Mini Cooper SE vs Ioniq 5 SE AWD

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Joe c

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Hey guys, I'm cross shopping these 2. In my area I was able to find 1 of each arriving in June with little to no markup.
Cooper SE is the iconic, has added front stripes, blackjack mirror caps, and black waistline which adds to the cost along with dealer required add on of diamond coating and protection, total pre tax is 38,400. All in price including tax is 43400. With fed and state rebates it's 35150.
The Ioniq 5 SE is the base trim but with AWD, very little dealer markup, pretax ends up being around 49500. Out the door is 56000. With fed and state rebates it's 47750.

Using for:
This car would be mostly for commuting. I do have one day a week where I have a 100 mile roundtrip commute, otherwise I'm within 60 mile round trip every day. Married with 2 young kids. We have a Chrysler Pacifica hybrid we use for family duty and long trips, although I wouldn't be opposed to the Ioniq for some of those duties and on a long trip but no more than one charging stop along the way I think.
Anyone driven both of these who can give me an idea of what to do or can give me some advice? Mini sounds like a really fun car but with low range and older infotainment. Ioniq has more range/power but may have some teething problems since it's a new model, plus we're looking at the base model (cloth seats, no power seats, etc).
 
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In my view a high end SE especially with additional dealer stuff is not a great deal financially for what you get.
$35k after rebates is a lot of money for a small 2 door car with limited range.
I’m saying this with a view to future resale value, ie what is it going to cost you in depreciation. On the used market your car will compete with Signature trims models that were $7k cheaper when they were new and will be be cheaper than yours used with the same range etc. used buyers have never paid much more for higher end trains as they have different priorities that are normally more economically driven. It’s been a fact that you are better off buying a base model 5 series BMW for the same price as a fully loaded 3 series as an example.
If you don’t care about that, or disagree, then the SE seems to fit your needs however the one day when you do 100 miles round trip maybe a problem if that is at 80mph on the highway and especially so if you live somewhere with very cold winters. Otherwise you can save $13K on your commuter car by not getting the Ioniq.
However I think the Ioniq will be easier to sell 3-5 years from now due to size, range, and being more up to date.
 
Thanks for the reply! It's very helpful. Actually the Ioniq may be cheaper because it included 3k in dealer addons (car protection) which I think they might remove for me. If they do then that would be only a 10k difference for possibly better resale value. Plus Ioniq comes with 2 years of free EA 30 min charging
 
If you plan on driving 100 miles in one day without a recharge the mini is not the car for you. I know nothing about the Hyundai. The only electric i was interested in was the mini. Because there are other cars in the household I didnt care about the range. If I am going more than about 30 miles from the house I take a different car.
 
While more boring to look at bear in mind a VW ID4 base model is about $33k(?) before taxes etc and again is a much larger vehicle with more range and a newer infotainment.
In these early days of EVs when considering resale I think range (remember degradation too!) will matter to used buyers and larger vehicles have more potential buyers also.
Now, if you want a Mini for the driving dynamics and looks etc then it’s a different matter. The heart wants want the heart wants. But as you only mention commuting etc then as a “cheap” EV for that purpose the deal you’re outlining doesn’t seem very to me.
Of course all this is complicated by supply issues and getting an ID4 or Ioniq5 is much harder than getting an SE as far as I can tell.
 
Hi, thanks for all the advice! It's basically impossible to get an ID4. I ordered one 6 weeks ago and it still hasn't even gotten to the second tab on the preorder site. I've read Volkswagen has sold out of all EV cars for the year, so it would be probably a year before I get one. The Hyundai I mentioned actually got sold to someone else already (I tried to get the dealer to erase the 3k in addons) and in the 4 hrs I was haggling over email they found another buyer. I'm going to try to call some Hyundai dealers in the area to see but I'm not willing to pay for a ton of dealer addons.
So now it's just the mini on order. You're right that 35k for iconic is a hard sell when looking at used, but I can't find any signatures anywhere.
 
