MINI Cooper SE - MINI size; mighty fun.....

[@NotJanine777]

Picked up ours 2-weeks ago. The ‘pop, fart and bang’, as you call it, when you back off the accelerator in Go-kart mode happens when the re-gen comes in. If you put it in ‘B’ drive mode it does it all the time. In ‘D’ the re-gen doesn’t happen as often so it only happens now and then. You can adjust the head up display - you can see it perfectly if you set it for your height. It really is a fab car to drive. We are getting around 220 miles on a charge.

[@NatalieVus]

explain how to set up the head up display? Waiting for mine to arrive in January.

[@NotJanine777]

@ it’s just in one of the menus - just move the slider on the main, central screen and the display on the head up glass panel goes up or down. Easy 👍

[@NatalieVus]

@@NotJanine777 thanks

[@roseakpan8883]

Mine is going to be all black except for the wheel trims, plus going to put on my private number plate! Can’t wait! Only drawbacks are the horizontal lighting in the headlights, prefer them without. Also prefer the full Union Jack back lights as opposed to these ones, but this is a minor issue. Love that they have got rid of the plastic wheel arch (makes the car look more sophisticated). Also love that they have put the break lights on the spoiler😅

[@thomaseriksson3182]

Thanks for this!👍 I think the cheapest one"SE in ESSENTIAL TRIM" black paint is enough for me. Better comfort with smaller wheels to and less road noice👍

[@schrimpf]

I had the same considerations! 16-inch wheels mean better comfort.

[@jamesmcfadden5643]

The flutter sound is fun…. But I’ve turned the internal noises off… but yes… it’s super fun and very planted!

[@Frazybaby]

Love my Cooper SE Sport in Nanuq White. Based in Glasgow 💪💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@pauljones5736]

Thank you for your response to my wife’s facebook Mini Owners Club UK post My new electric Mini SE ladybird Your review on the car was one of the deciding factors for us to buy this model 3 with the sport pack (JCW) So thank you for your honest review

[@AutoEV]

My absolute pleasure, glad you enjoyed it and it was helpful. Great little cars. Loved the original one, but this new one is a little belter!

[@eric8188]

Nice review mate, there are many super-fast or much faster EVs out there, but they often lack driving dynamics and balanced performance. I think Mini still excels in this regard

[@CoseleyBenny1969]

Waiting for mine to be delivered. Getting a little impatient. I love my Mini SE, I'm looking forward to chucking my new one about.

[@UrbanAntics_]

After watching many reviews, this design has grown on me. I was really skeptical of the back end of the car but now I feel like the rear light match very well (but only) with the JCW or sport bodykit. However, I feel like the new Aceman embodies the "Cooper" essence much better with the rear design. Maybe the Cooper should have gotten the Aceman's tail lights. Other than that, the only complaint I have of this car are the "not no premium looking" materials in the interior. Sure, they look nice but the older models felt just a bit more premium with the old soft plastics. Overall, Im ok with the new design, tho they can fix little things with a facelift in the future

[@WayneGoss]

Am very interested in the Countryman SE!

[@AutoEV]

Next week’s video Wayne! Drove it the same day as the hatchback. Already driven it as a petrol (House of Cars channel).

[@WayneGoss]

@@AutoEV Excellent mate. Looking forward to your thoughts. Saw the petrol one!

[@timoliver8940]

@WayneGoss - I’ve had my Countryman S E Sport L3 since 9th April after 3 years with the Cooper S E L3. I went for the Countryman instead of ordering a Fisker Ocean as they were going down the tubes. It’s a very big car for a Mini - 12cm longer than the 2023 Defender 90 I also run but not as wide or high. It’s very comfortable and quiet, but oh boy can it shift if you want to have fun and there isn’t a hint of wheel scrabble or torque steer because it’s permanently AWD. Efficiency is pretty good considering it’s driving two motors all the time - local fast A roads in rural Central Scotland I’m averaging 3.9m/kWh but regularly see up to 4.5 on windless dry sunny days. Got it down to 3.4 average driving from Stirling to Harrogate for the Everything Electric Show at the end of May sat on adaptive cruise control at 70 on the streaming wet M74/M6. Arrived at Ionity Carlisle for a break after 2 hours at the wheel having left home at 100% SOC and stopped after 124 miles with 49% SOC, topped up to 80% in 18minutes - the charge curve isn’t the best - it holds 150kW to about 43% SOC then slowly tails off to around 50kW at 80% on a 350kW Ionity charger.

[@WayneGoss]

@@timoliver8940 Thank you for this. The range is what was worrying me and stopping me. I know the office range is 250 plus at 100% but in real life etc... I did test drive one but it was half way charged so never saw the real figure. How was it doing in the gloomy April weather? Thank you for this info, its so helpful.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

My father’s Austin Seven Mini was a brilliant little car. She came into our lives on 1 January 1960, having been ordered at the London Motor Show in 1959!!

