I don’t regret getting one as well. Mini and BMW know their customer base well. The SE while being a compliance car actually works. Many SE owners have been long time Mini owners looking to get something electric. It also appealed to first time EV/Mini owners because of cost with rebates. As I’ve said before they know it’s not getting cross shopped. It’s either you want it or don’t. I only got into Mini once it was fully integrated with BMW.
proven i3 electrical platform + proven F56 mechanical platform With all the recent news of EVs being generally unreliable, the solid foundations the Cooper SE is built on are a significant benefit. It's one of the reasons I decided to jump on a 2023 SE rather than wait for the longer-range next gen model.
Even though my 2021 SE is a "first generation" EV, because of the F56 platform and i3 motor/batteries it's actually a well-seasoned EV. I'd never call it a compliance car. Functionally it excels in its class.
I had this argument elsewhere. 99% of the general public just wants an EV. They don’t care if it’s a BEV platform or ICE converted to BEV. Yea BEV platform is nice but most OEMs have to still Sell ICE cars for awhile. Does it have decent range and some nice tech? Good enough.
I think a dedicated BEV platform may be oversold by many. The main purpose, I believe, is to minimize the space taken up by the batteries. Well MINI managed to make the SE without compromising cabin space at all, and the same with Ford and the F-150 Lightning. And I wonder what happens when the batteries in some of these "skateboard" platforms need to be replaced, whereas the SE batteries can be swapped out very easily. Sure the SE is still front wheel drive due to being based on the F56, but would going rear wheel drive (or all-wheel drive) keep the MINI-ness of the car? I wonder if the Aceman will be dual-motor since the current Clubman and Countryman are AWD (I assume the Ora Good Cat design will stick with FWD).
Finally got to wash the car and give it a proper bath. Installed the spacers and tinted a few bits around the car. Hopefully lowering will be next. Normal SoCal weather called for a photo dump.
Refer to a Korean brand that requires regular low conductivity battery coolant flushes and reduction gearbox oil changes (can black at 2,300 miles!). We will see if this issue will carryover to the current platform.
I occassionally stray onto one of those Korean InsideEVs forums. The stories I read there of the dreaded clicking when drive gears start to fail are scary. I thank my lucky stars BMW's engineers didn't design any mechanical weak links into their BEV drivetrains.
And I don’t stray into them, anybody mind catching me up on the issues? I went to the Car Show on Friday and the 2024 Niro EV was up near the top of cars that interested me (my sister is looking to move on from her 2011 Sportage).
The SE being built on the long-deployed F56 chassis and using mature i3 technology definitely has upsides.
When the forum members' best advice is to mount a really powerful magnet on the drain plug to capture the metal shavings coming from the drive gears... When the question is whether the pink or the blue battery coolant crystalizes quicker...
There are helpful members there, but more trolls than I expected. I am glad our community is significantly smaller lol
What spacers did you use, the change in stance looks killer! I can't lower my car, Roads in my part of Norway aren't good and I beached it twice driving over snowbanks this winter, any lower and it would have been much harder getting her unstuck.
I went with 15mm and 20mm from KillAllChrome. The price shipped seemed reasonable at the time compared to ECS however when they arrived they had a sticker that said made in China. So after seeing that I am not sure if going with the ones other users posted from Amazon was not better solely for the fact its cheaper.
Looks good!! H&R Springs have been sitting at my house since December. On the fence about coilovers or springs. Spacers look good! Ended up going with BBS on mine Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Thank you and Yes they are! Was on the fence. Glad I went with 18s. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
