Next generation (J01) MINI Cooper revealed

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My guess is that they kept squeezing performance out of the motor till they got the overweight j01 to accelerate similarly to the original. This leaves room for the JCW to be faster.

This is my expectation/speculation as well.

I also wonder if the JCW could introduce either a new experience mode that is basically "Go-Kart without wheel spin" or allow you to adjust the wheel spin amount along with other performance settings in the Personal mode. I also wonder if the non-Go-Kart modes dial back or eliminate wheel spin, which could possibly (and ironically) give faster acceleration times?
 
So that agrees as well. Motoring file got 6.0, but that was with the silly 1ft rollout. 6.2 - 6.3s is the normal 0-60mph, and is what you would expect with a 6.7s 0-100. At least the times are starting to appear. Would be great to see a race. F56 faster off the line and the j01 catching (albeit it slowly)
 
With around 15000 km (9000 miles) on them now, my Eagle F1s are easily three-quarters worn. Not only does the car feel even snappier off the line, but I can easily spin the wheels in a straight line on a hot day. I'd be willing to bet my 0-60 is maybe 6.2 (standing) and even into the 5s (one-foot).

OTOH I'm also no longer sure how the speed limiter works, because I can repeatably hit 155 km/h (indicated, or 96.3 mph) likely because the slightly smaller tires are turning just a little faster.

*Professional driver on a closed course. Do not attempt. And BMW, please don't sell my telemetrics to my insurance company!
 
So this is the first review to give an accurate (racelogic) 0-100kph time. https://www.wapcar.my/news/review-e...-se-gave-me-a-rollercoaster-of-emotions-81047
...
I came to a realisation the other day. The bonnet is my biggest dislike. A well known member here will never agree, but I think the j01 really needed the bonnet scoop ;). It is quite ugly as it stands now.

Car and Driver got their SE to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. I'm looking forward to their apples-to-apples test of the J01 (not expecting it before the J01 comes to NA).

Are you sure your dislike for the J01's hood isn't due to the ugly lines now visible because they abandoned the clamshell hood?

--Well-Known Member
 
Are you sure your dislike for the J01's hood isn't due to the ugly lines now visible because they abandoned the clamshell hood?

Yep that is a major reason. The clamshell is rounded, the new bonnet is flatter. This is similar the original MINI and the flat bonnet of the club man 1978. Combined with the slope of the windscreen, it just doesn't look like a MINI. Yes, from a distance it does, but that is when the lines blur to the eye. I really love the scoop, and I know you don't, but the new bonnet may even look worse with the scoop due to the flatness of it. At least it would take your eyes off the rest of it.

This is a good study in making something more expensive look cheaper :)
 

"Mini will be quick to point out that while the Ora and J01 are mechanically related, the Cooper SE has specific Mini chassis tuning that makes it enjoyable to drive."​

That quote from the article implies the Ora Funky Cat is not enjoyable. :D

And this quote goes right to the heart of @insightman's opinions:

"You can really feel the J01’s extra weight over the older Mini Cooper SE, which was based on the F56 combustion model. My tester, which had the larger of the two available battery packs, weighed 3,700 pounds (1,680 kg) or 530 pounds (240 kg) more than the old model. The J01 with the smaller battery is a bit lighter at 3,540 pounds (1,605 kg), but it still won’t feel quite as agile as the electric F56."​
 
Quite a fair review I would say. It confirms what I found, that the new car is still fun, just not as fun as the f56. Pity. The jcw will be interesting if they can tame the handling. If the price is right, maybe that is the one worth waiting for.

On another note, has anyone looked into the (soon to be released) alpine a290? That sounds like a worthy replacement if the little green terror ever needs to retire.
 
And this quote goes right to the heart of @insightman's opinions:

"You can really feel the J01’s extra weight over the older Mini Cooper SE, which was based on the F56 combustion model. My tester, which had the larger of the two available battery packs, weighed 3,700 pounds (1,680 kg) or 530 pounds (240 kg) more than the old model. The J01 with the smaller battery is a bit lighter at 3,540 pounds (1,605 kg), but it still won’t feel quite as agile as the electric F56."​

The Harry's Garage review echoes this as well:


The jcw will be interesting if they can tame the handling. If the price is right, maybe that is the one worth waiting for.

Yes, I'm holding out for the (real) JCW variant of the J01. My hope is that they can tune it up well enough that the additional weight has less impact on performance.

On another note, has anyone looked into the (soon to be released) alpine a290? That sounds like a worthy replacement if the little green terror ever needs to retire.

Yeahhh, that one would definitely tempt me if it ever came to this side of the pond. :cool:
 
The Harry's Garage review echoes this as well:




Yes, I'm holding out for the (real) JCW variant of the J01. My hope is that they can tune it up well enough that the additional weight has less impact on performance.



Yeahhh, that one would definitely tempt me if it ever came to this side of the pond. :cool:

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't that video include a brief shot of an F56 SE and a stated weight of 1330 kg (= 2934 lbs)? UK version or not, that's lighter than claimed by MINI, no?

Point being, without knowing the actual weights of the F56 and J01 versions, it's a bit difficult to make comparisons.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't that video include a brief shot of an F56 SE and a stated weight of 1330 kg (= 2934 lbs)? UK version or not, that's lighter than claimed by MINI, no?

Point being, without knowing the actual weights of the F56 and J01 versions, it's a bit difficult to make comparisons.

Harry weighed the F56 SE at 1360kg (2998lbs) and he weighed this J01 SE at 1660kg (3659lbs), so an increase of 300kg (~661lbs).
 
Harry weighed the F56 SE at 1360kg (2998lbs) and he weighed this J01 SE at 1660kg (3659lbs), so an increase of 300kg (~661lbs).

Thanks!

ETA: 300 kg is a lot, and more than you (or least I) would have expected from the difference in battery capacity alone. So, I just looked up the energy density of LFP vs. NMC chemistries, and it is much more than I realized. So, that probably helps explain it.

Another thought I had: the J01 still really isn't something I would necessarily want to drive cross country. You'd still be stopping every 1.5 h to charge for 30 minutes.
 
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You'd still be stopping every 1.5 h to charge for 30 minutes.
It's not that bad; 200 mi/70 mph = 2.8 hours. The extra weight and the extra inch of wheelbase may actually make the J01 a comfier ride on the e-way than the F56 SE. Of course, none of us bought a MINI Cooper SE to go for a comfy ride on the e-way.
 
It's not that bad; 200 mi/70 mph = 2.8 hours.
I've looked at road-tripping with the SE from the Twin Cities to Albuquerque, and according to A Better Route Planner the 22-24 hour trip becomes around 30 hours with charge stops. Which is a bit high if you consider there's going to be an overnight stay (unless it's a cannonball run :)) so that will eliminate at least one charge stop. And stopping about every three hours is necessary/good idea, even in an ICE vehicle.

Sadly I'm likely never taking my SE on that road trip, since I've got the Lightning now and that'll be much more comfortable for my dogs. Plus it can use Tesla chargers so more charging options on the route.

Which brings up an issue to get back on topic, will the J01 have J3200/NACS by the time it comes to the US?
 
It's not that bad; 200 mi/70 mph = 2.8 hours. The extra weight and the extra inch of wheelbase may actually make the J01 a comfier ride on the e-way than the F56 SE. Of course, none of us bought a MINI Cooper SE to go for a comfy ride on the e-way.

Do you think you could get 200 mi out of only 70% (i.e., 80% down to 10%) of the available battery capacity? Even if there were no buffers, that would require averaging (200)/(54.2 x 0.7) = 5.3 mi/kWh.
 
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