2022 model sneak peek

Agree. The gray block was an uninspired choice.

 

It may also be more challenging to overheat the friction bbrakes on the SE due to the lower top speed and the fact that the battery/motor may overheat and cut power first.

Of course, all of this assumes that the ducts actually do something on the S.

 

It looks like they used the non-S front and the S hood on the SE.

 

Indeed, you're right. I hadn't even bothered to look at the new justa version.

 

It's interesting that they chose to black out all the chrome except the beltline. I was thinking about doing the exact opposite but now I'm less confident that it would look good...

 

Rib away! I don't mind a bit because I have the best-looking SE (and I know I'm crazy).

Our Clarity Plug-In Hybrid has air-curtain vents for the front wheels AND the rear wheels. I seem to remember Honda saying the air-flow tricks around the wheels are good for 1-2 mpg at highway speeds, but the Clarity is more aerodynamic than a MINI in the first place (the 2-ton car achieves 42+ mpg when running on gas).

The Clarity also has an excellent adaptive cruise control, which is great on long trips--which our MINI will never experience. The Clarity wiggles the steering wheel when it detects lane-wandering. Sometimes a line of dried road-salt on the road can trigger the lane-departure warning, so it's not perfect. I prefer driving our SE without this nanny feature--especially if the MINI lane-departure warning produces an audible sound.

Now that the SE has even more vents on the front end and the original aero grille is gone, I'm even happier with my modified SE. However, my obsession just became a burden.

I've been trying to peddle my original scooped hood for a while with no takers. Then, after a mere 5 months, the body shop asked me to come get the hood because they need the space in their parts room. So I bit the bullet and put it on ebay with an opening bid of $1 to make sure it sold. After a week I didn't get even a single bid! What more evidence could there be that people hate a MINI hood with a fake hood scoop?

So I got my "friend with a van" to help me bring the boxed hood home. Our one-car garage has shelves on the back wall that are lower than the hood box, so the box must live behind our Clarity until I put it back on ebay next Spring. I don't want to wear out the cardboard box dragging it in and out of the garage to access the Clarity, so I made a special wheeled cart out of scrap wood. Behold my Bonnet Buggy (yes, there is a Plug-In Hybrid behind that giant 6'x4'x1.5' box--note the streaks of snow in the photo; I finished the buggy just in time):

 

I like the understated bonnet stripes on the new SE--they don't distract from the all-important scoop. From the video, it looks like the sport antenna may be another option made standard.

 

Green Car Reports has more photos of the blue SE. But what is this? A lighted hood scoop? Probably just the lighting in the photograph. The art director must have told the photographer, "You've got to punch up that hood scoop and power bump a lot more! How else will people know this car is fast?"



The power bump on an electric car is as stupid as a fake hood scoop on an electric car. Are we supposed to think the electric motor is so big and powerful, they had to modify the shape of the hood? Today, as I was clearing the snow off my gorgeous pre-2022 base MINI Cooper hood, I again admired it as an excellent example of automotive art. They made the SE's hood worse than before!

 

Yeah, you're right. The overhead lighting hits the horizontal, flat part of the hood scoop (which I don't have) and makes it look brighter. Similarly, the photographer used lighting to add shadows to make the power bump (which I do have) stand out more.

 

Nice update. Definitely does not make me jealous though.

I wish they found a way to differentiate the electric from the others, aside for the power spoke wheel.

 

That bump sticks out at for me as well. I think I dislike it more than the scoop, because it's an ugly detail that looks really bad and undermines the electrical-ness of the car, whereas the scoop you can almost sort of justify as a cosmetic choice. Having that bump is as bad as Porsche calling their EV Taycan a "turbo".

 

The new one does look a bit odd - I too hope the lighting isn't doing it justice. As far as the current SE bonnet bulge/scoop, I think they are trying to emphasize that this is a Cooper S, not a Cooper. It has an S badge and comparable, maybe even better performance. The biggest differentiators between the Cooper S and Cooper are the exhaust pipes/diffuser (not an issue with the SE), the spoiler (check), the splitter (check), the bonnet bulge and scoop (check), the 'S' badge (check). It is purely to make the SE look like an S. Both cars don't need a bulge/scoop, but now they have them, it is a model defining difference.

I'm not meaning to ignite WWIII, just my thoughts on it. Some like it, some don't and that is fine. Some people like body kits, some don't. I personally like the fact that it is instantly recognisable as a Cooper S. If changing it makes you happier, then that too is great. Matt Shumaker changed the front grill to a standard Cooper S one - and that is great. So long as you enjoy your MINI, it doesn't matter what you do to it in my opinion.

I'll reserve judgement on the new model till there are a few more pictures/videos of it

 

An excellent summary of the current situation! I agree - it is still instantly recognizable as a Cooper S. It's just had a "little work" done. My salesman is supposed to check this morning to see if I have a build number yet from my order and determine for sure if I'm getting a '21 or '22. If I'm slotted for a '21, then I have a decision to make, since I see the merits of both model years. I would like to put the matter to rest so that I can stop stressing about it.

 

Regarding the fog lights, another article says, "Also gone are the fog lights, replaced by an additional LED element in the headlights." I am guessing that must be the "bad weather" lighting, but maybe that will meet your needs in fog.

 

Another article that is focused on the 2022 SE states, "Mini is introducing a Collection edition of the car, in blue or gray paint with the new multi-tone roof (in two shades of blue)." Of course, don't believe everything you read on the Internet, but I guess it is some indication at least that there will be blue, maybe even two-tone blue availability. At what cost for the "Collection" edition, no one outside the company knows yet.

 

It looks like you are right about the two shades of blue. Another article focused on the 2022 SE states, "Mini is introducing a Collection edition of the car, in blue or gray paint with the new multi-tone roof (in two shades of blue)."