What EV Charger Do You Need for a 2020 MINI Cooper SE Hardtop 2 door?
Forty-eight amps is what you need. Your car pulls up to 11.0 kW on AC power, refilling its 34.4 kWh battery in 3.1 hours. The EPA test pegs the time at 4.0 hours because those official cycles do not always run at the car's peak AC rate.
The numbers
| Maximum AC charging rate | 11.0 kW (48 A) |
|---|---|
| Charger size to buy | 48 A |
| Circuit breaker required | 60 A |
| Outlet / connection | hardwired (a 48 A EVSE must be hardwired -- no household receptacle is rated for it) |
| Charge port | J1772 |
| Full charge on Level 2 | about 3.1 hours |
| Range added per hour (Level 2) | about 35 miles |
| Full charge on a 120 V outlet | about 24 hours |
| Range added per hour (120 V) | about 4.6 miles |
| EPA rated range | 110 miles |
| Energy for a full charge | about 34.4 kWh at the wall |
Why 48 amps and not more
Matching your 48 A onboard charger means you pull the fastest possible AC charge without wasting money on gear your car cannot use. Buying a larger unit gets you nothing because the vehicle limits incoming current. Level 1 charging takes 24 hours for a full tank, which makes a 48 A Level 2 setup mandatory for daily driving. You add 35 miles of range every hour on Level 2, blowing past the EPA rate of 28 miles per hour. Your car uses a standard J1772 connector.
What the install involves
You need a licensed electrician to pull a 60 amp breaker and run heavy gauge wire to your garage wall. Hardwiring is mandatory here because no household receptacle is rated for a 48 amp continuous load. The electrician must check that your service panel has spare capacity for the new heavy circuit before landing it on the breaker. Skip cheap plugs and wire directly into a hardwired unit.
Chargers that match this car
Energy monitoring built in. Hardwire it for the full 48 A.
Compact unit, good for tight garages.
Adjustable from 16 A to 50 A in the app, which helps if your panel is tight.
Worth having as well
Common questions
- What connector does my car use?
- Your car uses a J1772 connector. Every non Tesla EV sold in North America through 2024 uses this standard.
- How long does a full charge take?
- A full charge takes 3.1 hours at maximum Level 2 speed. Level 1 takes 24 hours if you plug into a standard wall outlet.
- Can I use a plug-in charger?
- No, because a 48 A EVSE must be hardwired. No household receptacle is rated for that much continuous current.
- How much range do I get per hour?
- You get 35 miles of range per hour on Level 2. The EPA rated rate is 28 miles per hour.
Other vehicles
Charging times derived from EPA data for the 2020 MINI Cooper SE Hardtop 2 door. Electrical requirements follow NEC 625.41, which sizes a circuit at 125% of a continuous load. Always have a licensed electrician verify your panel.