Insert eye roll here I wouldn't blink an eye at that amount. Not even $100, but you can believe I implore our legislators to rethink the amount or how we tax roads.
Minnesota has a $75/year surcharge for a BEV. Using this chart of gas taxes by state, that works out to about 262 equivalent gallons. Assuming 30 mpg for an ICE vehicle that would work out to 7867 miles of distance. That's a high surcharge.
To me that doesn't sound bad. I put maybe 5k miles a year on my car usually - if that (all city driving) so imagine how I feel with $200 (yes Ohio is higher rate but still)
I thought average mileage was 5000-6000, but US Department of Transportation says 13,500! That's crazy high, over 1000 miles a month. So maybe I'm not charged an excessive fee, but $200 is bad.
As a follow-up, I just concluded negotiations with a handful of dealers in a wide area around where I live. I settled for $1,000 off MSRP from a dealer whose position initially was that they do not discount the SE. I could have played even harder at it, but I felt pretty good when the initial reaction from dealers was "we don't discount". My technique did involve getting at least one dealer to discount, then sharing that with other dealers and giving them the chance to win my business. There are state incentives here in California, quite a few. CVRP allows a $2,000 rebate, income dependent (if you make too much, no rebate) California Clean Fuel Reward allows a $1,500 rebate at the time of purchase (everyone in California) PG&E will reimburse $800, too.
And what gas car gets 30mpg combined? My best car gets 22mpg calculated (my worst is 16) and they are all newish modern vehicles. Factor in the average vehicle on the road is 12 years old, redo your math and you will feel a lot better. Also use 12k a year as the average distance traveled. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm not though if you read my comments. I'm good with paying taxes, but look at the math given. I'm being penalized for driving electric. My ICE Mini is at 31.9mpg today when I put some gas in. My husband's gets 35-40. Neither of us drives close to 12k a year.
I was bummed when people in the northeast US could lease a MINI-E, but not in Michigan. Then VW decided to sell their e-Golf only in ZEV states, so not in Michigan. When rumors of the long-awaited electric MINI Cooper surfaced, I was worried that it would be a compliance car, like the e-Golf, sold only in ZEV states. I'm so happy that fear was dispelled as MINI made the SE a car for all of North-America (and Hawaii). Then they announced the US price and I was amazed and very happy--I expected it to cost much more. Sure, I'd love to have all the monetary EV incentives Californians enjoy, but Californians have to live in California, where the cost of living sort of eats up those incentives. Driving my MINI Cooper SE is so much fun that I don't mind having paid MSRP (-$7,500, of course).
My gen-1 Insights consistently did better than 60 mpg (except in winter). My best tankful was 85 mpg and one bunch of hypermiling fanatics went 2,254 miles on a single 10.6-gallon tankful (212 mpg)--going 18 mph the whole way. However, fuel-efficiency was the Insight's raison d'etre--it was 4 seconds slower to 60 and couldn't corner nearly as well as my SE, despite weighing more than 1,000 lbs less than my SE.
I have owned exactly one car in my life that didn’t get 30MPG or more - a 2004 Honda S2000 which averaged 28MPG. Even my Honda Prelude got 32MPG (measured tank to tank). My last non-plug-in was a second gen Honda Insight (yes, I used to love Honda’s!) which got 43MPG on average. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
A MINI Cooper SE and an S2000 both get to 60 mph in around 6 seconds. As a pure sports car, an S2000 is even less practical than a MINI Cooper SE. The S2000 is nowhere near as stealthy, but is it more fun? I would guess the SE is more fun in town with its powerful low-end grunt and the S2000 would shine in the country where its rear-wheel drive and its 7,800-rpm redline can be fully utilized.
The other thing I still miss about the S2000 is open-air driving. If Mini makes a convertible version of the SE, it will be on my short list!
I was a Honda person too! My CR-V was the only significantly lower than 30mpg. My Civic Si did vary based on driving lol my F55S will vary too based on how much fun I'm having lol. I'd love an open top SE, but am happy with the sunroof at least. I admittedly wasn't in the market for a Mini until we ditched car and booster seats. Now we are all legal for front seats too so I don't even mind losing 2 doors.
MINI had to reinforce the A-pillars and door sills of the SE to make it crash-worthy with that heavy battery, so it's doubtful they could make an electric convertible unless it included a full roll cage. It looked like VW would make the first convertible EV since the original Tesla Roadster when the company announced their ID.Buggy, but unfortunately VW has recently canceled that project.
Yeah that makes sense. You don’t want to be crushed by the battery! I would gladly accept a roll bar over my head as a compromise. In the meantime, I got the moonroof to get some extra light and air in the cabin. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Yeah. And part of what I love about a 2 door is that the B pillar is behind you, which prevents the wind from undulating in your ear. Airflow in a 4 door with the windows down is awful compared to a 2 door. Add in the moon roof and great things happen. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
