Mini SE ownership experience and what we are learning about the car

Does the driver have any way to know at what point the MINI Cooper SE's brake lights come on when lifting off the accelerator pedal? It would be nice to know when people behind you are confronted with your brake lights. Do Tesla drivers have a way to know when their brake lights come on with one-pedal driving? Perhaps a comparison would be a good Tech Forum topic, but difficult to measure and demonstrate.

I would like to have a tiny LED inside the car connected to the high-mounted brake light that you can see in the rear-view mirror to know when the brake lights come on. However, if the brake lights come on with the slightest reduction in pressure on the accelerator pedal, such an LED would provide no useful information (and the brake lights would be flashing frequently, which would be annoying).

Are there any incandescent lights in the MINI Cooper SE? I remember reading that perhaps the turn signals or backup lights are incandescent.

The MINI Cooper SE Owner's Manual says, "Unusually rapid flashing of the indicator light indicates that a turn signal bulb has failed." I wonder if that's the case with failed LEDs, too?
 
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Saw your video Matt, I love your enthusiasm, and fully support what you're working to communicate to the viewers.
Saw multiple times on the video you posted above, the car loses traction under hard acceleration, like the Chevy Bolt, looks to be an unrefined behavior of over powered front wheel drive.
 
Matt Shumaker said:
That is traction control off.
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Can you get your MINI to accelerate faster (on dry, smooth pavement) with the traction control off? You noted earlier that you can get wheelspin in a corner even with the traction control engaged. So do you find the traction control not useful or just more fun without the nanny in charge?
 
With warmer weather, I can tell you the car is noticeably quicker than in the cold. This may seem obvious. But, in 40 degree weather, the car possesses a specific amount of performance (which is satisfying). In warm weather (65 to 70 degree F), it wakes up! I took it out at 100% charge and 70 degrees and it was noticeably quicker and more responsive. It went from "Fun" to a relatively fast car.

Bear in mind, I am coming from a Tesla Model 3 and a BMW M240i (the BMW runs 0-60 in 4.4 seconds according to my V-Box). So, the Mini obviously doesn't scare me. But, it did impress me.

I will word it this way;

The car feels perfectly balanced and does not need any more power. In fact, the tires are already at there limit under acceleration. More power would just light them up.

Do not believe the reviews that say the car is underpowered. It is not....
 
Matt Shumaker said:
With warmer weather, I can tell you the car is noticeably quicker than in the cold.
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I can understand the battery delivering less range in colder temperatures, but I didn't realize the motor's performance could also be affected. Does your VBOX indicate the difference in acceleration numbers?
 
I have to test it to make sure. It deliberately is far more "Punchy".

I have not used the V-Box in the Mini yet. I have an upcoming video of that.

Oh, also, there is no torque-steer. There is however, what I would call "Torque-lock". What I mean by that is; when accelerating hard out of a corner, the steering wants to stay in the degree of turn it was in when you hit the accelerator. You have to fight it just a bit too straighten it out as the road straightens. This give a bit of a "Hunting" affect to the front end of the car. Add in wheelspin, and the car can be a bit of a handful at times. That being said, I actually enjoy it! I am used to the Tesla stepping out under these conditions. That can be fun. But, the Mini has its own character to enjoy.
 
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insightman said:
Does the driver have any way to know at what point the MINI Cooper SE's brake lights come on when lifting off the accelerator pedal? It would be nice to know when people behind you are confronted with your brake lights. Do Tesla drivers have a way to know when their brake lights come on with one-pedal driving? Perhaps a comparison would be a good Tech Forum topic, but difficult to measure and demonstrate.

I would like to have a tiny LED inside the car connected to the high-mounted brake light that you can see in the rear-view mirror to know when the brake lights come on. However, if the brake lights come on with the slightest reduction in pressure on the accelerator pedal, such an LED would provide no useful information (and the brake lights would be flashing frequently, which would be annoying).

Are there any incandescent lights in the MINI Cooper SE? I remember reading that perhaps the turn signals or backup lights are incandescent.

