I am looking at a 2023 SE, with about 14,000 miles.
If I decide to purchase the car, it will replace my wife's R50,
which is getting a little tired.
Is there a way for me to test/tell how much of the battery has been lost
to age and wear (charging) just looking at it on the lot?
The car is at a Honda dealership, so an in-depth scan/test probably will not happen.
I'm old school, so still having physical switches is still appealing,
but I still am having issues getting past the new design. I know why
thet had to do it, but I'm just not a fan.
Thanks

 

I would recommend posting your question at the forum below. That is where all the Mini SE people are.

https://www.insideevsforum.com/commu...cooper-se.149/

I've never seen any posts from anyone that has experienced noticeable battery loss. You should be safe.

I originally thought I might sell my 2022 SE after 5 years or so, but the switch away from physical buttons makes me want to hold on to it a lot longer. I've been really really happy with it.

 

Thanks for the reply.
i will head over there, as I’m just
learning where the corporate knowledge resides.
Having 5 years with no problems makes me feel
better about the platform.
I will be interested how it drives, as my wife will
probably acquire my R56 and I will drive this.

 

Ignore the SE's extra poundage and the limited range, but love the acceleration and the ability to charge at home. My slogan is "Exchange the range for a ton of fun."

This SE is so new it still has some factory warranty left. Do you think this Honda dealer's giving you a good deal? Do you know about the potential federal tax credit if the price is right? (Hopefully that tax credit won't be executive ordered out of existence by the end of today, January 20th.)

 

I have been comparing the on line car sights for the “good deal”
that the car is. As near as I can tell, it’s not too bad of a price.
The real test if I like it as well as my R56. I will miss the 6 speed.
I did not think the car qualified for any tax credit, being foreign manufactured,
but then again I really haven’t stayed up on this,
I can easily see it going away, so if/when it does I wasn’t counting on it.

 

There's currently a Federal Tax Credit of $4k on used, 2 model year old or older and under $25k price without tax and fees so this SE should qualify, maybe your income level won't, but I won't ask about that. To remove the credit, the law will need changing, which will require congress...

I'm on Inside EVs forum too and haven't seen much mention of battery degradation. A full charge in the summer gave me 110-120miles and in our below freezing temperatures happening at the moment I've seen around 85miles. So see what it says when fully charged. Ours is just over a year old and has about 7100miles on it. While I miss the 6MT of my sold R56, I don't miss the maintenance, and I do enjoy the instant torque the SE provides. The physical switches are nice and easy to use.

cheers
MacMini34

 

I like a person who names their cars, we do the same.
Thanks in advance for looking at your charge level.
Where are you getting this information, which is one of my many questions?
I'm such a beginner in all this, trying to play catchup.
My R56 hasn't been a problem yet. Last year I managed to find a 2013 with 11K miles,
but is is just a matter of time. I am dealing with the midlife crisis on my wife's R50.
I wish now .I had listened to my teachers in school

 

I can thank my daughter for the car names. I'd probably just follow my late father's habit of calling all his cars "Gertie" otherwise.

It's referred to as the Guess-o-meter but it's a range estimator that appears on the instrument panel. The EPA range is 114 miles so when I've seen that or more it's a reasonable estimate, many think it's a bit on the conservative side. Currently, since it is 14F outside, the range is showing 36 miles at 55% state of charge so that is 65 miles. If you live in warmer climes, can park it in a garage and have it plugged in all night, it's unlikely you will ever see such a low range estimate. My charging is done at a public L2 spot 3 minutes from me, but Eddie adjusts to whatever the ambient temp is, with tonight being on the chilly side.

Last April I did a ~85 mile trip to Northampton, MA, running at 70-75mph on I-90 and had about 30 miles range left when we arrived, so perhaps a bit better than the EPA range since highway driving drops range a bit more. Out-of-spec motoring on YouTube did a complete 70mph highway test and got just over 100miles if I recall correctly. So no, not an ideal cross country tourer, but super good at all the short range driving we do around town; 1-3 mile jaunts where the 3.5l V6 could show as low as 12mpg during the winter.

As with any EV adoption it comes down to your specific use and ability to charge. Then it comes down to how much of a MINI aficionado you are. Watch Harry's Garage test of the SE on YT as that finally swayed my decision (and the decent lease rebate).

11k mile R56, good score! I had the usual, thermostat, quickly followed by water pump, then leaking, already replaced, crossover pipe, then as I was selling it, HPFP (the Continental version - you have the somewhat more reliable Bosch).

We haven't regretted leasing the SE, and my wife loves driving it as does my daughter. It's absolutely ideal for zipping around town.

Hope that helps
cheers
MacMini34

 

Thanks again for the info.
I was looking for awhile at the Start EV, and IIRC there was a way to actually pull up
battery health without visiting a dealer. But maybe I'm not remembering correctly.
I have read/watched about the guess o meter, so I will use that as a guide.
My concern also is charging. Long story, but we rent a town home, so I will be limited
to L1 charging at home. Like all things down here, researching charging stations appears they all seem
to be broken. Hopefully the car will be blessed to use Tesla chargers soon, so that will be a good backup.
My 2013 was one of the last off the line, but I'm still waiting for the inevitable things to go wrong.

 

One of the best things about a 29kW (available) battery is you can get it quite well charged on L1! Assume you can run at least 12amps through the cable, maybe 15 and you're getting at least 1.4kWh, which overnight for at least 12 hours is 16.8kW or 57% of the capacity! If you can run a 110V cable from your townhouse to the car you should be able to keep it well charged. Scout around for L2 chargers at shopping malls and the like. We're supposed to het Supercharger access sometime this year.

My instrument panel also shows me efficiency which might be another way of looking at things. Currently it's showing 2.9miles per kW while in summer it was 4miles per kW, so 2.9 x 29 is 84miles while 4 x 29 is 116miles. Plenty of SE owners have seen far better than 4 miles per kW, but again, depends on the type of driving you'll do.

This morning, as my daughter was heading off to school, it was 1F out and so I turned the climatize on about 10 minutes before she left then texted her later to ask if the car interior had warmed up - and it had! - the heat pump worked just fine at these current frigid temps. But you're in NC (?) so hopefully aren't going to see these temps.

Have you test driven the SE? My impression going from R56 to SE was similar driving dynamics but a lot less rattles and much quieter. I haven't had the opportunity to try other EVs for comparison, but 2 that price wise would be competitive would be the Chevy Bolt and the Kia/Hyundai Niro/Kona twins.

cheers
MacMini34

 

Thanks again for all the great information.
I'm still looking into the charging issue, and as usual probably overthinking.
The biggest issue I'm having is the reliability of the networks here. I was looking
at some drives that I might be doing, and they would definitely involve a charge for the
return trip, as they would be on the edge of 120 miles. The vehicle I was looking
at is a two hour drive, so that definitely requires a charge for the trip. My other concern
for any EV going forward is the freezing of funds for future charging stations, but
we shall see.