What do people think of your SE?

I live in a rural area of north-central Florida, and there are very few non-tesla BEVs on the roadways. People are very curious, but always respond with comments about my MINI like, "It is so small..." or "What happens if you run out of power?". The retirement community residents always have very positive things to say, but overall I think we are 10 years behind the rest of the country in EV adoption. 3/4 of the vehicles on the roads here are either pickup trucks or large SUVs.

Where people think I am totally crazy is when I take my MINI for a long road trip. I occasionally drive a 700 mile round-trip to visit my son, and I need to stop 3-4 times each direction to charge. I am not usually in a hurry, and I enjoy the stops along the way, so the journey to my destination is more interesting and takes longer. However, people generally want to get from point A to point B as fast as they can. So I think it depends on the type of person you are. I am definitely not a normal person, and this is not a normal car.

 

In the winter it's about $0.045/mile and in the summer it is free with solar PV. I'd like to say in the summer it is the MINI SE is 6969696969696969MPG.

 

I modified a meme someone sent me about electric stoves:

 

I live in Northern CA and there are EVs everywhere. Not just Model 3 and Y Teslas, but also Mustang Mach E, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ionic 5 and VW ID.4s. Not that many Bolts though. When I drive either the Mini Cooper SE or the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, no one has stopped me to ask questions about them. The last time I had an EV question was back in 2012 when driving around in our 2012 Nissan Leaf. I had more people stop me and ask about my 1997 Acura NSX before I sold it to get the Porsche Taycan.

 

It's fun when hat happens to the Tesla driver who assumed you're just a regular. Yes, MINI makes a fairly quick EV! I've had several follow me.

 

Who cares what other people think!

Everyone I let drive my SE came away impressed. Even my pals with no kids who autocross with me in their manual Cooper S or manual Focus ST, or Manual ND Miata, or Manual Cayman S. Or my buddy with no kids that has the Gallardo, Ferrari whatever, 930, and 996. Or my neighbor that has no kids but drives Buick (he is a work in progress. One autocross in my car and he will be a convert).

The one that really got a kick in my neighbor who has kids, and a manual JCW Cooper but wont drag race me on the street in traffic with people crossing. Wimp.

 

My mom was in the market for a new car, so I tried to get her and my dad to test drive an SE. Unfortunately, I don't think there were any nearby options ⏤ plus they had concerns about the range and charging. My mom ultimately went with a Cadillac, probably largely due to my dad pointing her in that direction. However, when they came to visit recently, my dad had a blast driving my SE around ⏤ according to my mom and younger sibling. My dad isn't in the market for a new car anytime soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if he opted for an SE the next time the option comes up (now that he's driven one).

 

Sadly, the most common comment I hear is, “I had no idea that MINI made an electric MINI.”


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In my area, the R53 & R56 owners love the SE but they can't get past the sticker shock. I do remind them that 50kW DCFC is free (5 stations in a 20 mile radius) and they can afford to spend $2,000+/year on premium fuel.

 

Don't know and don't care as what other people think of my SE has zero bearing of how I feel about my SE.

 

That might be honest, but then why bother replying? Letting us know your opinion paradoxically tells us you must care enough not to care.

 

Well I think perhaps you neglect to realize that there is more than one reason for people to reply.

Sometimes people reply because they care about what other people think about their opinions and ideas which seems to be what you are suggesting.

But sometimes people respond simply because they want to express their opinions and ideas and it doesn't matter if other people agree, disagree, like or dislike such opinions and ideas. Artists painting their work, poets writing their poems, filmmakers making their films etc etc

 

Some people like shouting into the wind.

 

Every so often I show the TFL drag race video with the MX-5 vs 86 vs SE (on CrossClimate 2 all-weather snow tires!) to troglodytes at work who patronizingly say things like, “I’m glad for you that you like it, but I don’t think I’d enjoy something without a real engine.”

 

Why must either state be untrue?