I Bought an EV! (No, it's not an IONIQ 5...)
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
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I FINALLY bought an EV after years of waiting. It's not a Model 3. It's not an IONIQ 5. It's a Mini Cooper SE. Here's the story of why I bought it!
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I’m a tech nerd at heart, but I also love filmmaking. Follow your passion. Fight for what you believe in. Never give up.
Mark
Picked mine up yesterday (1/20) and love it. Dumped Tesla Model Y. Mini’s sport suspension delivers great handling and is more compliant than the Y resulting in a more comfortable ride. I was a BMW driver for 50 years before leasing the Model Y. It’s great to be driving a small BMW again! Most fun since my 1969 2002…and that’s saying a lot!
We have a 2021 Mini Cooper SE top trim and still love it as much as the day we picked it up. Such a characterful, lovable car. Kind of the antithesis to most modern cars, most of which have little charm or character. Especially Teslas, which have all the charm of an airport departure lounge.
Any repairs or battery degradation?
Hi! I really enjoyed your take on the Mini SE. I have owned a Countryman and now have a Mini Cooper S.
About the heads up display,... I didn't think I would care about mine either, but I discovered mine does something I didn't expect. In LA, it told me, with a graphic, what lane to be in when freeways would split. It gives approximate distance, too. It also warned about lane closures and accidents. All those were not in the regular navigation.
I hope to get a Mini Aceman at some point, but it might be a few years.
Hopefully you continue to enjoy yours!
Well done. LOVE my '23 MINI SE Signature. With the tax credit, was $22.5k US. FUN, punchy, quiet, quirky, near-luxury and FUN. The '22 X3 stays in the garage for utility, long trips. I like the idea of taking an evolved Cooper and putting an evolved i3 drivetrain into it while purposefully keeping the weight down to preserve dynamics - innovative. Plugs into a Wallbox 40a at night every 3-4 days. 4mi per kWh and rates are currently $.07/kWh (Metro ATL GA). Homes using another power company just a few miles away get their first 400kWh 'free' between 12a-6a. Only downside is resale because everyone else thinks they need more range.
Love those mini coopers! I always wanted one! Test drove one a while back and it is a great driving car!
Got one 18 months ago, even for short trip, it is great. I have a fiata too and they are both great driving cars!
I have had 4 evs. I drive a model Y and my wife wanted an ev. We got the mini Cooper Se and I love it. I take it out on weekends It’s fun to drive and the range gom is usually pessimistic vs the optimistic Tesla gom
Live around the corner from you! Love your videos keep up the good work! Now I'll have to keep an eye out for your Mini SE
This and the Honda E are both really cool little EVs.
If the Honda E was for sale at the local Halifax dealer I would be buying it without hesitation.
As someone who is on my second gas powered MINI, I'm excited to get into a MINI EV soon. Also, really loved your dice set tshirt in the Shokz ad.
Great video Mark! Thank you for making it and telling us so far about your thoughts on the MINI Cooper SE. I just picked up my 2023 MINI Cooper SE and have had it for a month now. It is such a blast to drive and is the best MINI I have driven and owned to date (I had a Clubman back in 2010-2014).
Being a Realtor I was a little worried about the space and the range of the vehicle. I drive… a lot (22,000 km/yr on average).
I had a BMW 330e prior to my MINI and the BMW being a Hybrid, one can say you have the best of both worlds… gas and electric. However, the electric range on the BMW 330e is very, very, minimal 20-30 km on average. It works if you have short drives to the office where you can charge and then back home where you can charge again. However, once you get on the freeway or go farther than 30 km’s you are using gas.
Using gas is what I wanted to avoid and adding those fumes into the environment. As well… to get the 30 km of electrical range on the BMW 330e it would take about 2 hrs on a Level 2, 6.6 kw/h charger and with the MINI Cooper SE… I get 60 KM in 2 hrs and get 160 to 170 Km in around 4 hrs which works great for my routine where I go to the office in the morning (charge the vehicle while I am there) and then get on the road in the afternoon.
Being on the road and living in the city I find there are many places where you can stop, park and charge (some free and some where you pay for the parking and charging). The advantage I noticed with a smaller battery is that the charge times are fairly fast. I have also charged a couple of times using the “Fast Chargers” 50 kw/h and I get a good charge (sometimes full) in about 40 minutes which, can be enough time to grab a coffee, catch up on some calls/emails or have a bite to eat. I have yet to experience any issues with running out of range as there seems to be enough options to top up my battery when on the road or, be able to do it when back at the office or at home. However, I have yet needed to charge at home.
