First road trip report

I just got back from a trip with my wife and since we decided to take the SE I thought I'd share a little bit of our experience. For many of you this may be old news, but the MINI is our first EV so this was all new to us. The drive was about 850 miles round-trip from Chicago to Lake Huron. We went up around the coast of Lake Michigan, north to Holland, then east across the middle of the state. The car is a '23 with only 1500 miles on it. Here are the highlights summarized in bullet point style:

• Range: Obviously anyone on this forum knows the MINI has a much smaller battery than many other EVs. This was our biggest "fear" on the trip since our main reason for getting the SE was commuting, not long distance travel. Bottom line up front, this was totally a non-issue. I was a little nervous at the start, and drove very conservatively, but by the end I realized that the car was easily outperforming the distance estimates and I didn't need to worry.
• Route planning: I used a combination of ABRP to get the initial recommendations, Plug Share to check recent reviews on stations to make sure they are working, and network specific apps to get details on what was in use (EA, CP, etc.) This felt clunky and it annoyed my wife to have to juggle so many different apps. I can easily see the appeal of the Tesla supercharger network for being able to just punch in a destination and go. I'm looking forward to being able to take advantage of that in the future.
• Charging infrastructure: We only used one Electricfy America station, most were ChargePoint, and one was a Shell Recharge. The CPs were hands-down the best and they all worked 100% of the time. The Shell station had an error but their tech support was quick to help. EA, unfortunately, lived up to their reputation. I think I know what their problem is:

One important lesson we learned is that stations with only one DCFC are risky because there's a good chance there will be a line of people waiting. Luckily we had other options and were able to drive farther to adapt.

• Comfort/storage: with two adults packing for a week we were able to fit everything in the car, but had to pile up the back seats, too. On the highway the car was smooth and quiet, seats comfortable, and overall very enjoyable. The speed limit feature was something that came in handy when there was too much highway traffic to safely use cruise control but I wanted to keep my speed constant for battery efficiency. Unless I put something on the roof, there's no way the car works for more than 2 people on a long trip. And that's fine as my kids are almost grown and out of the house.
• Travel time/breaks: This is where I really needed to adjust my expectations. 30 years of road trips in an ICE car have firmly shaped my habits. When I would leave it would be a race to get to my destination with as few stops as possible. This EV forced me to take more breaks and I honestly think this was a healthier and safer way to travel - Both from a physical standpoint (fatigued driving) as well as a mental one (enjoying the journey).
• Fun factor: Coming from many years of driving a VW GTI and Golf R, the SE has totally impressed me. After many hours of extended driving I'm ready to say this is the most fun I've had and made the travel something to look forward to rather than dread. Now if only there was a third pedal....

Overall, it was an awesome first experience. If anyone is sitting on the fence with their SE, don't hesitate, just dive in. This car was meant to be driven regardless of the distance.

 

It on the way there it took 6.5 hrs of driving plus 2.5 hrs of charging. We did it in two days because like I mentioned we were being really cautious. (Plus we trying to not be in a hurry.) On the way back I realized I could go from Holland to Chicago with only one charge stop so we saved a bit of time.