Favorite and Useful Accessories

Interesting? Do you have one? Is it useful? Does stuff stay in it when opening and closing the door?

Rob

 

Unless you count my subtle, but expensive, non-ICE-skeuomorphic scoopless hood, the only mod I've made to my SE is installing MINI's 4.25-inch Sport Aerial. I think it's the perfect size--I like it more than the satellite bump without any radio antenna like some cars have.

 

I have both the door handle bins and the stubby antenna.

The most useful thing I added so far is the proclip phone holder:

I bought a cheap magnetic phone mount on Amazon to go with it.

 

The bins look useful but I’m not excited about attaching things with tape. Can they be cleanly removed? Or can they sit in place without the tape?

I imagine if I put my phone there rather than the cup holder area, I'll leave it behind in the car less often.

I'm guessing there's a thread on here somewhere about how you made that happen? Very curious, though probably not curious enough to go to all the effort...

 

I don't believe I've ever created a specific thread about my dislike for the fake hood scoop on MINI's electric car, but I've ranted on many other threads enough that long-time members make jokes (well-deserved) about my obsession.

Because the hood scoop is non-functional, it's just an ornament--and an ornament that specifically references ICE vehicles. It's even a non-functional ornament on the ICE-powered MINI Cooper S. Unless you consider something like the belt-line trim ornamental, there are no other non-functional ornaments on MINI Coopers.

I waited many years for MINI to make me a version of their 2009 MINI-E and I followed their progress closely. On the day that MINI unveiled the production version of the MINI Cooper SE (I believe it was July 19, 2019), I was very disappointed to see they had added the hood scoop from the MINI Cooper S (which was not on the pre-production prototypes). I created a website that is simply a 10-second slide show illustrating that MINI's designers did not intend for the MINI Cooper SE to have a hood scoop.

To rectify the situation, I wrote letters to the head of BMW, the head of MINI, the head of the MINI factory, the lead SE project manager, and the head of MINI USA, saying I would pay $1,500 to get the less-expensive scoopless hood they put on base MINI Coopers in the same factory, but my letters were ignored.

So I purchased a new base MINI Cooper hood before my SE arrived and had my local body shop paint and install it right after delivery to make my SE perfect (I had already installed the stubby antenna). It took me more than 6 months to find a buyer for my boxed, unused scooped hood (ignored on ebay where I priced it at $1, not including shipping), but a $200 Facebook sale brought the total cost to about $1,800.

 

Only thing I have added to my car is a small cargo net in the back (I think it was intended for a different Mini because it it rather small, but does serve to hold down small stuff) and a foldable fabric bin to hold little stuff in the cargo area. I have similar bins in all of our vehicles. It holds emergency gear (first aid, flashlight, jump start boxes, etc.) and little things as needed.

Bin:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F9IS2Y8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Rob

 

MOLLE bags. Under the false trunk floor they'll stick to the carpet. In the glove box it prevents things from slamming around and spilling out. Space is at a premium and there are only two concealed storage spots. These help keep it tidy. Something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SJMBRWS/ if you've not come across them before. I have a couple. One for tools, another for first aid, etc.

 

Nice, but Amazon says they don't know if they'll get them in stock again.

 

Is there a cargo net that goes across the tailgate so that stuff doesn’t spill out when you open it?

 

The Canvasback cargo liner is great, which I leave in place all the time. I add an EVA foam pad (I cut to shape myself) on top for padding for my dogs when the back seats are down. I also got front seat covers that are easy to put on and take off when converting to dog mode.

 

How did I forget I added the OEM mud flaps. And MINI all-weather floor liners (not mats) taken from my previous 2015 Hardtop. And even though the SE comes with an air pump, I got a portable battery-powered air compressor which has worked great for dealing with low tires and is more convenient to use.

 

Bottle Opener by Tikit -... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HKSBCG3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I use this seat belt clip all the time, when I want to leave my wife in the SE with the "engine running."

By unbuckling my seat belt and then inserting the clip, before opening the door, the car stays in drive ready mode, allowing the radio, AC, and all accessories to be on indefinitely. Assuming the car is in Park with the brake on, it would take five independent actions to make the car move, so it's perfectly safe.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RX39WRN/

It's a strap-on sun visor that I put on the driver's side-window sun shade, which in my opinion, is just way too small to be of any real use. I strap this onto that visor, and in its collapsed position it will fold up and out of the way neatly.

When extended, the lower edge expands nicely to provide shade to the side of my face and the sliding left-right portion can be moved to the whatever angle the sun is that.

It comes in a 2-pack; I was hoping the 2nd shade would be useful for the front shade but it doesn't fit well there. But I'm happy for the side shade!

 

Ordered these when I saw your post and they arrived today. These will be very useful and the fit is perfect. Thanks for sharing!

 

I have an extra seatbelt buckle from my dog's leash that I keep in the center console for the same reason. Likely available on Amazon for under $10.

 

But can it open a roadie?