Even as the realization of my decade-long dream of owning an electric MINI Cooper continues to move further into the future, at least while I'm stuck at home I can read all about how the car works in the PDF Owner's Manual.
Do you find the Coasting zone (2 below) between Deceleration (regen braking) and constant speed wide is enough to be usable? What is the 16-Amp Level 2 Charging Cable described in the Owner's Manual? What kind of 240-Volt outlet does it require (Matt, you're the perfect person to answer this appliance-related question)?
Sorry to be so pesky. Button 13 in this photo is not described in the manual and it doesn't appear in the 2019 MINI Owner's Manual. Do you know what it is?
Yes, the"Dead zone" is wide enough to use. However, you can also push the shift selector forward while driving and it will go into "neutral" (zero regen) and cost easily. That seems to be the hypermiling trick. I use a generic 32 amp J1772 charging cable. The car charges in about 3 hours from 10% to 90%
Here are a couple pics. The button is a hatchback release and this is the type and size of the tires (205 45/17).
All MINIs have heated exterior mirrors and windshield-washer nozzles. They're heated all year round, regardless of the ambient temperature. My MINI salesperson confirmed after returning from MINI Cooper SE training in San Diego that the SE is no different. That means the SE is trading away range when these accessories don't need to be heated. The MINI Cooper SE Owner's Manual says "both exterior mirrors are automatically heated as needed and in standby state." What does "as needed" mean? Does the SE have a thermal switch that disables the heater when the weather isn't cold? Why would the mirror heaters be active in standby state (similar to accessory mode in an ICE-powered car)? Aren't they also active in drive-ready state? Who is going to sit in their car in cold weather, activate standby state, and then wait for the mirrors to defrost before activating drive-ready state and driving away? Do the mirrors then go cold in drive-ready state? Why doesn't the heated windshield nozzle-heater text say "as needed" like the text for the heated mirrors? Why does the manual say the nozzle heaters are active in standby state without mentioning if they're active in drive-ready state? If someone else doesn't do it first and report their results, I'll use an infrared thermometer to figure this out--assuming my quest to own a MINI Cooper SE concludes satisfactorily. If the accessories ARE using power whenever the car is on, I'll use an ammeter to determine how much energy these accessories suck up. If it's a lot, adding a switch or two may be in order.
Looks like the 2021 SE PDF Owner's Manual is now available. (I doubt there's much different, though...)
At a quick first glance, it looks like the same, poorly migrated MINI Cooper S Owners Manual as in 2020. Page 39 still talks about "Controller without navigation system," but all MINI Cooper SEs have nav. Page 75 still talks about Manual and Steptronic transmissions, neither of which come with a MINI Cooper SE. Page 153 still talks about "tow-starting." How do you tow-start the MINI Cooper SE? The most equivalent topic would be discussing if you can tow-charge a MINI Cooper SE (doubtful).
Why couldn't you? Assuming the battery had enough charge for the car to be in drive, it would be the same to the car as regen-ing down a hill.
Sounds good, so the manufacturer probably would say it's not good. The extra towing resistance caused by regen charging would put more strain on MINI's "tow fitting." The MINI Cooper SE would be the perfect runabout for RV owners if they could recharge it while towing it behind their behemoths. To make such a feature even better, communication between the RV and the SE could turn off the charging when the RV was going up a steep hill or when the RV's gas tank was getting low.