Next-gen Mini Cooper SE caught undisguised

piflechien said:
I just had the privilege to see the new 2024 mini at a "closed room" event organized by Mini.
don't ask for photo as they put your phone in a locker and search you before letting you in the room...
It was the model we saw previously white roof and blue body.

- The hood seemed shorter than the current MINIs
- there won't be any openable sunroof. Just a transparent roof.
- Standard wheels were 18"
- no more rod on the roof, just a little bump
- no more chrome anywhere (logo, handles, etc.)
- Still no frunk. And boot is still the same size
- New driving aids like dead spot detector lights in the side mirrors, dynamic speed regulator
- Front and rear camera, with 360 view
- Smaller and not completely round steering wheel
- Electric seats with memory.
- Induction charger is now below the screen and large enough for larger phones.
- Amazing round OLED screen, very fluid, with a new OS, multitouch screen. Maps were very very fluid and much more nice than current ones
- No more screen behind the wheel, only HUD will remain. they don't know if it will be optional or available on all models.
- Not much physical buttons under the screen. just start stop, gear button (Drive, Park, Rear) no more gear lever, Warning blinkers and few stuff .
- Apple car key compatibility. Physical key knobs (remote) are awful I hope they were unfinished prototypes
- Possiblity to configure visual signature of front and rear lights. (3 styles)
- 7 driving modes totally configurable.
- larger battery model will be 54kWh / 410 km range / DC charing at 100kW top.
- max speed 180km/h with 218hp

Official prices and availability should be confirmed around September.
Can't wait.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the report!
 
100kW is fine but make the curve similar to the current SE 0-90% SoC. If it was a straight line 100kW then it would take 26 minutes to go 0%-80% on a 54kWh usable battery pack.
 
MrSnrub said:
100kw charging is pretty disappointing.I’d be curious to see the charging curve though
Click to expand...

I'd go with average rather than disappointing. Should be similar speed to the current model. Faster would have been nice, though.
CATL are just starting production of a new generation of 'Qilin' packs that are a step up on current ones. 4C charge rate! Maybe the LCI J01 will get those. It's a shame that the imminent Mini will not.
 
So stamp steel suspension, steel fenders, steel hood, steel roof, and a sunroof. They have some strange design goals for a Mini electric car. It should be under 3000 lbs and greater than 200 miles of range. Everything else is a bonus.
 
JonR said:
So stamp steel suspension, steel fenders, steel hood, steel roof, and a sunroof. They have some strange design goals for a Mini electric car. It should be under 3000 lbs and greater than 200 miles of range. Everything else is a bonus.
Click to expand...
The Zhangjiagang SE has some very big shoes to fill. Great Wall Motor's Ora Good Cat weighs more than 3,300 lbs--I'll be surprised if MINI can build a 200-mile SE that weighs much less than the Cat.
 
piflechien said:
I just had the privilege to see the new 2024 mini at a "closed room" event organized by Mini.
don't ask for photo as they put your phone in a locker and search you before letting you in the room...
It was the model we saw previously white roof and blue body.

- The hood seemed shorter than the current MINIs
- there won't be any openable sunroof. Just a transparent roof.
- Standard wheels were 18"
- no more rod on the roof, just a little bump
- no more chrome anywhere (logo, handles, etc.)
- Still no frunk. And boot is still the same size
- New driving aids like dead spot detector lights in the side mirrors, dynamic speed regulator
- Front and rear camera, with 360 view
- Smaller and not completely round steering wheel
- Electric seats with memory.
- Induction charger is now below the screen and large enough for larger phones.
- Amazing round OLED screen, very fluid, with a new OS, multitouch screen. Maps were very very fluid and much more nice than current ones
- No more screen behind the wheel, only HUD will remain. they don't know if it will be optional or available on all models.
- Not much physical buttons under the screen. just start stop, gear button (Drive, Park, Rear) no more gear lever, Warning blinkers and few stuff .
- Apple car key compatibility. Physical key knobs (remote) are awful I hope they were unfinished prototypes
- Possiblity to configure visual signature of front and rear lights. (3 styles)
- 7 driving modes totally configurable.
- larger battery model will be 54kWh / 410 km range / DC charging at 100kW top.
- max speed 180km/h with 218hp

Official prices and availability should be confirmed around September.
Can't wait.
Click to expand...
Lucky, lucky! I'm quite jealous.
Many of those bullet points had been reported in the past, but a few are new (yay, Apple car key!).