[@johnpaterson4163]

Very through review, thank you. I picked mine up the other day, same only red stripes added, so far happy. I had an F56 JWC last year loved that too. It looks much better in the flesh, clean modern, makes the older ones look so dated. The legend grey is nice, looks almost black in some lights. What I thought was a bit stingy was that they dont include a bmw flex charger for 3 pin plug/type 2, only supply a type 2. Guess it’s due a lot of people just buy a wall box, but at the moment I dont do enough miles to warrant that. My wife’s bmw hybrid came with both and was cheaper !. Luckily I have a bmw electric scooter so just use that flex charger for overnight top ups. Again thank for the videos, I really like your presentations. See you in the next one.

[@andrewharland7727]

60/40 split in f56 mini electric. Current owner and I’m liking the look of this.

[@damiancox7276]

Glad I have ordered a black one, exactly the same as this one as our 2nd car. Really glad you loved it as I could not justify the Hyundai ioniq 5 N cost but this sounds good fun while the family Tesla model Y is the practical car for us and the dog etc, this can be my bit of fun 😊

[@bellshooter]

Lovely little car, looks like a great drive , suffering from BMW/German pricing/option hike! Base is £5k too spicy, options quoted should be base, becomes £10k to expensive... May lease but residuals will be pants.

[@jh9740]

Wonder how many cars you helped sell by your reaction once driving. I was interested in this car but now I will be booking a test drive.

[@AutoEV]

I think it’s a better car than the petrol equivalent which I have just filmed a review of for my other channel. And that’s a great car!!

[@SmartMart1658]

Used EVs are great value now.

[@vee3138]

So you didn’t mention the added weight of the 2024 model vs the old Mini SE version (2020-2023)? Harrys garage yt-channel weighted the 2020 SE at 1349kg and the 2024 SE at 1660kg (comparable options specced). That is +311kg or +23% of weight increase in 2024 SE and Harrys take was that the 2024 has lost it’s driving dynamics because of the weight increase. So could you give your opinion on the driving dynamics of 2020 vs the 2024 model (not just the acceleration)? Point and squirt acceleration is not all I want from Mini, I want the best dynamics in bends and I’d rather have better cornering than better acceleration. So would the older model be the better option for dynamics in bends?

[@vee3138]

Driving comparison review of the old vs new Mini SE would be great👍

[@DarkstarDarth]

No more oil leaks, timing chain, high pressure fuel pumps, motor mounts and clutch replacements. Nice😀👌🏼

[@rogermartinez78]

The new Mini Cooper with the smaller battery will get about 150 miles real world range. I get about 120 on my old electric Mini, I will keep her!

[@Madonsteamrailways]

The original Mini had a black speedometer/fuel gauge, and the Austin Seven Mini was THE VERY FIRST Mini, with the Morris Mini Minor being brought out days later.

[@ISuperTed]

Love the looks in black, other colours not so much. The issue is the price to get those looks - it’s the usual death by a thousand cuts with options and you’ll end up with a very hefty bill! My next EV will be leased, so will all depend what the rates are, but as a second car I would definitely be tempted.

[@karlInSanDiego]

Previous "plug" wheels were daft and fugly. These new rims look good, except the "Nightflash 2 spoke" that looks like they've shattered from the torque delivery. Flush but fully mechanical door handles from BMW are perfect. Kept the 2 door small, sacrificed the rear seat quality and space which is fine for folks without 3rd and 4th family members. We lived with a MINI Cooper S for years by keeping the rear seats folded most of the time. Looking forward to this car, but alas, it'll be tariffed into oblivion here in the USA, so Chinese pairup was a massive fail for too many reasons. Dump the giant glass roof, as it just cooks you and creates unnecessary glare. I know Brits don't think they'll get cooked but we're seeing soaring temps in most places in the world. Here is why people should consider this car over others. Large battery, heavy EVs are soon to be labeled unsustainable. This is because the Life Cycle Emissions from bloated EVs still makes them a hot mess for the Climate. However, spec this with the smaller battery and you've got a car that's much closer to respecting the limitations of EVs to represent real change in lowering emissions. I look forward to seeing your comparison with Abarth and Alpine. Maybe also go 6 ways and include the base models Cooper E, 500e, R5 and describe the benefits of going minimalist for efficiency reasons (and cost of course). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE performance cars, but we sacrifice the benefits of these cars when we tune them and contrary to popular belief, EVs are not zero emissions. Their operating efficiency and their build emissions matter because renewable electric conservation is still very important. We can't lose sight of why we're going electric and how we're already in the danger zone of Climate Crisis. Messing around with constant car turnover is ignoring the reality of transportation solutions. Buy a modest EV, power it with local solar/wind exclusively, and keep it for 20+ years. Anything less is ignoring the reality of our challenge.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

I would love to see you testing campervans as well as cars. Cars are interesting to look at, but a lot of them don’t have enough space inside to comfortably take four or five adults the way my Renault Zoe has done for me.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

I am just about to change the Zoe for a Vauxhall Combo Life Electric with the Wheelhome Vikenze III-e camper conversion.

