Electric Mini One Year Review - How Much Has It Cost? 

We bought our first SE about the same time you got this one and a year in we agree it was a great choice. Any of our friends who were skeptical went for a ride and were shocked by how quick and fun it was and with high gas prices in the US this year they now realize the savings. Car has performed flawless ly and we have 3 in the family now. Still have my old Datsuns for that gas noise fix when I want it.

Thanks for such a lovely, balanced update on your Mini. You asked, so here it is. We have a Tesla MS. Love the lines, love the power and great for taking the family (5 of us) on longer trips. At the end of July we put an order in for a Mini SE, expecting delivery December-ish. This has slipped to March, but we are still excitedly waiting for it. It will replace a 2007 Mini Cooper, so the space issues that come with a Mini are well known to us. We also did 3 years in Canada, so love to see a Scot living out there now! Keep up the good work.

Great video! I've got a shiny new 2023 Mini SE, and love it to bits. I'm a life long Mini enthusiast and an EV enthusiast for the last 10 years or so. My commute is considerably longer that your wife's at ~200km round trip. But I can plug in at both ends. We'll see how much of the year I can do in Artoo. I plan to get the fully re-engineered electric Mini when it's available in 2024/2025

Thanks for the 1-year review! Coming up on our 8 month mark for the Moonwalk Grey SE with white top & mirrors, and 16-inch, black Victory Spoke wheels. Two minor, inconsequential gripes: The speedometer reads 2 mph high and there are few chargers in the area. No biggie. I can subtract, and we charge at home with a slightly faster-than-supplied granny cable--rated at 16 amps rather than 10 amps. Nearly identical commute to yours with maybe more highway but lots of traffic at which the Mini just sniffs derisively. According to the Guess-o-meter, we get 4.7 kWh/mile mostly in green mode. I like the smoothness of green mode combined with the high re-gen setting's excellent control. The SE arrives home with ~78 miles range on the GOM. I plug it in every night because you never know. ChargePoint account for emergencies and convenience. Used it once for a destination wedding trip before the leg home. Could have made it but peace of mind is worth a lot. The SE is my only vehicle except for my wife's ICE Civic, so it was a leap of faith and excitement that has been well rewarded with the best driving experience of my 68 years. Not going back. It is an individual choice and commitment to energy awareness when you have a small 2-door with limited battery, but good fortune provided historically high trade-in value on my ICE vehicle and the Mini SE's reasonable base price. (I've noticed the base has risen substantially since then.)

I love my little Fiat 500e I went all the way from Liverpool to London and only had to stop once for a toilet break and by the time I was finished the car was already back up to 80% battery

Hey Jock, just sold my 8 year old leaf. Never had a single issue. Always wanted the mini se but couldn’t stretch to it until two days ago. Like you lm loving it. Watched all your mini vids prior to buying mine and want to say thanks for the information and unbiased opinion. Cheers mate from New Brunswick 👍😁

We still love our SE! Continues to be a blast to drive, but couldn’t agree more about the infotainment system! So hard to keep settings, jumping from different cell phone, switching to Apple CarPlay…. One awesome feature is the preconditioned climate control, so nice for a cooled car in the summer, and warm interior in the winter all while inside the garage.

We've ordered an electric mini with the gray leather interior (not here yet) and your videos have been extremely valuable, thank you!

Thanks for the wonderful review! I was considering buying this model when gas prices were at an all time high where I live, luckily they have gone down in recent months. I would still like to make the switch to an electric vehicle and the mini cooper SE is still my number one choice, but I am most likely going to get next year's model, hoping the range at full charge is at least 200 miles.

Just made the switch to EV. Got a mini SE all I can say is WoW ! Love it what fun it is to drive and without the noise, will keep U posted on our experience great review keep it up 👍

I have a Nissan Leaf. It causes consternation and interest wherever I go. Here in Moncton NB electric cars are still very rare. The Irving family own the refineries and most fuel stations in the maritimes. They are doing their best to slow Ev growth. Great videos😁👍(ps. My dad was born in Hamilton, Glasgow)

I own an almost identical British Racing Green electric Mini... I LOVE it! Also bought because it was so fun to drive and paid only $23K for a slightly used 2024! However, there remain problems with supply and abuse related to the rare metals and chemicals. Also, the electricity has to come from somewhere...often that's burning of coal. Also, there's line loss getting it from plant to home. Also, all the energy extracting from ground and shipping to the plant . Solar and wind are truly useless at this point. I still own my 2016 JCW for long trips. Economically, it remains cheaper to own and use the two! Enjoyed the review...thanks PS the new infotainment design is definitely a step down from the 2016 AND they took out AM radio which I use a lot. It's ridiculous that i have to attach a little radio to the sun visor!

