Mini Aceman 2024
 

https://www.motor1.com/news/600560/m...sign-language/

https://www.motortrend.com/news/mini...hotos-details/

Interesting concept, although a bit over the top. I certainly hope the interior design element doesn't find its way into the next gen production cars ... it's pretty hideous.

Evidently, MINI's head designer, Oliver Heilmer, loves minimalism. Fortunately, he didn't get started on his minimalism kick before my 2021 SE was manufactured.

Ironically, after I sent Mr. Heilmer a letter that included praise for the design of the fog lights on my SE, he deleted the fog lights. To his credit, none of his prototypes, concept drawings and cars leading to the SE included a fake hood scoop. He implied in a letter that MINI marketing was responsible for that skeuomorphic element (although he didn't include any such adjective in his letter).

I'm not a fan of even the small changes MINI made to the switchgear in 2022 (except for the improved volume knob), but the changes to the instrumentation the Aceman forecasts are dire. Tesla Model 3/Y owners don't seem to mind that they can't see essential driver information in front of the steering wheel, but I hope MINI doesn't follow Telsa's lead and move all instrumentation to the center display.

If I remove the 'P' from my Paceman, will that convert it to an electric Aceman?

You can try and see.....LOL

I'm not crazy about the Aceman, just a little to big for me wanting to trade the MCS in for one. I'm waiting for the 3 door SE to come out next year. A bit smaller then my 2019 MCS outside but bigger inside. Pricing and range will determine whether I trade the MCS for one not,.

Plan was to trade the 2019 MCS for a Mini EV and keep my M240i. Now I find myself attracted to the i4 (even given it's bigger size). In 2023, It will be a choice between the new 2024 3 door Mini SE (where I trade my 2019 MCS) or the I4 (where I trade my M240i).

Definitely a 1st world issue. .

Still TBD on if and when the new 3 door SE comes to the US, given the high tariff on Chinese goods. I wouldn't be surprised if they keep selling the current SE here for a few more years and only sell the new one in some markets (Asia mainly).

If the Inflation Reduction Act passes, you'd better run to your dealer and sign an order for a foreign EV before they no longer qualify for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. No matter how long it takes for you to get that car, if you have a signed order before Joe Biden signs the bill into law, you will get the $7,500 credit.

Actually, from what I've read, no current EV--foreign or domestic--could meet all the Inflation Reduction Act's qualifications for the tax credit. A MINI Cooper SE made in the UK won't have the onerous 27.5% import tariff a Chinese SE would trigger, but neither one will qualify for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

The act removes the 200,000-vehicle limit that disqualified recent GM and Tesla customers from taking the tax credit, but ironically the act requires a dealer to administer the tax credit so dealerless Tesla customers lose out again. GM and Ford (and Rivian) will have to figure out how to get US-made batteries containing US-mined minerals into their EVs to make their price-conscious customers happy.

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Honestly, I'm a bit torn on the topic.

One the one hand, I love the fresh funkiness of it, on the other hand it strikes me as overwrought 'n trying too hard, like a zeitgeisty cashing-in of 80's revivalism.

A bit too French.

I tend to agree with Paul Smith.

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In my opinion, the new MINI design team needs to rediscover their core and expand from there, they have sort of lost the plot and ended up in cartoonland where it's almost as if they're just doing grotesque caricatures.

The quote above, "Simplicity has always been important to British design. But the best of British is classic with the unexpected.", reminds me of one of my favorite new MINI print adverts which was titled "staples" circa 2002/2003, simple but unusual and exemplifying the base point of dynamics, which is the truly fun stuff, not fashion-over-function but funning up the function as much as possible!

:)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...a8657c1dbb.jpg

I am EV averse and will likely remain ICE for life,
but if MINI had made the Rocketman concept concrete to reality and actually sold it here, then I may have been tempted to 'go green' because it looks like a cracker of a little car.

https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/PK...on-in-2022.jpg
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Yeah, this new boondoggle by congress certainly changes the equation on buying a new EV. It appears that based on the wording, most cars that now qualify for the tax rebate won't qualify, based upon where the car is made, and how the battery components are sourced. So cars like the BMW i4 and the Audi ID4 are SOL. The new 2024 Mini being made in China will be out as well as the UK version if purchased after 1 Jan 2023. So, it would appear that the only car that could meet all these requirements is the Chevy Bolt (assuming the battery components are sourced in the USA). That may be a difficult proposition as I believe GM sources their battery material outside the US. Once again, our government at work!

I believe the current EV tax credits will expire when Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act next week. The loss of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit combined with the 27.5% US import tariff on Chinese vehicles (vs 10% on British vehicles), make the 2024 MINI Cooper SE more expensive. I wonder if BMW regrets their decision to partner with Great Wall Motor on electric MINIs?

As far as our government at work goes, although the IRA works against our favorite car, it makes sense to spend taxpayers money to promote domestic EV production. I'm still curious about all the dealer involvement (even for used EVs) specified in the IRA--does that leave Tesla out?

