I will add to the expereicne as I get more experience with the car.

Ethel - Week 1:
Mileage: 257 - One 89 mile trip and 6 trips to town at 28 miles each

Fuel Use: Has not been filled since picking up at the dealer. Charged 8 times the tank is still at 1/2 full and the computer is reading 47.5 MPG. I can make it into work and 1/4 to 1/2 way home on a charge so the MPG has been going up about 2.5 MPG per day since the original road trip. Everyones actual mileage will depend allot on their drive. Once they get the charging station in at work I will use zero gas most days.

Driving: The reviews were great the car is greater. It is stiffer than my 13 R60 JCW and it is extremely well balanced. The weight of the batteries and electric motor directly on the rear axle have a huge impact. She hasn't been on a Mini drive yet but I do have a good rural roundabout that I have been pushing harder each day. so far I am 10MPH over the best I have done with the R60 without breaking loose. And the instant torque of the electric drive gives it that zip factor of a much smaller Mini.

B]Ride:[/B] There is no comparison to my my R60. The car is stiffer but even with run flats the ride is smoother. (again balance weight may play a big part). I live in farm country and they do skim patching of the road and in the R60 you feel and hear every change. In Ethel you don't really notice he change.

Down Sides: Not many so far. You do loose the space under the deck in the rear. You have a small space that the picnic bench fills. So the iconic Picnic Bench is on a shelf for the life of the car so the 1st aid kit and emergency supplies have a home. They may have refined the interior a tad bit too much lit has lost some miniisnish.

 

Thank you for 1st week review and look forward to more:-) Now my wait is going to be harder! Enjoy in good health:-)

 

Good review. Can not wait for my SE which is still waiting for a vessel at the port of exit

 

Great review! Ive been waiting to hear your feedback.

I've finally secured my SE's chassis yesterday after a month wait. This will be my dealers third SE with two that were purchased as stock but not yet sold.

 

Thank you for the great information. What is your range of driving on pure electric with a full charge? Mini says up to 25 miles and the EPA says 12. That's a pretty big spread. I would be interested to know your experience. Thanks again.

 

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How far is your work trip and what type of road? Do you know how much of the total rated battery kWh is used before the ICE starts?

 

How does MINI Yours Interior Surface: Piano Black Illuminated looks like at dark? We ordered it but can not find any CM with the same option at the dealership

 

Awesome. So does that mean your daily commute is about 20-30 miles? Mine is 30 in each direction but I don't have the ability to plug in at home or work yet.

Looking forward to more -- THANKS!

 

Do you install an app like EV ChargeHub? It will tell you any nearby charging stations with and without fees. Some are in the malls or shopping centers and you can charge CM while shopping

 

Door to door to the office is 12 miles. Plus if I run out at lunch I put another 3-6 on it. The drive is on Wisconsin County and secondary state roads with speed limits of 45 and 55 so driving 55 to 60. I have the cleanest route I have 3 stop signs, 1 roundabout, and 2 lights plus the turn across traffic into the office. I start and end on high ground but have 4 rolling valleys with elevation down and up of about 200 feet that I traverse.

I drive Lucy my JCW Floor, Clutch, Floor all of the time. Ethel has me driving in a whole new way I start slowing early for stops so I suck up every erg on regen and start out slow and smooth and it is fun in a different way than driving Lucy. Driving nice and capturing brake energy I would say I am getting 16-18 actual on battery. Again I am not out cruising at highway speeds.

Several folks recommended that I try for a while before putting in a fast charger so I just use the 110 wall outlet. it is someplace between 6 and 8 for a full charge. I always plug in when I get home and it is green in the morning. Mini has a rapid charger now that is competitively priced, my issue is it is $500 for the charger and will run me another $500 to get the 220 line pulled to the garage since my entrance is in the basement.

Charging locations have not caught on here yet the BMW dealer next to the mini dealer has one and the Mini dealer is putting one in. I expect to see more pop up. I will have to load the app. They have gas stations on the nav system they will need to add charge stations. I would be happy with a 110 outlet at work since my 8-10hrs there would charge it.