Hi great video very informative. My wife and I have just bought one in South wales (UK) 2020 model and collecting it in a few days can’t wait to see what it will be like. 👍

Hi Scott, Soon to take delivery of a Mini Cooper SE Resolute Edition. Have seen all of your videos & love your honest down to earth approach. Our V8 Landcruiser makes no sense around town, although a V8 always puts a smile on your dial doesn’t it! Every review says the same thing - the electric Mini is awesome fun to drive. Fun = light = limited range … can’t have it all in a small package. Interesting to hear about the effects of cold weather in Canada - something we’ll never see here in Brisbane. We might see worse battery degradation here though. Keep up the great work. Would love to have a yarn over a beer or two! Cheers.

I just bought an SE!! Got a 2024 and picked her* up on Earth Day (April 22, 2023) (*her name is Clover and she's the same color as yours! 💚) We love it so much! Such a snappy, fun, quiet drive! Thanks for your videos! (and as you said in your 1 month review - "Bring your bank information..." My husband & I agree! We test drove a Mini SE on Good Friday!)

Thank you very much for this update, please make us more periodic updates when time permits. I'm planning to buy an electrical vehicle either in 2023 or wait for the 2nd generation electrical mini in 2024.

Got a 23 se in the summer. Was able to manage road tripping it from Chicago to Kansas city and back. Added an extra like 5 hours in charging.

Had our mini se now 2 years 16000 miles like you. No problems works out 1.4 pence per mile charge at night cheaper tariffs. My wife’s dream car. I wanted a electric car both happy with it have not needed to do long distance journey . Plenty of chargers over here but not cheap to use. Enjoyed you video on mini Leslie Leonard Lyle. MR

We took delivery of our chili red and black Mini se at the end of August, so much fun to drive! We got it as our runabout car for 80% of our driving. So far we have spent $2.50US for 287 miles. We live in a northern state, so I watched your videos and those of other Canadians on winter electric driving. I am a research historian for our area, so I can tell you that it's true, many of the disparaging remarks were the same of the new petrol cars . It took about a decade for the infrastructure to get in place for those vehicles .

IMHO I think range is not the only attribute we should look at, their is the dynamic of the drive, how it acceleration (is it smooth...etc.) how does the suspension handle the weight of the car (being an EV with a battery, it will most likly weight more) . . .

Very useful. I am about to change my Mini F55 for an electric mini

My '23 BRG SE has been a joy. It's solid, quiet, punchy, fun and qualified for tax credits making it $22.5k US. The '22 X3 is often left at home, used for trips and utility but the Cooper is fine for Costco runs and just flip the seats when taking the Golden to the dog park. Plug-into the Wallbox every few days, $.07/kWh. No need for other charging but will gladly take the prime parking spots when offered. The CATL NCM 333 with BMW BMS should be very stable and long lived and cause no anxieties with degradation, spontaneous combustion, burning of coal, ravages of mineral mining, child labor, or what happens when recycling.

We love our Mini Cooper se. your videos helped to take the plunge. My wife takes it to work and back and it’s fully charged in less than an hour on our level 2 charger. I also have a Tesla model y but I prefer to drive the mini. When I can