Joe c said:
Hi, thanks for all the advice! It's basically impossible to get an ID4. I ordered one 6 weeks ago and it still hasn't even gotten to the second tab on the preorder site. I've read Volkswagen has sold out of all EV cars for the year, so it would be probably a year before I get one. The Hyundai I mentioned actually got sold to someone else already (I tried to get the dealer to erase the 3k in addons) and in the 4 hrs I was haggling over email they found another buyer. I'm going to try to call some Hyundai dealers in the area to see but I'm not willing to pay for a ton of dealer addons.
So now it's just the mini on order. You're right that 35k for iconic is a hard sell when looking at used, but I can't find any signatures anywhere.
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If you had been checking the InsideEVs Ioniq 5 forum, you would have known that dealer's I5 was one of the few available and one of the fewer that didn't have a multi-thousand dollar dealer mark-up. It's not surprising someone else was willing to pay the asking price as soon as they found the vehicle was available.

That said, now you have an easier way to justify the purchase of the less-practical but much more fun MINI Cooper SE. I love my Iconic SE and never paused for a second to consider its resale value when I ordered it and waited 51 weeks for it to be delivered (I ordered before production began and before COVID closed the factory). You will, however, have to miss out on the fun of refreshing a computer web page over and over for weeks, hoping to learn when your SE will be delivered.
 
Very different cars for very different needs. Ioniq is a comfortable family hauler. Given that you have a minivan for just 2 kids, I would assume you put a premium on size.

MINI is a great commuter car and much easier to drive in a city. I wouldn’t be worried about 100 mile round trip unless the temperatures were well under 40F.

if you have two cars now and the kids almost always are in the minivan, get the MINI. Rated best electric car by TFL.
 
Tommm said:
If you plan on driving 100 miles in one day without a recharge the mini is not the car for you.
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I basically do that in my SE with no problem, except during the heart of winter when I have to charge for about 30 minutes mid-day.

I say don't worry so much about the financial aspects, all cars are pricey now. The SE is a well-appointed car. Quality build, nice interior finish, and you'll enjoy driving it. By driving 100 miles a day it will pay for itself in saved fuel costs in short order. I pay about $50/month in charging costs for my 2000 miles per month driving.
 
Tommm said:
If you plan on driving 100 miles in one day without a recharge the mini is not the car for you. I know nothing about the Hyundai. The only electric i was interested in was the mini. Because there are other cars in the household I didnt care about the range. If I am going more than about 30 miles from the house I take a different car.
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Disagree with the range conservatism.

I commute 64 miles RT every day, between 25 and 100 degrees F. I do so mostly between 70 to 80 MPH. I arrive home between 35 and 50 miles remaining on the GOM.

I occasionally have 100+ mile days. On them, I use Green mode and keep the speed at 65 or less. Arrive home with 10 to 20 miles to spare.

I think the MINI is exactly enough car for your needs.
 
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We have had our Mini for 3 months. In that time we have put exactly one tank of fuel in our second vehicle. We rarely drive anything but the electric Mini. We do a 140 mile round trip frequently. We stop at a DC fast charger for long enough to go grab a snack or lunch. You don’t need to full charge, just enough to get home which usually takes 15 minutes give or take. My car always exceeds the rated range. I would not have a problem at 100 miles unless it were windy or cold.
 
I've had an Ioniq 5 mid level trim as a daily commuter (50 miles round trip daily) for 2500 miles now. I also have a MINI SE on order because my wife and i drove one and fell in love with it - plus we've had a 2006 R53 for 9 years now, so we're MINI people at heart.

If you will be the primary driver, going to work - and the Pacifica is still in good shape - i vote you get the MINI SE, though both the MINI or the Hyundai would serve you well.

The Ioniq 5 is powerful, comfortable, roomy, and pretty quiet. I think it has a premium feel and it rides very nicely over crappy roads - much better than say a Tesla. This gives it a floaty feel - like a boat - when you push it around twisty roads. The base level audio system is perfectly adequate - way better than my Corolla i traded in. The Ioniq 5 looks super cool IMO. I love it.

The MINI is more old school, even as a modern car. Noisier at highway speeds, and i perceived less advanced tech. For me, less tech is always a good thing, if it provides what you need. I feel the MINI as a whole is more proven and less likely to have failures. What i remember of the HK audio, it was better than the Hyundai.

