Blasphemy

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CuriousGeorge

Well-Known Member
My SE is the first EV I have owned, and I didn't really know how well it would fit my lifestyle. I therefore hung onto my Mazda 3 until I figured things out. Fast-forward 3+ years, and I love my SE to the point that I don't drive it the winter, or even when it might rain, just to keep it clean. Unfortunately, the Mazda now has 165k miles, needs a lot of work (shocks, clutch, exhaust), and is starting to rust. So, what to do? The cheapest option is to just get some winter wheels for the SE and not have two cars. OTOH, I could replace the Mazda with something a bit newer/more reliable. If so, what? Possibilities I have considered so far are 1) an ICE MINI, 2) a Chevy Bolt, 3) a newer Mazda 3, and 4) a Honda Fit (see the theme here?). Any other suggestions? Budget is $20k or less.
 
CuriousGeorge said:
My SE is the first EV I have owned, and I didn't really know how well it would fit my lifestyle. I therefore hung onto my Mazda 3 until I figured things out. Fast-forward 3+ years, and I love my SE to the point that I don't drive it the winter, or even when it might rain, just to keep it clean. Unfortunately, the Mazda now has 165k miles, needs a lot of work (shocks, clutch, exhaust), and is starting to rust. So, what to do? The cheapest option is to just get some winter wheels for the SE and not have two cars. OTOH, I could replace the Mazda with something a bit newer/more reliable. If so, what? Possibilities I have considered so far are 1) an ICE MINI, 2) a Chevy Bolt, 3) a newer Mazda 3, and 4) a Honda Fit (see the theme here?). Any other suggestions? Budget is $20k or less.
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I admire your protective instincts. To keep my first new car, a 1973 Porsche 914 2.0, out of the salt, I rode my bicycle 7 miles to work every winter (I couldn't afford a 2nd car with my Porsche payments). I piled the logs for the fireplace behind my 914 in the garage to ensure I wouldn't go soft on the nastiest, icy days.

No manufacturers are hinting that they will be bringing anything like our MINI Cooper SEs to the US. You're on the right track with your sacrificial candidates.

Now I'm feeling a little guilty for enjoying my SE all year round.
 
I completely agree with your feelings. Most of my friends don't understand how much I love my SE.
 
What could be better than one MINI SE? Two MINI SEs. Cars.com has a few of them available for $20k (though used prices seem to have gone up about 20% over the last few months).
 
Qisl said:
What could be better than one MINI SE? Two MINI SEs. Cars.com has a few of them available for $20k (though used prices seem to have gone up about 20% over the last few months).
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I've thought about it! But, it seems like more of an indulgence than I am up for. $20k on a 2nd car is one thing, but $20k on another short-range EV exactly like the first is another.
 
Our 2023 SE has full coverage Xpel PPF and ceramic coating. It goes in once a year for a complete detail and ceramic refresh. The black parts are so easy to scratch that it bothered me. The car was paint corrected before the Xpel was applied and now it is so easy to wash the car. I'm not concerned with swirl marks anymore as the Xpel is "supposed to be self-healing" (it actually is, there was a scuff on our Taycan Cross Turismo and the scuff dissapeared after leaving the car in the sun per instructions).

I realize PPF is not for everyone, but the exterior is so much easier to keep clean now.
 
Not to be Debby Downer, but can you get a descent preloved car for $20K? Have you priced what the repair items would be on the Mazda, or are we at diminishing returns? At least you know the history.
 
Busdriver said:
Not to be Debby Downer, but can you get a descent preloved car for $20K? Have you priced what the repair items would be on the Mazda, or are we at diminishing returns? At least you know the history.
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I guess that depends on how you define decent, but 3-6 y old models of all three of the examples I mentioned are available at the price point. Right now I am vacillating between a Fit Sport (Honda reliability, cloth-but-quite-serviceable interior, but ICE) and a Chevy Bolt (EV, but I'm not a fan of either the original interior or the post-LCI exterior). It's a bit harder to find a nice Mazda 3 hatchback with under 60k miles for that price, but I've come across a few. However, Mazda has gone so up-scale with their interiors that I'd feel a bit guilty using it as my winter car.

I have considered just continuing to pour money into the my old car, as that would be the least expensive option. But, as I mentioned it needs new shocks, exhaust, and clutch, which Google AI estimates would cost between $2800 and $5450, depending on whether a new catalytic converter is required or not (based on the sound the exhaust is rusted-through somewhere closer to the engine than the rear of the car, but I haven't investigated to determine exactly where). Moreover, even if those problems were addressed it is starting to rust rather badly, the tech is outdated (stopped automatically connecting to Bluetooth after a phone update), and of course the Takata airbag was recalled long-ago but no replacement is available. Thus, it seems like after 165k miles it is time to move on.

First world problems, eh?
 
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It sounds like you have to play taps, salute smartly and part ways with the little Mazda. . I’d get the Fit. Can’t argue with Honda reliability
 
My daughter bought a Fit a few years ago. It was not reliable, drove terribly, noisy, says it was the worst car ever. I guess they are not right for everyone.
 
Barely matching the topic "Blasphemy" and the suggested replacement car, "Honda Fit," yesterday, I saw a nice yellow Honda Fit with a bumper sticker that made me laugh. I laughed because more than a decade after a simple tweet by a Brit named Adrian Bott, his thought-provoking, pseudo-political message lives on (though abbreviated on this bumper sticker):

1786587759894.webp
 
Today I bought a 2021 Chevy Bolt LT with 78k miles but in very good shape for $14k. Drove it home but then had to take the SE to work because the Bolt needed charging. Initial observations based on driving them back-to-back:

1) interior of SE is much nicer (duh!), but Bolt isn't as bad as I remembered from test driving one in 2017;

2) SE is quieter;

3) SE is quicker;

4) SE has a firmer ride;

5) SE handles better;

6) SE seems to be at least 10% more efficient (perhaps due to aftermarket tires on Bolt);

7) Regen is more powerful in SE.

