes with a suite of active safety items, including city-speed auto emergency braking with pedestrian detection and forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control with stop and go function.

While these items are decent, the standard has really moved on now, requiring items like blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert.

The Cooper features ISOFIX child-seat mounting points and top-tethers for the rear two seats, as well as the standard array of six airbags. It also has the useful inclusion of front and rear parking sensors.

The Mini Cooper three-door only wears a four-star ANCAP safety rating, and it is to an antiquated 2014 standard. It’s worth noting this rating only applies to combustion variants, leaving us with another unknown for this electric version.

Honda sells the City with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, while a no-catch seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty is occasionally offered with its cars, along with premium roadside assistance for the life of the longer warranty.

Both warranties are also transferable to the next owner, should you sell your car before the warranty expires.

A fixed-price servicing regime is in place for the City, too, starting at $259 and peaking at $297. But Honda asks for the City to be serviced every six months or 10,000km, which does add to the cost of running the car.

Mini, like its BMW parent, persists with an off-the-pace three-year and unlimited kilometre warranty promise. This includes roadside assist, and the battery components are covered by a separate industry-standard eight-year and 160,000km warranty.

Minis have ‘condition-based servicing’ whereby the car will decide when to send you back to the workshop, so intervals could be variable.

A ‘basic cover’ service program will set you back just $940 for four years, or $1280 for six years, which includes a vehicle check, fluids, and an air conditioning filter.

The more comprehensive ‘Plus Cover’ which has location-based pricing will also include brake pads and discs and wiper blade replacements where required.