The BEV Mini Cooper was
The BEV Mini Cooper was always going to be niche car. Like the rest of the Mini Cooper line, it is really a baby BMW in Mini clothes. So with it pinned in from above with the new, more expensive i3, it needed to somewhat less capable, but for less money. It compares pretty well to the similarly priced, similar range, 40KWH Leaf. The Bolt and Niro/Kona EVs definitely have a range edge, but frankly they are not as cool as a EV MIni Cooper. I charge every night, and even though I have a long commute (80-100 miles/day), I could probably live with 146 mile EV range. But on the other side, you can gt a '16-'17 Volt with low miles for under $15K, and have no range concerns at all. I am glad that they are finally offering a EV Mini Cooper, and it will find many happy buyers who are OK with the EV range, and happy with the style of the car and price.