Of the above, the first 5 are as you would expect - the SE is a baby BMW with go-kart handling, whereas the Bolt is a Chevy powered by Samsung. It is the last two that are a bit surprising, especially #7.

A) the crowd-sourced default efficiency assumed by ABRP is ~10% higher for the SE, but my initial impression is that the difference is greater than that;

B) the AI overlords claim that max regen in the SE is only 0.19 g for the SE, vs. ~0.22 g in D mode and ~0.3 g in L plus using the paddle. However, the SE clearly stops faster. In D, the Bolt behaves like a car with an automatic transmission, whereas L allows actual one pedal driving, albeit with somewhat longer stopping distance than the Bolt.

Having two contrasting EVs is going to be interesting, but already I would describe it as the Bolt is pleasant enough to drive, but the SE is actually fun.

I'm actually back to my original take from when the Bolt first came out: if you firmed up the suspension and sorted the handling, it would be a really fun car to drive. At the end of the day, though, you'd still have to live with the rental car-ish interior, which makes the whole thought experiment a bit moot.

A more nuanced comparison would be the F56 SE against the new VW ID Neo GTI. Would you trade over 500 lbs for better range, a bit faster acceleration, and 4 doors, or stick with the EV hot hatch equivalent of the Miata?
 
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Speakng of Honda Fit - I wish Honda continued to make the FitEV. It was fun to drive and had quite a bit of cargo capacity. It was a special lease only back in 2013 and I liked the color which Honda called "Reflection Blue Metallic".
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Which one should I drive tomorrow? ;)
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(Answer: probably the Bolt, since we're supposed to get half an inch of rain. Of course, since I just spent most of the weekend cleaning it up.)
 
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My first new car was a 1973 Porsche 914 2-liter. I rarely drove it, riding my bicycle 10 miles uphill both ways :) in the snowy winters to work to keep it in the garage. I stacked firewood behind it to circumvent temptation. When I had to sell my Porsche 6 years later, it was in like-new condition with only 15K miles on the ODO.

Later, when I was able to buy a new 1986 Honda CRX, I decided I should be the one to extract all the fun from the car and I did. I drove it winter and summer, pretending it handled as well as my mid-engined, RWD Porsche. Over the next dozen years, the salted Michigan roads took their toll on the car's thin-walled, unprotected steel body and I sold it for next to nothing. I didn't shed any tears, but thanked it for its service.

At my advanced age, almost retired, I'm not driving as much, but I want to enjoy every second behind the wheel. I love driving my MINI in every season. My MINI's job is to make me happy. The next owner's happiness isn't my problem, but I'm sure this car will deliver in spades.

If you plan to keep your SE for decades, you're doing the right thing by driving it less. I wouldn't try to improve the Bolt. That way, every drive in your MINI will be even more special.

A decade after selling my beloved Porsche, I was sad to learn a black bear in Colorado destroyed its interior. What is the old saying? Oh yeah, "Don't love anything that can't love you back." Hogwash.

I'm vowing to not take my MINI to Colorado because I love it too much to have a bear take it out.
 
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CuriousGeorge said:
Today I bought a 2021 Chevy Bolt LT with 78k miles but in very good shape for $14k. Drove it home but then had to take the SE to work because the Bolt needed charging. Initial observations based on driving them back-to-back:

1) interior of SE is much nicer (duh!), but Bolt isn't as bad as I remembered from test driving one in 2017;

2) SE is quieter;

3) SE is quicker;

4) SE has a firmer ride;

5) SE handles better;

6) SE seems to be at least 10% more efficient (perhaps due to aftermarket tires on Bolt);

7) Regen is more powerful in SE.

Of the above, the first 5 are as you would expect - the SE is a baby BMW with go-kart handling, whereas the Bolt is a Chevy powered by Samsung. It is the last two that are a bit surprising, especially #7.

A) the crowd-sourced default efficiency assumed by ABRP is ~10% higher for the SE, but my initial impression is that the difference is greater than that;

B) the AI overlords claim that max regen in the SE is only 0.19 g for the SE, vs. ~0.22 g in D mode and ~0.3 g in L plus using the paddle. However, the SE clearly stops faster. In D, the Bolt behaves like a car with an automatic transmission, whereas L allows actual one pedal driving, albeit with somewhat longer stopping distance than the Bolt.

Having two contrasting EVs is going to be interesting, but already I would describe it as the Bolt is pleasant enough to drive, but the SE is actually fun.

I'm actually back to my original take from when the Bolt first came out: if you firmed up the suspension and sorted the handling, it would be a really fun car to drive. At the end of the day, though, you'd still have to live with the rental car-ish interior, which makes the whole thought experiment a bit moot.

A more nuanced comparison would be the F56 SE against the new VW ID Neo GTI. Would you trade over 500 lbs for better range, a bit faster acceleration, and 4 doors, or stick with the EV hot hatch equivalent of the Miata?
Click to expand...

I suspect you are driving the Bolt in the wrong driving mode. My Bolt, in "L" mode plus the regen paddle has more regen than any other EV I have ever driven. Significantly more than the Mini SE.
 
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