"- there won't be any openable sunroof. Just a transparent roof."
I thought I read somewhere a while back that it would tilt, but not slide. You're saying it's completely fixed?​

"- Electric seats with memory."
Both front seats, or just for the driver? I always thought the benefit of manual seats was quick ingress/egress for backseat passengers. Seems odd for them to ditch that completely.​

"- 7 driving modes totally configurable."
That's a lot of driving modes. Too many?​

"- larger battery model will be 54kWh / 410 km range / DC charging at 100kW top."
ThomasGeigerCar had said in his 'first drive' video that charging would max out around 130kW. Whether he's right or you're right, I trust MINI to get the charging curve right.​

"- max speed 180km/h with 218hp"
125 mph (200 km/h) had been reported last month... not that it matters outside of a track day or on the autobahn.​
 
Domenick said:
25-30 minutes for a 54-kWh pack is a bit on the slow side, but forgivable.
Click to expand...
Domenick said:
25-30 minutes for a 54-kWh pack is a bit on the slow side, but forgivable.
Click to expand...
I was expecting a max rate around 125-130kwh. 100 max rate means 70-80 for the most part. 25-30mins for 54kwh pack is pretty slow… around here is still endless 50kwh dispensers as well. I think that Polestar 2 rental really spoiled me

There is also the elephant in the room of if BMW will switch to NACS over CCS connectors for NA
 
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fishbert said:
Lucky, lucky! I'm quite jealous.
Many of those bullet points had been reported in the past, but a few are new (yay, Apple car key!).

"- there won't be any openable sunroof. Just a transparent roof."
I thought I read somewhere a while back that it would tilt, but not slide. You're saying it's completely fixed?​

"- Electric seats with memory."
Both front seats, or just for the driver? I always thought the benefit of manual seats was quick ingress/egress for backseat passengers. Seems odd for them to ditch that completely.

- 7 driving modes totally configurable."
That's a lot of driving modes. Too many?​
Click to expand...

- Sunroof was totally fixed.
- Driver seat had much more options/buttons to adjust its position than the passenger one. the guy said both are electric. But I'm not 100% sure and neither was he, I think.
- You don't have to use the 7. Actually they are moods / ambiance modes where you can adjust several settings like driving modes, regen, along with lighting effects, and several stuffs.
 
Puppethead said:
I really hope this means we'll also see an app update soon to support Apple's EV range/charging support inside Apple Maps, which is getting even more functionality in iOS 17: iOS 17 adds real-time charging availability info for EV drivers
Click to expand...

I wouldn't hold my breath for our generation of SE getting this capability. From what I gather, Apple's EV range support requires periodic updates from the car (via the manufacturer's "cloud") while driving, and our SE only "phones home" at the beginning of a trip and at the end of a trip (e.g. when doors open/close), but not during a trip.
 
MichaelC said:
From what I gather, Apple's EV range support requires periodic updates from the car (via the manufacturer's "cloud") while driving
Click to expand...
I would think it could come directly from the car via the wireless CarPlay connection, but maybe that's why it hasn't happened.
 
LittleWoods said:
The fixed transparent roof, no screen behind the wheel, and button removal are major downgrades for me.
Click to expand...

Any one of those, I could probably learn to live with. Together, though, they are significant negatives (especially the 1st and 3rd).

Fortunately, the next-gen SE won't be making it to the US for a few years (if ever?), so there is plenty of time to enjoy the present one before making any decisions. So far, the lesser range has not been an issue for me, meaning that I would be "upgrading" mostly for the greater power and even better (?) handling. I have yet to live through winter with my car, though, so I might still change my tune. (I still have my aging Mazda 3 to drive, but prefer the SE - in fact, this morning I waited for the roads to dry after overnight showers, just so I could drive the SE w/o getting it dirty. First world problems and all that.)
 
Puppethead said:
I would think it could come directly from the car via the wireless CarPlay connection, but maybe that's why it hasn't happened.
Click to expand...

My assumption is based upon the Apple Maps EV setup requiring you to install & setup the EV manufacturer's app. That, and I would not expect any OEM willingly broadcasting the vehicle's CANbus data via wireless connection to a third-party app--that seems like a cybersecurity and safety risk. But I could be wrong...
 
MichaelC said:
That, and I would not expect any OEM willingly broadcasting the vehicle's CANbus data via wireless connection to a third-party app
Click to expand...
My understanding is the Apple API relies on the manufacturer's app to provide the EV data, so that leaves manufacturers the ability to maintain proprietary communications with the EV.
 
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