She got her PDQ clean Freq sticker today so she is on the unlimited exterior wash program. $30 per month as many trips through as you would like. It is invaluable in the winter and includes underside blast to get the gunk out. Also is a lifesaver in harvest and planting season when I have to deal with mud and other cow related substances all over the roads.

 

Just filled her up for the first time. She was down to 39 miles in fuel range according to the car. OD was at 420 miles and she took 8.16 gallons or 51.5 MPG actual. It has been going up about 1 MPG a day on normal usage. Trips on the highway running the engine will knock it down.

Having a fuel door release is different. It unlocks the cover and starts the tank de-pressurization cycle. It won't let you pop the door even after you hit the switch until the pressure is normalized. If you walk from the drivers side that is about how long it takes. If you live in NJ or OR and have an attendant standing there they will need a few seconds of time then wait.

 

Which of the 9 driving mode combinations do you find yourself driving in most often?

I went for a second test drive with out the sales guy to get better aquatinted with the SE they have in stock. So many options to choose from. I feel like it will take a while to get completely settled in this car, which I like!

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vtD3k_E_NvA


That promo vid is entirely targeted at me directly. So much so that I ordered one before even watching it.

 

We have not even tried that yet. It is just in the default auto mode where it optimizes. I am real easy on the foot starting out so when I have charge it just stays in electric. Riding with the bride last night she gunned it at a county road stop sign to hit a hole in traffic. The motor and electric activated and then the next two miles to the next stop it just ran on motor. We have not even had the car in sport mode yet

 

Thats awesome! Throw that baby in Sport!!

 

I'm really curious how the Mini would be on a trip like MTTS, where you're driving long distances daily with no charging available. What is your opinion of that type of usage?

 

Would not be an issue. It has the 1.5L turbocharged and gets around quite well on engine only. MPG only is supposed to be around 27 on the highway. It will store up power as you drive to assist with starting out etc like a regular hybrid.

 

2nd fill up today. OD is now at 807 so 389 since last fill up. She took 7.95 gallons today so 48.93MPG.

Had a couple of longer drives which bring the average down.

Overall the car is awesome. 1st note for the shop is the cup holder failed. One of the three spring things that hold the cup secure just disappeared back into the cup holder and now I have a hole.

 

Great to keep seeing your reports! Really wish I had a shorter commute or was at least able to plug in at home or work.

Shame about the cup holder design, not sure why they'd try to "improve" on the simple rubber flanges with a mechanical design that'd be more prone to failure.

 

It will be nice to have a 110V/220V charger because some free charging points provide only 220V plugs


I like the chrome pedal covers and would like to know where to find them. All black looks boring

 

I work from home so charging won't be an issue since I'm keeping my MCS as well. I can wait and see if I need that in the future. Most of my travels are within a 10/mi radius here. It'll be interesting to see when I'll need my 1st fill up

 

I drove around 100 miles and 1.5 gallon is used in the mixed mode (electricity + gas, 75% highway and 25% city)


If I get the 100V/220V charger, I can use the plug from the washer/dryer temporarily for faster charging. A split Y cable with 220V plugs may be needed

 

Can anyone drive around their SE for a more extended period of time, say at least a couple weeks or even as much as a full tank using it only as a hybrid and not a plug-in? I'm curious to see what its real world hybrid MPGs would add up to.

 

it is more practical to use plug in if the EV plugs are available. If I just choose hybrid/mixed mode without plug in, it is not plug-in hybrid we pay for the premium and can not utilize one of the benefits - longer ranger in the electricity mode . You will see the car will run with power between battery and engine frequently in the city. It is fun to accelerate the car in the electricity mode without gas and you will see cars are far behind you. I don't expect to save money for gas but bring more ways and fun to drive. Let us enjoy the fun and technology

 

I know it's more practical and MINI wouldn't have made the SE a plug-in if they didn't want their owners to have the flexibility (though really it's just what trickled down from the i8 and 2-Series ActiveTourer 225xe) but even their own marketing downplays the feature with statements like "Charging is optional" and "Plugging in is entirely optional".

As I've said before, I DON'T have the ability to charge at home (townhouse, no garage) or work (ChargePoints installed but operationally in limbo) so I'm trying to discover what I can obtain from its hybrid benefits.