Buy Now or Wait for 2024

About the "Chinese SE"--is MINI really going to force us to call it that by not coming up with a couple of different letters? But if it's larger inside, smaller outside, lighter, quicker, better-cornering, longer-range, charges faster and costs less, it may be OK if it's not as handsome or if it has a few teething problems. However, even if all that is true, I won't for a minute regret that I bought "the old one." Or will I have to start calling it the "Oxford SE?"

 

Exactly. Just enjoy the current generation so you can stop worrying about fluctuating petrol prices. Get the $7,500 federal tax credit now, and maybe another $7,500+ next year. If you took advantage of the plug in tax credit since 2011/2012 you could have easily racked up 10 consecutive years of the credit plus $200,000+ in Roth IRA tax savings.

 

Considering they named the Countryman PHEV "SE" and later the all-electric 2 Door Hardtop "SE", I wouldn't expect a sudden burst of creativity in the model naming/designation department.

 

At least the county of origin wasn't required to identify the PHEV and the BEV MINIs. MINI should prove they believe the Chinese SE is an improvement with a new designation--maybe "SSE?"

One report claims the less-sporty Chinese MINI with the small battery and small motor will be called the MINI Cooper E. Can't wait to see if it will be the first non-"S" to come with a fake hood scoop.

 

The un-camo'd spy shot of the white car was simply labeled Cooper S, and did not have a hood scoop.

On the cars with camo, the scoop bit looks pretty tacked on and just an outline.

Nothing is set in stone until we get an official reveal but...

 

While it would hurt me personally, i would be happy to eat a bowl of crow with others on this forum if the China car comes out, and is heralded as the greatest thing yet, wins awards, has a great range, and is more fun to drive.

 

I've been reading/watching a lot lately about the EV business growth across the world and it appears EV's produced in China are very high quality, well liked and affordable vehicles. Companies such as BYD, Xpeng, Kio, and others have very modern state of the art plants. We haven't seen any here in the states yet but they will be coming and will very likely seal the coffin of our Legacy automakers. Besides we cannot live our daily lives without the Chinese made stuff we have come to love.

 

My SE is simply labeled Cooper S. It used to have a hood scoop.

 

This article doesn't really contain any new information* and mostly draws from other sources, but nonetheless it's a well-written compendium of what is known/thought to be true of the next-gen version.

*It does state that the 2024 will have a slight rearward weight bias, which I haven't seen reported before.

https://topelectricsuv.com/news/mini/2024-mini-electric-details/

 

This was new to me: "MINI might not offer the base variant stateside because of the low range." US customers will hope the top-end variant is available as early as the base variant.

I've never heard anything about an Oxford-built electric convertible before (but I don't read everything): "next-gen MINI Convertible will roll out of the BMW Group Plant Oxford. The latter is confirmed to receive electric drive."

 

If it's rear weight bias it's rwd. Rear weight bias fwd makes no sense.

I'll still wager ff format.

 

I also expect that it will be front wheel drive.

That said, batteries are heavy, so I can imagine that if the battery is shifted towards the rear abit to make room for the motor, >50% of the weight might be carried by the rear wheels.

 

Obviously everyone has different opinions and priorities. For me, personally I'm glad I placed an order for a 2023 a couple of weeks ago. From what I've seen of the interior and exterior of the 2024, I much prefer the 2023 - the fact it looks more or less like the ICE versions is a definite plus (to me). I will be switching to the SE from a Model 3 Performance (as the lease will be up), so I have no problem with the concept of the large center screen tablet look of the 2024 - I just prefer the 2023 interior. The fact the 2023 will be built in Oxford is also a positive, purely as a nostalgia thing for me (despite this being my first Mini), I prefer that to it being built anywhere else.

 

It's the management, not the workforce. Exhibit A is Apple's iPhone—built in China and nobody ever complains about the quality. If MINI holds their Chinese manufacturing to the same standards as Oxford there won't be any issues.

 

Wow, what a couple of decades makes. English cars and quality was an oxymoron about 20 years ago. Still is for Jaguar and Land Rover according to many articles.

 

The difference is that low cost goods can only be made in China/Mexico because of the labor cost. The disposable "garbage" companies design for foreign market production gives a false appearance of US/Europe quality.

Put another way, China/Mexico will make things as cheap as you want but you get what you pay for.

 

There’s a reason dollar stores exist (and are making a killing, let’s be honest), it’s because people accept the risk of getting poor quality goods and they want to pay as little as possible.

 

The one fact the generally gets ignored in these debates on foreign made stuff is that most of the items are marketed here under US companies who chose the quality level of said items they are marketing. This has been the case for 40yrs and yet people continue to banter about how China stole our jobs/business.

 

If you haven't been a victim of intellectual property theft then you should be in good shape! Since Motorola Solutions was in your area, you should be well versed with Hytera Communications Corp.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-indictment-charges-prc-based-telecommunications-company-conspiring-former-motorola