Mini Cooper SE (EV)

liamog

Yeah the big round bit is just an empty piece of plastic, the key is the only part of the car that feels cheap.

Ionised

Mine also arrived. Has a nice bit of weight to it now as the replacement piece is metal.



I do not know why Mini make the key so large!

liamog

There is an app available for MINI charging, though it is not yet available in Ireland yet.
Website is available here https://mini-charging.com/

When I picked a nearby country, I was able to login with my Mini account. They seem to have an interesting pricing model.
I'm particularly interested in the option for Ionity Plus. €13/month then 29c/kWh. It's 79c/kWh to charge at Ionity without a membership, so by my reckoning if you need to charge more than 26kWh/month at an Ionity station it makes the subscription good value.

Hopefully they enable it for the Irish market soon.

liamog

Have the Mini over a week now, so time to post up the big review
Since getting the car, I've used bimmercode to enable drive mode memory and a menu option for Acoustic Pedestrian Warning with the ability to remember the last used setting.
I've been driving the car exclusively in sport mode.

The first thing about my Mini, is it's a really nice place to be inside, the toggle switches are a really cool interface, the full leather gives a real premium feel, and the double sunroof means the car feels very open during the day.
I appreciate non of these things are specific to the SE version, Mini know how to make small premium cars and do it well. The sound system is great, and the all round parking sensors are very handy. The car does have 5 cup holders which seems oddly excessive. I only really have two complaints with the car, and I've solved one of them with bimmercode.
The first issue is with the auto hold function, the car will not roll in the opposite direction to travel when you fully stop, this is great for stopping you rolling backwards at lights, but the car will roll forwards if there is an incline. I've taken to using the electronic parking brake when stopped for longer periods. I much prefer the Ioniq system where a firm press of the breaks would just place the car into hold mode. When I do set the parking brake it will disengage automatically so it's not too bad. The other issue I had was with the acoustic pedestrian warning. I don't mind the noise too much when driving, but the noise would also play when stopped at traffic lights, I found the low hum to be annoying when completely still. The menu option which allows me to disable the warning is like the Ioniq, but with the memory enabled I can leave it how I like it (off) but still have the ability to turn it on when required.

I did a fair bit of driving today, from D15 to Sandyford and home again, then D15 through the Sally Gap and back home via the M11/M50. The Mini drives well on the motorways, but really shines when you take it up onto the country roads, the car felt glued to the road and was an absolute blast. This was one of the main reasons I picked the Mini over the e208 so happy to say it's lived up to my expectations.

For the main part of the drive, I started from the CircleK at Newlands Cross where I rapid charged to 90%, I spent 35 mins at the charger and added 21kWh. This compares well with the Ioniq where we usually add 24kWh in the same time period. I still need to figure out optimum charging profiles for the car. Today I mostly charged till then to kill time as I was meeting someone. From their the drive was straight into hills past the Hell Fire club and up to the Sally Gap. I would of been doing pretty close to the speed limit most of the time, it was a case of pushing the car and braking into the corners. The road was pretty much clear all the way, the Matrix LEDs are brilliant they were probably more responsive than I would be myself the couple of times a car was coming towards us. Coming out of the mountains at Kilmacanoge onto the M11, I set the cruise at 130km/h indicated on the parts that are 120km/h and registered 127km/h on the GPS. I dropped it down to 110km/h when the speed limit drops. The car covered 103km and is now showing 60km of range left.

This is probably the bit where most people will switch off and look elsewhere, with my driving style (pushing it pretty hard, AC on, and constant sport mode) the car is getting around 165km of range. When we're out of lockdown, I'll probably do a decent range test at more steady speeds. I'm getting the distinct impression that the car is very efficient when cruising but my acceleration is munching the battery. The acceleration profile seems to have solved any fwd issues. From a standstill such as an on-ramp, you can floor the car it seems very stable, once you kick over the 30km/h mark the car just keeps pushing. You get the same feeling when overtaking from 110km/h. It feels like it's got the power for it's weight without having any worries.

