Does Mini discourage frequent charging?

Well that's cryptic - what "noise" are they feeding you?

 

They've been committing to getting me an answer in specific times more than once, which comes across as stalling.

 

Im going to some Mini Canada VIP tomorrow I should ask a rep about the charging. Doubt they’ll know anything

maybe I’ll bring this up in a training course soon. The instructors are super knowledgeable

 

Ask them first about the blinker fluid and if they don't know what that is, you can probably skip the question about how frequently you should charge.

 

Maybe @Tommm can tell them where he found the bargain-size blinker fluid.

 

Confirmed, the advice as they call it would retroactively apply. Beyond that, the CS defers to service centres. No confirmation or denial of plans to roll out limit scheduling to make anyone's lives easier.

This with the highway hit is making me want to switch out for another Model 3. Really thought BMW had their **** sorted.
Misleading language around preconditioning, this and management recommendations with no software to support them like it's 2010 and we're just getting hyped about EVs.

My range estimates are in the 120 range and I don't even have 10000kms on the car, ffs. That's 100km less than what expected, meanwhile I beat estimates on the Tesla (when I say estimates I mean doing the battery percentage math).

It still works as a city car, but it's just insane how I essentially bought a more fun to drive base Leaf for near Model 3 money.

It's not like this thing is that much better built anyway, wondering whose handprints I got on my headlamp bulbs.

Yes, I'm salty. Bullshit gokart with crippled range is the only way I can adequately describe this. I'm at sea level in perpetually mild weather for crying out loud. I don't know how our pal in Québec deals with this.

 

220 km expected range? Only if you’re going by notoriously unrealistic WLTP figures. The more reasonable EPA range estimate is around 183km (114mi).

So, 120km still sounds a bit low, even for winter… what are your efficiency figures in the trip computer? I’d expect 15-16 kWh/100km normally… maybe ~20 in a “mild” winter. That’s what I’m getting here in Ohio, anyway, and I’m a lead-foot who has to go up a small hill whenever I leave the neighborhood. If your numbers are appreciably worse than that, maybe there’s something wrong with car? If they’re not, well, maybe the car just isn’t right for you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

(edit - 2022 model)
Unscientific observation. But calculated about 2% in degradation at 22,270 and almost 2 years. I have no idea what the actual usable capacity was at delivery, it could have very well been slightly above 28.9 (stated usable), adding onto my 2% figure. Calculated simply using miles driven (57 mil out and back) at 50% and 4.0 mi/kWh. No idea if the SOC scale is linear on the bottom half, again, unscientific.

I don't DC fast charge that often, maybe once every 2 months for 10-15 minutes max.

I try to remember to unplug below 100% if the vehicle will remain unused, otherwise the vehicle charges to 100% and occasionally left at 100% for up to two days. I never leave the vehicle unplugged below 10% - It will automatically charge up to 12% regardless of the charging schedule, if I'm not mistaken.

I punch the throttle frequently, with a plethora of hills to battle, battery voltage sag is no doubt a common occurrence with my local driving, I'd imagine the frequent firehose of prolonged, downhill, regen current is just as demanding.

Could there be some software aided hidden degradation? Maybe. But overall, the trend is leaning towards my expectations.




Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

 

It's too bad you didn't find this forum before you made your purchase decision. If the MINI Cooper SE wasn't a fabulous gokart, I'm sure this forum would be nearly empty, rather than the most active forum on InsideEVs. If you consider the SE a "BS gokart," then the F56's greatest asset, handling, clearly wasn't high on you list of desired features. You are correct that a Model 3 would have better satisfied your top-priority feature: more range.

 

Ignore list works best. 20 years of arguing with people online you learn. I’m not sure Mini was misleading and anyone that can do math knew the battery was small. So boohoo. I knew perfectly well what I was buying and it’s perhaps the best car I’ve owned

 

I’ve had one single “tank” under 150 km (calculated) range this northern winter, on a day it was -25° to -30°C and I had to wait in a hospital parking lot for two hours (heat and bum warmer on). I’ve been achieving fairly close to the EPA/NRCan range (183 km) all winter, and was far exceeding that in mild weather. I top up the battery when I’m back from a drive, and don’t worry. I’m sorry the car isn’t as right for you as it is for me.