The MINI Cooper SE is truly a great EV car to have and drive! It works great in the city and around town. The carrying space is also surprising especially when you lower the rear seats down. I get more storage then I had in the trunk of my 330e. As well…the charging times are faster and more efficient. For the same time I would spend charging my previous BMW 330e… I am getting double the electrical range in my MINI Cooper SE and I am saving about $300/mos on gas!
Looking forward to watching more of your videos and hearing about your experiences with your MINI Cooper SE!
Hoping your videos and your viewer’s comments help more people realize that the MINI Cooper SE is such a fun EV car to have and to not get to hung up on the range. I find you can make it work. I also like the fact that the MINI Cooper SE looks like a car and is not to futuristic looking.
Happy driving!
I have a 2013 Mini Cooper S in Ice Blue that I absolutely love, but was so intrigued by the 2023 Cooper SE that I bought one as my second car! Your video is SPOT ON. It is seriously fun to drive. As Karl J stated in his comment, I have also discovered the "Tell Me What Lane To Be In" feature of the heads up display. That convinced me. For now I plan to keep my old Coop for snowy/slippery weather, bad area of town driving, and those longer road trips when I don't have the luxury of time spent charging. I have only owned my new Coop for about a month and have only charged it publicly once. It was a free L2 charger at a grocery store and way too slow (I am in Minnesota). I am anxious to try other charging stations to see if they are better. That road you showed looked fantastic! I need to find a road like that near me! You also mentioned that you have plenty of head room; my husband who is 6'1 drives this one occasionally and feels his head hits the roof. We probably need to play around with the seat. Like you, I was very surprised those seats are manual. Thank you for your video - well done!
Interesting! I'm 6'2 and my head never comes close. I think if he lowered the seat he'd be fine.
I have a 2022 Mini Cooper SE Base model and have been averaging 5.0 mi/kwh in Southern California, 12,000 miles on it so far. I think my range is helped by the 16 inch revolite wheels, and no sunroof. The revolite wheels are the lightest factory wheels for the SE, and no sunroof means the car is lighter, and center of mass lower. I haven't done any longer road trips with it, but my 50 mi daily commute only drops the car to 70% battery life, so I'm thinking 140 to 150mi on one charge would be pretty easy.
Congrats on a beautiful purchase! I owned a Mini Cooper 2004, then a Mini Cooper S 2011 and loved it, now I’m planning on getting a Mini Cooper SE.
Hopefully there are some good used examples of these available when my kids start driving. I also hope that college dorms offer charging by then. If not, they will likely get something like a Crosstrek.
I Live in Brazil, I have a Mini SE and i agree with you. It's a fantástic car. My wife has a BYD ATTO 3, very good ev, blade batteries, +/_ 350 km range, but it's not so fun as a Mini.
I am picking my Mini EV in the next few days! I'm in town we should give a drive!
Bout to take delivery on my very first EV which is a Peugeot E208. No idea if ya'll have those over in canada at all but i'm very excited! The last year of waiting is nothing compared to the last week. Congrats on your house!
I’ve got about 700 miles on my new 2023 mini ev So enjoyed every mile ! Just
A Kick to drive
I've owned my MINI SE for 5 months and have 10500 miles on it. It's a perfect daily driver for errands, school duties, and commuting. Zero issues. It's not the most fun car that I have personally owned but it is the most fun car for running around town. In this period of time, I have charged at a public charging station only once, just to see how that works. Otherwise, the 7KW charger at home keeps it ready to go.
So what's your most fun car then?
I like mostly everything about Mini's: the aesthetic, the interior, but suspension is really too harsh for me. Especially after a 30-40-60 minutes drive across the down I really getting dizzy from the jumps over the speed bumps (which are plenty here in the Netherlands), so I'd not take this car for myself personally.
It's really nice to drive in the corners, buuut, speed bumps makes is less fun for me.
Ordered mine a month ago and it is slated to be built this week. Looking to pick it up in about a month. Looking forward to it!
I keep coming back to this car. I drive 96 miles all highway round trip to work. The range is just a tad too close to my daily mileage requirements especially in winter. If they can find a way to give the car another even 30 miles of range, I might make the switch.
Nice MINI SE! Subscribed to hear more of your ownership impressions as I think about getting one next yr (or waiting for the redesign).