I'm getting the MINI for emotional reasons. For driving pleasure over creature comfort. Plus i like driving a small car over a bigger one, when i'm usually the only person in the car. If you have only highway driving, or mostly terrible roads, you may not be able to get the full pleasure that the MINI can provide. I have all types of roads and driving on my commute. My first concern is how i feel after the drive is over, since i do it 5 times a week.

The Hyundai makes me feel good every day. It's effortless and calming. I believe the MINI will make me happy. I'm basing this on how my R53 makes me feel when i drive it. I always said an electric MINI would be the perfect car. When the SE came out, i knew it was the one for me.
 
Thanks so much for all the great responses! I've still got the mini on order. It's due to drive end of June.
I've talked to the one Hyundai dealer within 200 miles of me who doesn't markup the Ioniq, who put me on a waiting list, but it may be months before their next allocation, and I'm not sure where I am on the list. So we'll see.
From everything I've read the mini is an awesome car to drive day to day. FYI I used to own a Miata, boxster, and s2000 (not at the same time) but not anymore after the kiddos. I'm thinking the mini se would take on that role with the ability to occasionally drive kids around when minivan isnt available.
 
Joe c said:
FYI I used to own a Miata, boxster, and s2000 (not at the same time)
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Whoa, you just identified yourself as a future MINI Cooper SE owner. There is no other EV that you would enjoy nearly as much. I misunderstood your earlier post and thought the SE you were looking at buying was already on the lot. So make the deal, get the VIN from your dealer, and start refreshing MINI's My Garage web page over and over to track your SE's progress.
 
Joe c said:
From everything I've read the mini is an awesome car to drive day to day. FYI I used to own a Miata, boxster, and s2000 (not at the same time) but not anymore after the kiddos. I'm thinking the mini se would take on that role with the ability to occasionally drive kids around when minivan isnt available.
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To misquote a munchkin, "that's a horse of a different color." If you want a fun commute, get the Mini.
 
I'm also a father of two and this is going to be our second car - my primrary - and it had to be fun to drive. I went with the Cooper SE after my wife nixed the Miata and 6 months of trying to find a manual GR86 produced nada. I could have had the automatic, but that felt like a compromise and so I went back to the drawing board and landed on the SE. Hard to beat the fun to cost/quality ratio after tax incentives. I do think the Cooper SE's resale value may take a hit once the car market normalizes since the range is so low and everyone seems to assume they need 300 mile range on an EV. If it were a car I was going to sell in 2-3 years, that might be a factor for me. But I tend to run cars into the ground (the car I'm trading in has 187k miles on it).
 
I think the fact you can’t find an Ioniq and have an order in for the Mini is the right thing.
Your car history and intent to run it into the floor (as we do) make the Mini a good choice.
You didn’t elaborate on your commute (speeds and temperature possibilities etc) and whether that route or your work has charging possibilities nearby, but even in the worst case you should be able to manage the range issue on the 100 mile day by slowing down. But as the battery ages it will be an increasing problem of course. But by then your needs may be different anyway…
 
Just to put a point on the range, here's a typical commute for me from yesterday, although on the lower end distance-wise. 154 miles total range with air conditioning, mid mode, mostly freeway (60-70 mph). 2021 SE, so slightly less efficient than the 2022+ models with their air curtain slots. I also have 36,000 miles on my SE, no signs of battery degradation yet.

***********************************
May 11, 2022 at 18:13 ** 73.4°F ** Wind: 18.02 mph from E ** Humidity: 70% ** Driven: 80.4 Mi ** Start-Batt: 100% ** End-Batt: 48% ** Mi / kWh: 5.35 ** GOM Reading: 49 Mi ** Range Left: 74.22 Mi ** Total Range (From 100% charge): 154.62 Mi ** Total Range (From 100% charge): 154.615 Mi
 
Take delivery of your MINI in 2022 and claim the 2022 tax credits. Trade in Pacifica for IONIQ5 and have your partner claim another $7,500 in 2022. While that's going on, put in an order for 2023 IONIQ6 and 2024 MINI and then hopefully that will be another $7,500 x 2 in tax credits. By then you should have accumulated $7,500 x 4 or $30,000 worth of tax credits federally and should mostly cover the original 2022/2023 MINI costs. Get roof rails and put on a roof box for expandable storage.
 
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