 

It’s sold as a city car and short distance commuter in most markets including here. So I don’t get the “hate” when it’s clearly stated as such. I will agree its price when comparing to others is high but Mini touts itself as a premium brand. In hindsight now with the Model 3 being 54k and qualifying for the full 12k rebate in QC maybe it’s not the most “value for money” anymore. But I remember when we ordered our SE the model 3 was around 60k and no federal rebate plus taxes. So there was a noticeable price difference. Considering it was 4 months from order to delivery that was a win for a non Tesla EV.

I agree there are some handicaps such as battery size. I’ve pointed out 10kwh more should have been done if possible. The lack of being able to set charging to 80% is annoying or any % and some little things. No light in charging port type stuff. Not enough to be a deal breaker

Most Tesla owners I encounter even at work are complete assholes. So no surprising we have one trolling around here. Now where did I put my calibrated torque wrench and air psi gauge….

 

The question isn't how much does the SE cost compared to other cars, it's how much does it cost compared to ICE MINIs? Nobody complains about the insane price of something like a Taycan, because people expect to pay more for Porsche. If a MINI isn't right for someone, they should look at other makes. And hey, the Tesla Model S just had a price drop to a mere $90,000. Surely that's a good value for a luxury sedan, right?

 

iirc a similarly spec S to SE is around 6k more. Right now in Canada a Premier 2.0 SE is 39 ish with some minor options such as trim rings etc. A ICE S with same options (I don’t think the HK is included anymore) is around 44k. The same punch leather interior is 1500$ on the ICE iirc HK was around 850$

even a base model 3 is 55k plus another 1500$ for paint. So even considering the shortfalls of the SE minus the 12k rebate in QC is still way cheaper

 

Ninja edit

 

At the same price point I’d wager a Bolt is the best value.

 

It's a great go kart, I helped edit one of the bigger video reviews it it and I knew about the forum before delivery, but most people don't talk about how inefficient it is at highway speeds. The euro cycle touches on that, but I'm getting worse than estimates on green mode, which makes the thing drive like crud. I'm bothered by an up to 70 percent acceptance in range loss over the warranty on something where I can't even hit figures. We charge exclusively on level 1 and 2 depending on our parking config. I'll have to see what an impact putting the summer tires back on has (winter tires, Crossclimate 2s combined with my wheels in my case are lighter than the OE combo but it seemed they helped tanked range when I put them on. Higher RR makes EVs saaaaad). The tires dropped us in range estimates for Hwy+sport use until this month where we're consistently dropping another 40km of range. I seriously don't understand.

The problem here is while I do see efficiency variance on my Model 3, it's not nearly halving my usable range and I'm not punished for speed anywhere as much. I'm at 145Whr going 115.

All the talk about Tesla made me expect bad range estimates for that car but I consistently meet or exceed the ratings while putting no effort.

Side note, it's clear sport also blends braking to regen as other EVs sometimes do, which I'd argue plays a part in the lessened efficiency along with brisk acceleration patterns.

 

That seems more like what I was expecting honestly, but we don't really hit sub zero that often out here and when we do, it's not those temps. I'm wondering if I have a dud or if 2023 batteries are actually different but BMW won't say. I do know the hwy I use for my commute is rough as far as RR compared to say Hwy 91 or 1 and that's just talking from my experience in my prior Prius Prime, but I wouldn't think it'd make sense to put it all on that.

My 91 drive for equivalent distances would have me at destination with 13% battery range, while I'd often get home with 1 percent on the other drive. The 91 had the steep AFB incline to factor in and similar real speeds.

 

A Tesla? LOL

That is like buying a chocolate milkshake and then complain that you essentially bought melted chocolate ice cream and you could have had solid ice cream for the same amount of money.

You bought the lightest and one of the cheapest EVs available that has years of chassis and EV refinement with the only downside is range. But I wouldn't want to roadtrip a regular Mini Cooper. The short wheelbase isn't great for long trips.

I compare the Mini Cooper SE to a Subaru BRZ or Mazda Miata but electric. The BRZ and Miata have very limited storage which makes it impractical for a lot of people but can drive a far distance. The Mini is just the opposite and all three are fun to drive.

 

Coincidentally, I was thinking this morning how my SE provides a smoother ride over some wavy exit-ramp concrete on my commute than my 3 (Mazda, not Tesla). I'm not into naming cars, but I have joked to my spouse that it should be christened "Electraglide".