People always get so caught up about range (and I get it if the car wont suit your need) they forget about just having a car that makes you smile every-time you get behind the wheel. Yes there are small hatchback EV's out there with more range, bigger batteries and on paper are better value, but on paper is only part of the story. I've had my Mini Cooper SE/Mini Electric for around 8 weeks now and the car is still incredible fun. Around town you can just dart for spaces in traffic, always be the first out a junction or roundabout and just be the envy of people you drive past in their boring compact SUV boxes. The UK is known for its what we call B roads (country lanes) and small hot hatchbacks have always thrived in this country, the Mini just takes a normal Cooper S and adds to it. The lower centre of gravity improves the iconic go cart handling and been able to use the heavy regen breaking for the corners and then the instant torque to fly out of them sets this car apart.
It's been -4 to -10 in the UK this week which is unusually cold even for the winter and this car is still showing nearly 100 miles to a full charge with an average of 3.5 miles per kWh. In the summer this car is easily showing 4.5 to 5 miles per kWh easily beating any EPA rating the car receives and even beating its WLTP range rating on the warmer days in summer.
stick with the heads up display as its great for navigation. One thing I have found with the range is its always pessimistic and so you get more than it says which is unusual as I'm used to an Audi Q5 TFSIe hybrid which is awful on range prediction especially in cold weather
I own a 2020 JCW Clubman! Over 300 hp and love it! You’re right…what sold me is the drive. So. Much. Fun. Cheers and enjoy.
@user-nt7ro2yf8u nah, all good man. You can surprise another viewer. We are townies and I will always watch and support you! lol
That was a scam, not me. Be careful on YT, there's a lot of those scam comments around.
@@MarkSpurrell I should have realized that with the account name. Arseholes lol
Excellent review!. Nice to see that scenery again.
Nice review. I have the F56 JCW which is the sporty. The car is soo much fun and the spec list is excellent. Great sound system and with the valved exhaust its a hoot.
great car. would hop the border to get it to avoid the crazy Canadian markup on these things
Bought one last April and still love it.
Great video! Would love to see content on the miata!
:O I LOVE COOPERS
I am waiting for the. next generation of electric mini which should be on the market in 2024, there the tech leap will be huge. I fear the resale value of the current generation will be very poor once the next generation comes so I am not willing to throw that much money yet. I think mini and the 500 are the most fun city car out there, the new electric Baby Jeep looks fun too. I am tired of big boring looking SUV
Do you have a lot of problems with your CarPlay Bluetooth connection? Also, does it have a heat pump?
Yes and yes. Carplay was just fine for a while, but it has started acting up lately with some iOS updates. I believe this is not specific to the cooper SE though. Wireless carplay in general is not reliable at the moment.
Congrats 🎉
We should do a Mini SE vs Bolt EV comparision Video - I am 4 months in and still in the honeymoon phase of EV ownership!
The Bolt is fine, but it's not at the same level of driving dynamics. SE in the rain is better than Bolt in the dry.
y is he not using the heads up display ??? -_-
wait, you should have get the new infotainment display.
Congrats! However the interior on that just isn't for me. Much prefer a cleaner look. We've just ordered our first EV - an MG4. Not sure if you have them in Canada but seem a real value proposition here in the UK. I really enjoyed the test drive and can't wait to get it!
We don't have MG in Canada but congrats on the EV!
Funny I had a MINI SE preorder but ended up loosing out n a lot of feature due to supply shortages so I bought an Ioniq 5
Hey mark!! Good review, where do you live?? I think you drove through my home town! Cheticamp. I’m just outside of Halifax!
I live in NL! But yes I did!
@@MarkSpurrell awesome. I’m a full time creator in Halifax. We should collaborate on somethjng. Maybe I’ll record some music for one of your videos hahaha
Hey that's cool! Always great to see canadian creators out there. Doesn't feel like there are many of us compared to the huge sea of american content creators haha. I usually use non-copyright music in most of my videos to avoid any issues in the future, but if there's something you had in mind I'm all ears!
Welcome to the Fellowship of the Smitten.
Is it correct that this doesn’t qualify for the tax rebate?
Great review Mark! I really want to buy one, I even went to test drive it. My only fear is charging time and range. How many miles can I get in regular and sport mode if it's charged to 80%?
Entirely depends on factors like external temperature, how fast you're driving, etc. If it's cold out and you're doing highway driving, you might only get 140km on an 80% charge. If it's summer and you're doing lots of city driving, you could get a lot more than that. EV's are more efficient in warmer weather at lower speeds
Thank you for the reply! It's always warm in Miami and I do city driving only. Would I get 200 km in sport mode?