Great review, mine is coming up to a year old (in November) and total cost of electricity in 10 months / 6000 miles has been………………. £23.35p because the council in Stirling where I live are very generous and give us free public charging on CPS chargers but I also have a roof load of solar panels and a Zappi smart charger to divert sunbeams into the Mini’s battery when the sun shines (which like much of Canada is a fair bit in summer and hardly any generation between late December and March). Originally I bought it as a second car but very quickly it took over from my diesel 2020 Defender as the primary car. Like yours mine is what is called a Level 3 here in the U.K. and it has not had a single fault (unlike the LR that has been back to the workshop now 10 times in 2.5 years and is in there again to cure a water leak from the top of the windscreen today…….). Mini’s electricity consumption has generally been between 3.9 miles/kWh in winter and 4.9 in summer although recently I have seen trips averaging 5.5 miles/kWhr on country roads stuck behind slow tractors and groups of cars towing caravans where I just have to sit back and follow because it’s too dangerous to overtake. On several occasions I’ve used the Sport setting for overtaking maneuvers and wow does this little car take off when you need it to, it’s pretty good if I floor it in Green mode, my most used mode, too. I’ve not tried doing any road trips in it, the longest one way trip for me has been to the airport 30 miles away which is well within the Mini’s range capability- if I want to do road trips I use the diesel “fossil” with 650 miles range but >£120 to “recharge” the tank.

Looking forward to ours arriving, it's waiting at the port over there. Not keen on next year's model as Great Wall's likely designing and building the bulk of it and they have no real track record here, whereas this is essentially an i3.

This was the review I was waiting for! Especially real life range

I am coming up to my two year ownership of the Mini SE, I average 3.9mls/kwh its my daily work commuter mainly interstate. I charge overnight cheap rate here in Virginia 0.09cents per kilowatt/hour between midnight and 06.00am

Love from Glasgow pal and Brampton 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦

I have a mini se too and love it. It is the electric car for people who love driving!

I have a gas 2019 Mini Cooper base 2 door hardtop for basic city driving. Will buy an SE in the future. Thanks for all of your vids about SE!

Thank U very much, good sir! We have 2004 MINI COOPER 2 doors hatchback, that we bought brand new back then and now we thinking about SE model as an upgrade. Kind regards! ATB🍀🤝

Thanks for the review glad to see your still happy - We are getting our SE in a few months time and like you it will be the commute car, our other car is also an EV but its got double the range. One thing you also get with a EV especially when using in your/our use case is time, plugging in is a lot quicker than filling up ICE even though you do that less and that's even if there is no queue at the pumps... so double saving money and time.

I have never owed or driven an EV. Though I can see their benefits. With a 50mi round trip to work, I think it would be A very viable alternative. Maybe one day I will try one.

I'm moving back to Duluth area of Northern Minnesota next month, and considering either a used hybrid or EV...wonder how the cold will affect things...sometimes -35 to -40 in midwinter.

I get mine soon and can’t wait, thanks for the great review

After 6 months with my Mini SE I love it! 4.4 M/KWH

Just bought one for my daughter. This is my third Mini and my first electric vehicle ever. I have 3 thirsty V8’s (Ferrari, Corvette C8 and Lexus LS), so I didn’t buy it save the planet. I bought it for the fun.

Great review. Thank you for doing this video. I agree with your sentiments. I am considering an electric mini as my commuter car for work.I am all about having fun cars to drive cars. I had an old 2006 Cooper S that i loved. My other car is Pinzgauer 710m. I know its crazy but that truck is a lot of fun too. Looks like I need to go test drive the mini. Thanks again.

Always good to watch a nice honest review.

We have just bought ours for exactly the same reason as you, also test drove the JCW but was more impressed with the electric version, great car and costs us £1.40 to do 45 miles as opposed to £7.50 in our diesel estate , a real no brainier I reckon🤷🏻‍♂️ and the most fun car I’ve driven😊

Is it a comfortable ride? Thanks for a great video.

Just watched all your Mini Cooper SE reviews. Good stuff. Just bought one 10 days ago. Waiting for delivery I enjoyed hearing your honest, laid back style to your reviews. Where did you get the Union Jack decals from for the sunroof?

Interesting that you’re getting such good range

Nice review and like the cost breakdown. Have just bought a Mini Cooper S Multitone and love it. It is our third EV. We had a Renault Zoe 150 and then an ID3 before. The Zoe was good and the ID3 better but the ID3 had a lot of teething troubles and software gremlins. Ok gor longer journeys too. But the Mini is great for commute (10 miles each way). Overnight charging on off peak Octopus Go. I am a petrol head too. I have an Austin Healey Frogeye race car which I am racing at Goodwood next month. I also have a diesel Range Rover tow barge which i have owned for 25 years and a Diesel Golf for longer journeys... Nice review!

