Next-gen Mini Cooper SE caught undisguised

Because of the plastic wheel arches on the Mini, when it is parked in the garage next to my Wife's XC90 they look like twins. The "actual size" decal on the lower corner of both hatches make them practically indistinguishable from one another.

 

God, that interior looks cheap!

 

Zoom in on the center toggle. It is now a key you turn so it makes it more obvious when you are in ACC versus ON.

It also has a "Northalt" label with a key on it. Google tells me this means emergency stop.

I like how there is a hammer mounted in the center console.

I wonder what that chrome knob does that is screwed into the dash. My guess would be something to do with brake bias or regen level.

 

Well, the finishing touches are probably still missing, so don't assume it's exactly how the final product will look. But you can see the general direction they're going with it.

Required equipment in some countries, I believe. (or at least much more common)

 

You can always look at the X1 interior (same platform and also built at Plant Leipzig in Germany)

 

That A pillar will not pass for my short wife. That will block half her vision. We went through over a dozen SUVs some dozen years ago when she picked the XC90 with it's more vertical A pillar.

 

Meeeeah on the looks. Would like to see it in other colors and also want to get a look at the interior.

 

The hard part is when get the next car, should we trade in the current SE. It's modern classic some time in future. Very hard decision. Waiting for my Cross Turismo allocation. Given the current economic climate. Doesn't make sense to keep paying the SE payment. But i do love the car.

 

I think you have years before you have to make this tough decision.

 

A booster cushion would fix that?
A requirement in many countries for the vertically challenged.

 

Good luck selling that to her. vanity baby vanity.

 

Trust me, not being able to see out of a vehicle is very unattractive, not to mention hazardous.
I have the opposite problem, which I attempt to mitigate.

 

Her legs are short (stubby is our 5'7" daughters choice for her mom). She has the steering wheel pushed all the way forward, and the seat is forward. The puts the A pillar practically in her face.

 

Not really sure if the seat supports it, or if the seat bottom is long enough to make this practical, but perhaps something like the obus car seat support for the back is enough to push the seating arrangement a little more forward so the seat doesn't have to be pushed so forward?

However, having the seat all the way forward and the steering wheel all the way forward sounds like a hazard if the air bag ever goes off.

I recall some company way back when was making accommodations by some mechanical adjustment of the pedals, but I suspect such things are pretty rare these days and I may be showing my age.

 

Gotta say, I'm a fan. I'm not fully sold on the tail lights, but so long as they have a separate amber turn signal and don't rely on blinking the brake light, I'm happy enough with them. Mostly, though, I'm just ready to have some smaller EVs come stateside! Bring on the electric sedans and coupes and wagons!

 

Being a Honda boy for many decades, when I wanted to move from my Insight hybrid to a full-electric car, I wrote tons of letters to Honda in Torrance, CA, and even to the CEO in Japan, begging them to bring the Honda e to the US. Unsurprisingly, they didn't bring their small EV here because what Americans lust for are SUVs, crossovers, and pickup trucks. So I "settled" by ordering a MINI Cooper SE, and then waiting 51 weeks for delivery.

I am so glad Honda didn't bring the Honda e to the US! It's designed for techno-freaks, not drivers. I couldn't be happier with my choice (and with Honda's choice).

 

Car and Driver has a new article: 2025 Mini Cooper Hardtop Shows Off Sharp New Design in First Photos. I think the new design is looking really nice. Except I'm not a fan of the black band on the hatch, or the white lettering.

I'm not sure how to take this article, it says it's coming to the US and that it will come in both gas and electric. The article actually says there will be an F56 replacement that's similar in looks to the J01 for the gas powertrain. Curiouser and curiouser.

 

MotoringFile also got their hands on the new photos: All New Electric MINI Cooper SE Revealed In Best Photos Yet

From what I understand, the F66 ICE is an updated (again) F56, with the body styling reworked to be very similar in appearance to the J01 electric. Per this MotoringFile report:

 

The next generation MINI Cooper hardtop will arrive in the United States for the 2025 model year.

And the 2025 Cooper hatchback will feature both gas and electric powertrains.

… But that doesn’t mean the electric powertrain one will be coming to the US in 2025.

Yeah, supposedly the gas-powered one will look very similar to the electric, but will be based on a significantly updated iteration of the F56 platform, called F66.

https://www.motoringfile.com/2023/01/23/new-photos-of-the-next-generation-f66-mini-cooper/