Thinking of moving from 2018 BMW i3 to Mini Cooper SE

I'm on my second BMW i3. I had a 2014 i3 Rex, and now a 2018 i3 Rex. I hate having the range extender! We never need it on the 2018 and the only time it runs is for its maintenance cycle. In the two years we've owned the 2018 we have only used just over one tank of gas, but it now needs it's second expensive oil change. I didn't want the extender when I bought it, but BEV models weren't available in my area. With BMW not making new i3's and there is still a lack of used non-Rex models, I am looking at other options.

I really don't like "large" cars. I've owned more Miata's than any other car if that says something about me. Before I bought the 2014 i3, I had thought about a Mini, but used i3's were so cheep around five years ago I went that way. I like that the Mini is 7" shorter than my i3. I wish the SE had a little more range, but if we are going to go beyond it's range we have a gas car we use. Right now my wife and I both work from home, but if she has to go back to an office job she would need to drive the SE daily commute. I expect she could live with the SE's range if that happened. Otherwise it would be more of my car. I haven't been to test drive an SE yet. As you might expect they aren't very available. There are two used 2022's in the area in Iconic trim which I expect I would want that trim level anyway. I don't like the price is $39-41k when if I ordered a new one and waited the 3-4months, I think would cost less. But my i3 is worth about $25k so I can afford to buy an SE. When the new supply goes up and used prices come down so would my trade in value.

If you came from an i3, what can you tell me about differences in ride quality? Is the regen braking as good? I love one pedal driving. I like the idea that the SE uses standard tires with lots of options.

Does Mini charge a subscription for using the phone app after a certain amount of time? BMW wants me to start paying $120 a year for that. I dislike all of BMW's subscription models for things like that. I also like that they didn't transfer the free maintenance when buying used i3's starting with 2018. It looks like Mini doesn't transfer the remainder of scheduled maintenance to new owners as well, but with no range extender I expect that's not a big deal. Is there anything else to watch out for if I buy a used 2022 SE? I know there is no tax incentive on used, but it seems too late for that on a new one if ordering today.

Another thing with Mini going to China in 2024 for the electric motors and related parts, are current SE owners going to be in the same boat as people with discontinued i3's? May not matter much if I keep the SE for 5+ years. Who knows what will be on the market then.

 

Thanks... I've seen new Chevy Bolts EUV's with $1500-3000 dealer fees tacked on, but paying $1000-3000 for an 8mo old used SE with 2300-3200 miles on them isn't that bad? Good to know. I was hoping I could talk the price down a little.

You are totally right about the SE being in a better situation in the years to come than my i3 for parts! That is a very attractive feature. Like using standard wheels and tires.

 

It's not a bad idea... On checking last night the closest new one on a dealer lot would be 777mi away, but that might be improving like you said as the in transit ones might get bailed on. The local Seattle dealer doesn't show any in transit.

 

We love the turning radius on the i3, but the SE is rated at just 2.8 feet wider. Is that difference that noticeable? I did consider an i3s but from the input I got from owners is the ride is harsher and the 20" wheels get bent up much easier. The tires are also twice as expensive as the standard expensive i3 tires.

So you are saying it's a blended regen and uses actual brakes more? I would have thought on using just aggressive regen single pedal it won't use the breaks.

 

Right.... forgot about traction control. Your experience is very much inline with what I would expect and what I'm looking for in an EV.

 

Thank you so much, this is what I was looking for. I don't care for how my i3 can get blown around some at faster highway speeds. I expect that even the 17" SE wheels ride nicer than my i3 19" ones. For road trips we take the wife's Subaru Forester. Pre-pandemic when my wife commuted with my i3 to save money it was never more than level 1 charging could handle and that was with the 2014 i3. In the two years we've had the 2018 i3 we haven't needed to commute. I had installed a 220v level charger in the last house and love the charge speed, but in our new house I've yet to get around to having the 220v line put in for my wallbox 40a charger.

I think unless there is a major change in our situation, the range of the SE will be totally fine and be the fun small car I want. Guess I should schedule a test drive...

 

Thanks my wife got a nail on the 2014 i3 the we were surprised about the cost to replace the tire at the time and like you said no options. Its a big selling point on the SE that we have choices!

I just checked at the SE's 35.1' turning radius is closer to our Forester's 35.4' than the i3's 32.2' radius. Oh well. No big deal.
At least the SE is still 30.7" shorter in length than the Forester and 6.9" shorter in length than my i3. For some that's a drawback, but for me it make me happy as well as more room in the front of the garage.