INF J - no need for Sport mode all the time, it goes just as fast in Green mode but avoid Green + unless you really are on vapours in the battery. I’ve had my Cooper S E one year today, it’s the top spec one and it is so much fun. I live out in the countryside - nearest good food shop 16 miles away on fast country roads and I’ve average 3.8 miles/kWH over the year, but up to 5miles/kWH on warm summer days here in Scotland. I do have a 2nd car to make long trips in and to go offroad in (which very few EVs can do) and the Miniis useless at offroad stuff!
@@timoliver8940 thanks Tim, but it still doesn't unswerving the question how many miles in sport mode when 80%charged
You're not going to get 200km in sport mode, unless you're driving really conservatively (and if you are, there's no point to using sport mode).
Fake bonnet vent thingy must cause some aero drag… i like these cars….
Great purchase! I used to have one (non-EV), loved it. What's the 0-60 speed in the EV?
It's in the 6 second range! Not fast, but quick enough to be fun.
@@MarkSpurrell that's fast enough!
I'll see you out on the roads. I ride a Bronco, I'll give you a wave. 😀👋
We've owned 6 BMW Minis and 2 Classic Minis from 2009 to 2015 in the UK, since moving to NS Canada with 1 of our Classic Minis we have missed driving one daily, we have looked at MINI here, but found the local Halifax dealer to be very non transparent in pricing and knowledge of specification of trims and options, we nearly ordered one last year, but within two days they changed the spec and dropped the base SE, we contacted the Halifax dealer the next day, they stated yes Mini just dropped the base and now it's two trims SE 2.0 and Se Plus 2.0 but the price also went up, that left us with an awfully bad taste considering we were just about to order one, also the UK dealers are more up beat brand happy and full of Mini knowledge no shirts ties suits etc, it's a fun brand but here it's BMW sales staff in suits with very little knowledge and not fore coming with much information.
Anyway rant over, Mark you mentioned 180 to 200km on range? Spec says 160kms, how have you found it over the winter months on NS especially the last month on the -40 wind chill? Did you buy from Mini Halifax? How long did it take from order to arrival at the dealership? Thanks
I'm from NL, so I ordered from Mini St. John's. It took about 6-7 months IIRC. When its warm, yeah I can get 180-200km, but definitely not in the winter. I haven't tried any road trips during the winter months, but on average I'd say I get around 140-150km in the city. We had some cold snaps, not down to -40, but between -25 and -30. The car ran just fine with no issues. Power was limited until the batteries warmed up, but that's about it.
@@MarkSpurrell thanks Mark we are still on the fence but considering again looking again, did the St John's dealer take off the $8000 EV rebate before pickup?
We really liked your review, just find it better from an owner rather than a general car reviewer, looking forward to the next one!
I am from the northern parts of Sweden and I have just had my first winter with an Mini Cooper SE. I have a commute that is 60km one way and when it was around - 20 Celsius (that would be -4 F) I would only have 7-10% left when I got home. Problem is the drive is for 50km an 110 km/h road and it is a big difference going 110 vs 90 in the cold. So when possible I use one of the free chargers at the grocery store nearby my workplace on the lunch break.
So I’ve had my share of battery anxiety! But it is a lovely car and so much fun and saves me money every day compared to the diesel Volkswagen I drove before.
I've done a bit of mechanical repairs on automobiles. I once did it for a living. I like you Mark. I'll just say I hope those electric Mini's are better than the gasoline versions.
Very unlikely. EV's are much harder to repair in general. The good thing is that they're also far more reliable. The BMW i3 that this car's electrical components came from has been around for many years and is said to be extremely reliable, so I'm not worried at all. I won't be tinkering or performing any of my own maintenance, but that's what my miata is for!
any pano roof?
nio is the best . i used nio its cheaper futuristic , durable. the after sale service is also by far great.
in europe the mini is as cool and posh as a g-wagon in LA
1
Wait wait wait wait wait wait okay now come in and buy it and you only have three days to finalise.
and you didn't buy the Ioniq 5???? "the ev to buy"??
Always thought these vehicles looks atrocious, that range is beyond brutal. Appreciate the review
Its a normal car that happens to be an ev.
mini cooper gas is unreliable i dont know about electric
Woof, you were better off with a Bolt.
Bolts are ugly.
@@MarkSpurrell you're not wrong there. I'd love to see your take on a Polestar.
Never driven one! Saw a few in person, a bit too boxy for my taste, but definitely better than the bolt haha
Over 2x Range for less money with a Bolt EV. Weird choice.
Have you looked at those things? They look like they belong in my skillet in the morning 🥚
You don't drive a spec sheet. If you drive both of them you will understand the decision.
Lamest excuse ever...