[@marknewby9400]

picking this car up on 12 August

[@RichardAylward-lu1pc]

Why no mention of the Brabus Smart #1 as a rival?

[@AutoEV]

Because that is a compact 5 door SUV and the MINI is a small 3 door hot hatch. That would be like comparing apples to oranges. The Smart is a rival for the Countryman, not the Cooper (which is next week's video)

[@mrreziik]

I hope they transfer the Petrol to this platform, is so much better looking than the old one

[@princekareem]

How does it go predicting the range remaining? That was a bit of a weakness with the previous one no?

[@izo77]

If only you could have been able to give us the same review of a new Honda e…and it would have had two battery sizes and a realistic price range. That is sadly a hopeless dream, but maybe the Honda e has found a spiritual successor in the Hyundai Inster. Almost as cute and even more compact, with less tech and premium feel to it, but much more practical and adaptable. Most importantly (and a final blow to the e) with class Leading range. One could even forgive it for being marketed as an SUV. A symbol of the Koreans succeeding where the Japanese are failing (sad thing that). In any case, very much looking forward to this review.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

The other thing I always say is that a Mini isn’t as small as it used to be!!

[@peterarmstrong3853]

I had a side by side race off the lights against my byd dolphin and I just had him!! I love the look of this one! I had 6.2 on my timer and the mini was prob 6.5. the mini looks tiny up against the dolphin 😂

[@AutoEV]

It might be a very different scenario on on a twisty road though. Acceleration isn't a true measure of a driver's car.

[@peterarmstrong3853]

@@AutoEV definitely agree. Just a mention from me about my experience 👍👍

[@michaellord2844]

Good review, spoiler looks awful IMHO but can see some liking it, they need to introduce a quicker version, cant have a volvo for instance leaving it for dust..

[@jbmaru]

To me the front grill that's not a grill is starting to look a bit BMW-ish, it's like if you removed the plate piece, you would see a double-kidney shape! The go-kart noise at 29:16 sounds like the acceleration sound effect at the beginnning of the Six-Million-Dollar Man theme!

[@karlInSanDiego]

This is apparently the first MINI with power seats. Can you clarify if manual seats are offered in the base spec or is heated (and JCW) the only real seat choices aside from texture?

[@colinharvey1049]

The classic model has different seats to the exclusive and the sport trim variant. If you want heated seats you need a level 1 technology pack, if you want the electric seats with memory function you need level 3 pack.

[@pauljuntunen3451]

Mini needs a something like a Lucid motor in the rear & a frunk under that huge bonnet; then I'd be impressed!

[@Koulis_]

There are Americans now who think the Cooper name is the model name for Minis. Why does BMW have to stick the Cooper name on absolutely everything? The price needs to come down and this pricing is down to legacy makers not set up for BEV production. Battery prices are falling so this will help in the future but there are so many Chinese companies now making things that will shock European makes and some are already profitable with BEV production.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

I wonder if the drive’s as good as my current Renault Zoe!! I can hardly feel bumps in the road that would turn me off my electric bike!!

[@matthewemoore3879]

Hi, Is it me or does the side view look like a Suzuki Swift?

[@Blueburger1]

What about the Volvo ex30 you seem to have missed it for some reason and that starts at 34000

[@AutoEV]

Not the same type of car. This is a small 3 door hatchback, that’s a b-segment SUV. I’d say it’s more likely to be considered alongside the new MINI Countryman - which is next week’s video.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

The quality is typically BMW quality!! It may be built in the original Morris factory, but it’s certainly not anything like the original style of Mini.

[@SWR112]

This is built in China till 2026 when Oxford takes over after retooling.

[@RedBatteryHead]

Still not on par with the 500e. It's just one you want to get cause you can.

[@Madonsteamrailways]

The Mini has always been thought of as a fun car to drive. The original style was considered unsafe so the BMW Mini was brought out to the world!!

[@Madonsteamrailways]

Not really my kind of car!! But there again, I’m just about to change from my little Renault Zoe to a small camper. And it’s still going to be electric!!

[@georgewalker7061]

So you get 100 miles out of the 32.6 kWh (28.9 usable) MINI SE as i do. sometimes 112. Not the WLTP 145, the EPA 114 more like. So unless you actually can take a MINI Cooper E out and get 5.2 miles a kWh then the WLTP figure isa nonsense. Same with the Cooper SE big battery. What a same you or the other Vloggers are not just heading off for a 3 hour drive and tell us what you do get as a Miles per kWh. Or just tell us what you get if you drive for 50 miles, can you do that with 10 kWh?