Got the Ioniq on Oct 1st and within 3 weeks decided to go all electric and bought a Mini SE. And, the Mini SE where we live is 90,000 Canadian Dollars. Madness, but we just love the car. Thanks for your videos which cost us this mini fortune :-) Also, do you really get more than 110 miles range?

I agree that the Mini info system is not the best. I think the wireless CarPlay integration is very good, however. It starts up 95% of the time and it displays nicely on the wide screen. Android Auto would have been appreciated, but the lack of it convinced me to finally go iPhone. One gripe is that the car doesn’t reliably charge at DC Fast Chargers. I know that all EVs have problems here. On a few occasions, however, it had seemed that the SE had problems where other EVs did not.

This is a great video. I'm not an EV fanboy either but I am considering an EV to replace my aging Honda Accord as commuter car. I am also already in the MINI family, just recently traded in my Cooper S with a manual and have a JCW 6MT custom order on the assembly line now. Like you, I get the charm of the MINI EV and agree it's the only "driver's" EV out there. A couple of questions, do you park it outside year round or garage it? Just curious as I'm interested how the wheel arch plastics hold up to outside use and how charging and battery life is with an EV parked mostly outside? My JCW is going to be in the garage, so if I snag an SE it will be in the driveway, though I am in a much warmer climate than Canada. Thanks again for the video!

I've been watching your reviews with great interest. Currently have a Model 3, and for "reasons" I've been seriously thinking about getting away from Tesla. I've always wanted a Mini, and I'm starting to think this might be my next car....your reviews are really helping (especially since I'm only a little ways up the QEW from where you are - so the weather observations are important)

Hey! Love your videos. I got my '23 SE in St Catherines too! JUst got it in Sept and LOVE it. Thanks for the window product tip. Ordered some! Love what you did to the top and mirror caps. Since we're practically neighbours, can you let me know who you trusted to do that? Thanks so much!

Cool

Very helpful video Thank you

We have one car that has to do everything we need, so I have no interest in an EV or even an aromatic come to that I like the manual gearbox, but you seem happy with it so good for you and anybody else who buys one,

Does your MINI have a lot of issues with Bluetooth connection for CarPlay? Also, does it have a heat pump?

Scott, may I ask the colour on your beautiful mini, please ? It’s gorgeous. 😊

Hey Dave, thanks for your interesting video. We've got our MINI SE four months ago and we use it for all short trips around. So I can absolutely agree to you. Would you please give me some more details of the german stuff you use to keep the windows running at minus temperature? Thanks a lot! Greetings from Bavaria / Germany

Awesome update. I am waiting for the Ram or Hellcat ev, then off to the dealer I will go.

Seems like you just got it ..... I can see the practicality of it but I'm a rotating piston kinda guy ..... as far as sound I guess you could always record sounds at the track and play them back ....

Hey Dave. Good update on your Mini. The daily cost is excellent for sure. Now for a long turn question...... How long are the batteries expected to last before you have to replace them or it? And of course, what is the replacement cost of the battery/batteries? Thanks for sharing.🍁🍁👍👍

I think you care too much what others think. You bought it, use it,enjoy it,that's all that matters. In a few years you may have a different opinion or may not. You only have to keep you happy!👍🇨🇦🤪

Not a fan of the modern Mini, but the EV Mini has piqued my interest, however the range is still a little concerning. Do they have versions with a bigger battery?

If I didn't have to occasionally have to move people around I would have chosen the Mini. But I have responsible for others and needed rear seat access. So I got a Chevy Bolt EUV (yes I'm in the US) . I think the Mini is terrific, just not my time. Carry on.

Hi Scott! What brand of winter tires you have? Are they specifically made for an electric vehicule or that does not matter? Thanks

Love mine 😊💚

Good common sense review mate! Slange Var!!!

Id love to test drive a Mini SE. but none to drive last time I checked. Availability is quite disappointing!

That ain’t no boot it’s a glove box😝

I live in the US where they don’t stock electric minis on the lots which really hurts their sales. I ordered one to spec after watching your videos and it arrived 4 months earlier than estimated. What a great car, mini really needs to get a few on the US lots to convince to get people over the anxiety of buying site unseen. Until then, thank you for the great content!