I'm guessing that Tesla will be omitted from the up front $7500 rebate due to the lack of dealerships. I would expect to see other dealers (that qualify) to start raising their prices to take some of that rebate money for themselves. My issue with this bill is it's sold as an Inflation reduction and does little or nothing to address inflation. For "green" deal, it certainly hurt people wanting to transition to EV's. Additionally, all the carve outs that deny the credit based on percentage of materials is nearly impossible to comprehend. North America includes Canada and Mexico which isn't going to help American workers at all. Leaves companies like Rivian out in the cold too. When the revamp of the the EV tax rebates was first addressed, with all qualifying for $7500 and as much as $12500, I really thought it would increase sales and get more people on board. Instead we get this. In fact the Model 3 long range which would have been my vehicle of choice if going with Tesla is omitted. I'd wager, that these odd-ball carve outs and stipulations are there to benefit a specific lobby somewhere. I suppose if you want to buy a Chevy or Ford, this bill is perfect. After all Chevrolet is the world leader in electric vehicles ( or so we were told).

We have a 19 MCS now and will be buying it back off lease in a few weeks. We have placed an order for a 23 Mini Se Premier+ In British Racing Green. The EV rebate here is around 13k total

That's a very enticing rebate for sure. I always loved the British Racing Green w/ a tan/buckskin interior. .Classy!

unfortunately Mini Canada has “tightened” up the options to nothing much. I wanted the Malt brown Chester interior but they were only offering Satellite grey in Chester🤯

yea our rebates are good here but the car itself is a bit overpriced honestly. Maybe 5k overpriced but it drives so damn nice with a proven driven train. We opted for the silver 17 inch wheels to have a bit of contrast

Let's hope that the new Gen Minis finally have a real heads-up display actually projecting speed, RPM, gear, and other information onto the inside of the windshield in front of the driver so it's easy to read at a glance. That's hardly "ground breaking" tech in 2022, but is sadly missing still. GM, for example, had it 20 years ago. Mini's so called Head Up Display dashboard pop-up screen is a pathetic joke.

This is the e-mini forum; RPM and gear information won't be found on the 2024 MINI Cooper SE's HUD.

I suspect that the angle of a MINI's windshield might prohibit a windshield-reflecting HUD. We'll know if that's true when the 2024 SE is finally revealed.

Actually, I like my 2021 MINI Cooper SE's HUD. I find the speed-limit, my current speed, and turn-by-turn NAV directions to be exactly what I want to see.

Unsure whether the Mini windshield angle will prohibit a projected HUD. I know that there are after market units that can do projections to the windshield. So it may be a matter whether Mini decides to offer a projector type HUD or continue with the pop-up model. I'm betting that a projector would be more expensive that the current option, so the "bean counters" opinions will influence that decision. I like the current HUD well enough. I haven't driven a car with a projector type so I cannot opine on which one is better for me. I know BMW offers the projector HUD on some of their cars as a $1K option. That's pretty pricey IMO.

Is it just me or is it, Toyota Tundra grill meets Countryman meets Tron??? :sly:

The original Mini dash looked like this, it's back to the future for MINI!

TBH I don't mind the clean uncluttered look. All I need would be a heads up display with the speed and range, everything else can be accessed on the central circular display.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...878ccf2385.jpg

Those must be some very stiff toggle switches to require that much leverage! My 1968 Morris Mini Moke (a car with alliteration) didn't have switch toggles like this.

I am so Retro....this ACEMAN-K-Pop stuff is mind boggling to my Sixties skull. Whaaaat?

ACEMAN update, testing out in the dessert

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/globa...ed?language=en

https://www.autoblog.com/2024/01/31/...standalone-ev/

https://www.carscoops.com/2024/01/mi...pril-24-debut/

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I have switched gears on the whole pure EV craze. Not sure that is the way forward . .While I would have been one of the first to jump on this car when it comes out, I now have some serious reservations. Too many unknowns and a rush to implement by mandate a "not ready for prime-time" tech IMHO. If I had to choose (and at one time I could not ever hear myself saying this), I would opt for a plug in hybrid over a full EV, I thought hybrids were double trouble as you had two types of tech to maintain, Battery and a regular gasoline engine. However, in reflection, knowing what I now know, this makes the most sense as the interim to a new transportation dynamic. In my case, I can do 99% of my errands and travel if I had 40-50 miles of EV only range. I could even live with 25 miles. Then if I wanted to go for longer trip, I could use the car in dual mode getting superb MPG's and never have range anxiety. If the UK built Mini F56 SE was a plug in with 30 miles of EV only range and their 3 cyl motor, I 'd have one in a heartbeat.

Toyota seems to be the only major band that has embraced a smaller plug-in hybrid with their new Prius. That is a sharp looking car with a reasonable price tag and would meet most everyone's driving needs. Commutes and errands and long range driving. A decent pure EV range with a gasoline back-up. If it was 20 inches shorted I'd be trading..my 2019 Mini for one..

Yep, I've been thinking the same thing for awhile now. It's rare that I drive more than about 25 miles per day, so I wouldn't even need much battery range.

Ideally I'd like an AWD performance version where one set of wheels is driven by the electric motor and the other set of wheels is driven by the ICE engine, with the option of either or both. Probably unlikely.

As it stands now, my Mini SE does more or less all the in town driving, and my wife's Clubman is the out of town car.

With the wrapper on it, the Aceman looks nearly identical to the R60 to me. I definitely like the size much better than the new Countryman, but FWD only is a bummer. I was hoping for something I could take skiing. I know AWD isn't necessary, but it helps when the roads are snowy.