All in all, I'd recommend the Mini to anybody who was looking for a fun car to drive that just happens to be an EV. If you don't need the range it's ideal. It's an ideal 2nd car for any dinks (dual income no kids).

Ionised

Just a heads up. I downloaded and updated my navigation maps today.
The software in the care was dated 2019 and the update was dated 2020-3.

Painless procedure that involved downloading a MiniDownloader that retrieves the file and decompresses to a USB drive (it states 64gb needed initially but then states 16gb. Smaller one worked fine for me).
BMW servers were very slow.
Once prepped just throw the USB stick in the car when it is on and 15 minutes later all is done.

Start page is here -->> https://www.mini.ie/en_IE/home/connected/my-mini-data.html

You will obviously need to log in to your Mini Connected account there.

liamog

Some Polish guy managed to do 285km with his Mini SE with an average speed of 42km/h around non motorway streets. Looked like he was fairly babying it though. Complete opposite of how I like to drive

E

liamog

Thanks Ionised for the tip re the maps, mine came with 2020-2 so not sure if the update will have changed anything, but still worth it to run the process

Ionised

I wonder how often they intend to update the maps, and if there is any kind of notification.

eagerv

Have been following Nigel for last few years with his Kona, he has just changed to the Mini.
Thought his video was interesting..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMQvLBJVRb0

liamog

Not sure what pressure your running the tires at, I was topping mine up due to the colder weather, they were at 32/30 now they're at 42/39 the doorplate has a pretty large difference between normal mode and eco mode.

Ionised

liamog wrote: »

Not sure what pressure your running the tires at, I was topping mine up due to the colder weather, they were at 32/30 now they're at 42/39 the doorplate has a pretty large difference between normal mode and eco mode.

Eeep. Must admit I haven't checked mine in a few weeks. Thanks for the reminder

Ionised

Just a heads up.
New (hopefully improved) app for Mini.

Downloaded it and logged in and it pulled vehicle details no problem.
Slightly better feature set than the older one but nothing mind blowing. Charging history is a handy addition for those obsessed with that kind of thing.

Currently in work so haven't had a good mess around with it yet.

Linky here -->> New Mini App

Ionised

New Maps update for download. Dated 2021 - 1

Downloading now and will install tomorrow as I have a rare day off from work.
If it's a nice day might even give it a wash.

liamog

Let me know if it improves the speed limit recognition, I've found my car likes to tell me the slip road limits whilst driving on the main carriageway. Going over the N2 junction on the M50 it claims the limit is 30km/h. It doesn't give me faith in the mandatory speed limiters that are coming in 2022.

Ionised

I'll be sure to update if I notice any difference.
Will be a few days as I was called into work today and won't get another chance for a little while. Bloody pandemics ruining my plans!

liamog

Anybody thinking of getting the Mini, it's due a face lift. Mini are maintaining the SE as a variant of the standard F56, so it's getting an update.
I like what they did with the front end.

liamog

Had my first proper long journey yesterday.
Did my pretty regular trip to Banbridge and back home, journey was just above the speed limit ~122km/h with aircon at 21C. Conditions were showery and approx 12C.
Left the house with 100% charge, first stop Castlebellingham Northbound @50% battery, charged up to 87%.
Off to Banbridge, stopped at the chipper where I happened to get a rule #1 (MINI Owners Club - Always Park Next to Another MINI)



Then onto the family home, at this point I called my Dad because he was due to be up, turns out he'd hired a car for the weekend and by coincidence was the other MINI from the photo
From there we had a quick stop back in the Outlet Boulevard (AC chargers were occupied), before heading home. Stopped in Castlebellingham Southbound arrived with 15% charge. Charged up to 88% and then back home, arrived with 35%. The MINI app show's that I charged a total of 56kWh to get back to 100%. Total journey was 280km. Giving me a motorway efficiency of 20kWh/100km.

Using my Electrified App I can see the car will charge at up to 44kW, and starts to slow down when the dash displays 80%.