[@AutoEV]

Unfortunately sometimes we don't get the opportunity to do that on a launch, it sonly when we live with the cars for longer period of time that we are able to do this, hence why I run a long term test car. What I will say, however, is that there areas many other variable you need to consider - weight, ambient temperature, improved aerodynamics, so yes, it is possible to make great improvements on the range of a car with only a small increase in actual battery capacity. And that is where MINI have concentrated their efforts on. It would be easy to stick a whopping great big battery in it, but the weight would counter any gains you made with capacity.

[@philipkeys3638]

Sorry it’s a No from me I have owned a MINI for 17 years and currently own a GP3. Apart from the £40k + price tag for this model which I think is completely insane I am not keen on the rear end at all. The interior is okay but all those silly gimmicky sounds would drive me crazy. I will definitely be keeping my GP not for me sorry

[@PeterWebful]

You've made your mind up but, for others reading, the "engine" sounds can be turned off. End of story.

[@philipkeys3638]

@ Yes I know it can be switched on and off but that is one of many issues with this model in my opinion and other problems are not selectable with an on off switch

[@PeterWebful]

High price and your opinion of the rear end, sure. Just that the sounds are literally a non-issue.

[@izo77]

Aren't this and the Countryman the models build in China?

[@AutoEV]

Countryman is built in Germany. Shares its platform with the iX1/iX2 BMW.

[@izo77]

@@AutoEV Thank you for putting the facts (and me) right. D'ont know where I read that this particular model would be built in China.

[@karlInSanDiego]

It's from China. How bad is the binging and bonging audible interventions while driving on tight roads?

[@AutoEV]

I’ve driven ones a lot worse. It’s now a European law, so it’s not just Chinese cars that are afflicted in fairness, but it’s the same as my BMW iX2 and as easy to disengage.

[@Sunny84185]

Good grief the entire rear of the car is hideous. I like the wheels though.

[@karlInSanDiego]

The new MINI looks shite in yellow and other colors with standard trim. Like really shite. The JWC kit and blackish are the only way to fix the awkward childish styling of this new model. I've followed MINI since Stephenson brought it back and it's gotten worse looking with each iteration, without a great design cohesiveness. I hated the plastic wheel arches of our R56, but it is much nicer than the failed sloppy slab side styling. Spiderman taillights, all of it, just looks like you plucked it from the ground floor of Ikea on your way out of the store. Pizza screen is super fail. This car's design just looks like it was executed by junior design team in China.

[@PeterWebful]

That centre screen is a breeze to use, and the HUD really adds to it - especially with Nav happening there too.

[@stevezodiac491]

They have changed the mini so much it now looks like a Suzuki Swift, so why not buy the Suzuki, cheaper and more reliable.

[@markymarkreviews]

Disagree with you on this one. Went to have a look at the Countryman- to ugly in real life! This exact same spec Mini SE Sport was parked up next to it. Looked cool. Offered a test drive. Yes, it is fast enough but horrible torque steer as its FWD. Poor real world efficiency.- comfortably BELOW 200 miles. (49.5kWh useable?) The electronic exhaust noise (yes I know you can turn it off) just annoying. And the bloody price is totally laughable. £42,500. The EV market is becoming so much more competitive now. Without massive discounts this will be another failure- just like the first MINI E (that just had poor range for the price), and deservedly so. Just like the Abarth which is again brilliant in its own way but hobbled by poor range for the incredible prices charged for it. So many better EVs coming out. Tesla M3 cheaper and a much better all round car. I know it is a different class of car but you'd be mad to spend this on a very compromised Mini SE.

[@SWR112]

£42k SE with this pack😂 Seriously are they on drugs. I’d have to think twice with just over 200 miles real world even if it was £28k. To be fair Cars with delivery miles are on sale for £5k off the list price. The next gen of this will probably do near 300 miles real world and cost £10k less if battery pack prices continue to fall as they are and competition Keeps coming. We have had five and two currently on the drive in both factory ordered Hatch and Clubman but can’t see this at all don’t like the rear and never will, the inside is tacky and I’ve been all over this Car. This exact SE with works pack if it was £28k maybe we will see just how bad it will be I personally think it will depreciate like a brick. Had a Volvo EX30 out and it leaves this standing in a straight line maybe on one of my favourite roads the old military road Cairngorms the MINI would be the trump card in the twisty B road that it has always done excellently. What’s the Works version with all 4 Electric going to cost £53k 😢 The problem is that Renault 5 retro comes in for under £30k looking like it does that’s real competition in the hot hatch.