New all-electric MINI Cooper: MINI moments of magic you’ll love

Toggles: old magic made new

Although the new all-electric MINI Cooper is focused on digital thinking, MINI hasn't forgotten the iconic appeal and tactile magic of good old-fashioned buttons and switches.

Sitting below the large circular OLED touchscreen, this bar of switches gives you quick access to essential driving controls. There's a cool key-shaped start/stop switch, alongside a flickable drive selector and the parking brake button. Another toggle lets you flick between the different MINI Experience Modes to match your mood (more on those in a moment).

You also get a dedicated button for the MINI Parking Assistant, as well as easy-access one-touch buttons for easy front and rear window demisting, helping you make a quick getaway on frosty early mornings.

Experience Modes: personalised magic

Anyone who's been to a sporting event or concert where you've been presented with an LED wristband upon entry will know that the simple use of lights can turn an already incredible experience into a truly enchanting one – that's where the new all-electric MINI Cooper's Experience Modes come in.

The seven Experience Modes allow you to change the graphics on the large circular touchscreen and alter the ambient lighting that splashes down onto the soft-touch, 2D-effect knitted dashboard and pulsates throughout the rest of the interior.

Core and Balanced Modes offer great default options. Pick Timeless Mode and you get a digital speedometer that evokes the iconic design of the original 1959 Mini's speedometer, while Vivid Mode is inspired by MINI's long links with the British music scene – using bold vibrant colours to evoke psychedelic album art.

Green Mode changes the driving character of the all-electric MINI Cooper, delivering power more smoothly and using more regenerative braking to recapture and redirect energy back to the battery during deceleration to enhance range.

At the other extreme, you've got Go-Kart Mode, which combines a crisp white-on-black race-inspired speedometer with configurable steering and traction control intervention to amp up the all-electric MINI Cooper's sporty performance feel.

Finally, Personal Mode lets you custom-select your ambient lighting to suit your mode and upload images from the MINI app to display on the touchscreen.

"Hey MINI": your very own in-car magician

It's easy to access all the all-electric MINI Cooper's key features on the touchscreen. But wouldn't it be even better if you didn't need to use your hands at all? Well, that's where MINI Intelligent Personal Assistant – MINI's first fully-fledged, fully-featured voice control – comes in.

Simply say "Hey MINI" or use the steering-wheel-mounted push-to-talk button and you can see your voice commands appearing on the touchscreen display, so you can be sure it understands what you're saying. You also get the option of having a friendly animated dog 'Spike' to guide you through your choices.

Using MINI's enhanced voice recognition, you can control navigation, music and podcasts, hands-free phone calls and other key vehicle functions. The system also learns your behaviours, regular routes and uses geo-based data to make things even easier – such as automatically opening the window when entering a car park. You can even ask it to tell you a joke.

Headlights: new tech, same magical look

Finally, the circular headlights of the original Mini helped it become a pop culture icon recognisable worldwide. More than 60 years later, the new all-electric MINI Cooper has put its own spin on those unmistakable lights.

Up front, the striking new octagonal grille is framed by bright LED headlights that will even give you a cheeky wink when you press the lock button twice.

At the rear, a fresh triangular interpretation of MINI's Union Jack rear LED lights works with the front LED daytime running lights to offer three uniquely orchestrated light signature animations – giving you the perfect welcome greeting or look-back-with-longing farewell for your car.