Overall, I'm glad the car handled this journey well, it's the most regular journey we do in the Ioniq and would always stop in Castlebellingham both ways to safely cover the journey. The Mini handled it, but definitely doesn't have the same margin of error that we'd get with the Ioniq.

liamog

Mini Charging Service is now available to Irish Customers https://mini-charging.com/web/mini-ie

Two Plans

Active - €4.99/month and give 23c/kWH AC charging, 27c/kWh DC (plus 10c/min after 60 mins), Ionity 73c/kWh

Free - pricing dependant on operator (reports 38c/kWh for eCars Fast Charger), Ionity 73c/kWh

Both plans have an optional Ionity Plus package for €13/month which gives an Ionity price of 27c/kWh.

I've signed up for the free version at the moment

liamog

I set up the BMW Connected skill on my Alexa account, I can now say "Computer, Ask BMW my range" this is what it shows back

n.d.os

My mother is looking at one of these. The range appears to be quite low. Are they standard 55kwh? Does anyone own one? What's the range like?

liamog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120748261#Comment_120748261

They all have a 29kWh usable battery. Realistic range was around 180-210km. The guess-o-meter in them is very pessimistic so will often appear to have a much lower range, but ends up driving for ages at low state's of charge. The car was great to drive. Charging speed's are limited to 50kW but it does mean I very rarely had to charge for more than 30 mins.

The car has a heat pump and didn't lose much range during winter.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120748304#Comment_120748304

So more of a city car really? 210km is very low.

liamog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120748853#Comment_120748853

I wouldn't call the ~200km range cars a city car, but they're also not a car for doing very regular long distance trips. Not many people outside of taxi drivers would cover 200km in a city in a day.

What kind of journeys does your mother tend to make and will it be the only car she has access too. If you do have kids and she's taking them regularly you'd be better off with the updated e-Up!, similar kind of range but 4 doors. The Mini is a premium small car, it's lovely inside for a single person but get's awkward when you start regularly having to carry someone in the back.

kilsmum

I never got 200km on a full charge. Best was 186km but l have never tested it to empty. I love my Mini SE. It's my 7th Mini. I bought my first in 1985. As a grandmother it's not practical taking my grandson to creche so l use my husband's car. But.....driving a Mini SE is like driving a go kart. It has honestly been the best driving experience l have ever experienced.

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120748853#Comment_120748853

A 200km range EV is way more than a city car. If you did 200km per day Mon-Fri, it’s more than 50,000Km per year. Unless you’re doing regular motorway journeys, it should be fine for most owners. It’s not very spacious though and wouldn’t be a great family car in that respect.

liamog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120756726#Comment_120756726

Mine never showed 200km but would usually get that out of a full charge, it has one of the most pessimistic range predictions I've ever seen. I usually just teated the percentage read out as 1% equals 2km

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120763490#Comment_120763490

Just like in your Ioniq 28kWh 😁

In my i3 it's more like 1% equals 1km, but I would have plenty to spare then even when I drive it really hard (like always)

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120749569#Comment_120749569

She would be fine most of the time with 200km. She's retired and lives close to Dublin. Not much driving about. We live in Wexford and she regularly drives to us. She also golfs a bit in various corners of Ireland so I do think she needs something with a bit more range.

She's obsessed with Minis and won't buy anything else. I showed her the new Renault Megane but she wasn't convinced. It's a pitty mini don't plan on offering a longer-range version with the new 2024/2025 model. Maybe it will follow in a few years. I think 350km is where car makers should be aiming with their smaller batteries.

liamog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120782132#Comment_120782132

The new version of the Mini hatch is coming next year, it's based on a similar platform to the Ora Good Cat. It's due to come with a 40kWh and 54kWh battery pack. I'd guess their targeting a 200 mile (320km) range with the bigger battery.

I was considering waiting for the Mini Aceman which is due towards the end of '24 but needed to get in to a bigger car this year and couldn't wait.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120782204#Comment_120782204

320km is reasonable. That might work. Pitty they didn't opt for a 69kwh with the new model.