The MINI Cooper SE Owner's Manual says, "Unusually rapid flashing of the indicator light indicates that a turn signal bulb has failed." I wonder if that's the case with failed LEDs, too?
Click to expand...

I've been watching my reflection in storefronts and whatnot while I drive and let off the throttle...it seems like it has to be *reasonably* hard regen deceleration to trigger the brake lights. If I had to guesstimate I'd say you've gotta let off the throttle more than halfway / two-thirds of the way in order to trigger the brake lights, but that's only when I've been able to see my own reflection.

Something like the LED you've suggested above would be a fantastic (and useful) idea though!
 
rossferguson said:
Something like the LED you've suggested above would be a fantastic (and useful) idea though!
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Another idea is to create a u-shaped plastic rod that would bend the light from one of the center brake-light LEDs around to project into the rear window where I could see it in the rear-view mirror. It would have to be taped in place and look strange, hence a temporary learning gadget.
 
I actually wish there was a stronger regen mode available. It would be awesome to have a Sport Regen, so the regen brakes as aggressively as the throttle responds in Sport to really make it one-pedal driving.
 
rossferguson said:
I actually wish there was a stronger regen mode available. It would be awesome to have a Sport Regen, so the regen brakes as aggressively as the throttle responds in Sport to really make it one-pedal driving.
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I wonder what percentage of the maximum possible regen the MINI provides?

Also, I was disappointed to learn from @Matt Shumaker that you have to use the brake pedal to keep the SE stationary after coming to a stop using regen (unless you're going up an incline, when the MINI prevents rolling backwards).
 
insightman said:
I wonder what percentage of the maximum possible regen the MINI provides?

Also, I was disappointed to learn from @Matt Shumaker that you have to use the brake pedal to keep the SE stationary after coming to a stop using regen (unless you're going up an incline, when the MINI prevents rolling backwards).
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Yeah, that's a little annoying I have to admit...the Leaf will keep you stationary with ePedal.

But then I look around and see fun tweed instead of boring black upholstery, and I look up at the sky through my twin sunroofs instead of at cheap grey fuzz, and think about how much more money is still in my wallet, and I'm not so annoyed anymore. ;-)
 
I just had my second instance of an Electrify America charger declining my payment due to a broken card reader and then the cable being locked up to the car. The EA station says to unplug the cable to restart the session and the car seems to think it's still negotiating. It took a few minutes of turning the car on and off and pressing random buttons to get it to unlock. Has anyone else experienced this or figured out the key to get it to stop trying to negotiate?
 
fizzit said:
I just had my second instance of an Electrify America charger declining my payment due to a broken card reader and then the cable being locked up to the car. The EA station says to unplug the cable to restart the session and the car seems to think it's still negotiating. It took a few minutes of turning the car on and off and pressing random buttons to get it to unlock. Has anyone else experienced this or figured out the key to get it to stop trying to negotiate?
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Here's what the online Owners Manual says on page 220:

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Thanks, I believe I tried that option but it was grayed out. I'll double check if it happens again.
 
fizzit said:
Thanks, I believe I tried that option but it was grayed out. I'll double check if it happens again.
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I've heard so many frustrating stories from people trying to use public charging stations to charge other cars. It seems those often broken systems don't treat MINI Electric owners any better.

Next time this happens, take a photo of the grayed-out "Unlock charging cable" menu item, then record your pressing of random buttons to get it to unlock. Send the video to MINI to get them to explain which button it was that accomplished what the menu item wouldn't.
 
fizzit said:
I just had my second instance of an Electrify America charger declining my payment due to a broken card reader and then the cable being locked up to the car. The EA station says to unplug the cable to restart the session and the car seems to think it's still negotiating. It took a few minutes of turning the car on and off and pressing random buttons to get it to unlock. Has anyone else experienced this or figured out the key to get it to stop trying to negotiate?
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On the Kona EV there is an emergency connector release button located under the front hood which I used several times during a "com" error while trying to fast charge. Briefly mentioned in the manual with bad illustrations as usual, but this post shows where it is on Niro EV (click on the attached photo):
https://www.kianiroforum.com/threads/charging-problems.5162/page-2
Maybe this is also included in the Mini SE?
 
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