The Bite Sized EV | 2021 Mini Cooper SE 

I came from a Chevy Spark EV with around 75 mi of usable range. I bought the MINI about a month ago and LOVE it. I have 50% more battery and have been averaging 4.2 mi/kWh in normal driving, or around 120 mi of usable range. In the canyons this car is amazing fun and still gets around 4 mi/kWh thanks to regen coming back down the mountain. This past week I took the car from Denver up to Mt. Evans (Echo Lake) at 10k feet and did just shy of 100 miles at 5.2 mi/kWh returning with 41% of the battery remaining. Now that’s impressive. The handling and acceleration are fantastic. Especially given the $4k CO tax credit, this really is an affordable EV for anyone who doesn’t require a car for road trips. Charging every night means most people really don’t need more than this car’s range and many forget that. It’s not comparable to fueling up an ICE once a week.

This is one of the most comprehensive, informative, practical and relatively objective car review channels out there. Well done! 👍👍

Thank you Alex. Your review gave me the courage to go with the Mini despite the short range. I finally got my 2022 SE. I am so happy with it.

It's truly a shame Mini won't lease these out because it really is a perfect little city car. I had an early deposit in, went on the promo test drives, and even had an order placed, but when my dealer told me that Mini wouldn't be leasing these out I canceled and ordered a Model 3 instead. As nice as the Model 3 is, I really would have rather had the smaller package, but with its low range I just couldn't spend $500+ a month on this knowing I'd get only a small fraction of it back when it was time to move on.

This was a very helpful review. Since we are a multi-car family, and my wife would prefer to have something more like a minivan, I’m thinking the SE is just about perfect for my daily commuter (about 10 miles each way).

Most detailed review of the mini I've seen. Great review Alex. Great fun car too, a modern British sportscar.

Thanks for this review. The walk through of the car’s actual interior features is particularly helpful.

Thanks Alex. Ordered my Mini EV today. Great review...as always!

Best review I've seen on the SE. Great detail. Nice comparisons to competitors.

The alloys are supposed to look like a UK plug outlet

Love love love the intro, well done! Much better imo.

Great video. I am looking at the Cooper SE and Ioniq (eliminated the Leaf already) as a third vehicle / commuter car myself. My office has free EV charging, commute is 60-70 miles per day.

In city driving, the mini is far more economical. I am currently averaging 11kWh/100km (5.6miles/kWh).This gives a theoretical city range of 267km (163 miles). Now if I really push hard and have fun, I managed to get up to 14.7kWh/100km (4.2miles/kWh). I don't do much high speed driving (yet), so I am guessing that is where the bulk of the difference lies. I also live in a warm climate (our current "spring" temperature is 26-30C), so no heater use. I loved your review - one of the best, and in depth reviews of the mini se out there. You captured the essence of the car, and hopefully gave people who haven't driven it a really good grounding of what to expect. The handling is superb, the acceleration is addictive, and the hard ride is tolerable (actually the roads are pretty good around here, so it is pretty comfortable). Keep up the good work.

Love your EV reviews!

Mini has the right idea. BEVs shine as small runabout cars. Smaller batteries saves on raw materials, lower weight increases efficiency, and a smaller vehicle is just less expensive. I really wish people would stop seeing electric cars as needing to match the range of their gasoline counterparts. There are other ways to go about increasing usability too. Hydrogen is still on the table as alternative physical fuel and can hold its own on range. Also, a better and faster charging infrastructure would mitigate or even solve range anxiety.

Great video. I am a Mini loyalist. However, the range for the new SE is disappointing. I live in Northern CA where we generally drive a great deal, even during this pandemic.

Not sure if someone has already pointed it out, but at 9:10, you listed the Nero EV and Leaf+ beneath the Cooper Se in regards to 2nd Row Headroom. Thanks for the reviews, always enjoy watching them.

Great for a retired homebody. Just received mine yesterday 😊

loving the new intro

I have owned 3 Mini's and the Mini hybrid was the last-It was a dog and I traded it for a 2020 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. I swore Mini's off after my experience with the Hybrid, but I'm reconsidering after watching this-Great job on the vid. I may go for a test drive :-)

I can't wait for mine to be delivered. We already have a model Y so this will be our (around town ) car. After 6 years of driving Eve. I know that 85% of my daily driving is less than 100miles. The Y will handle more range or more people and stuff perfect combo

I would go with the mini cooper se for daily commute.great car to have.

12 weeks to go before mine arrives here in Sweden. Should have been this week but they closed the factory in the UK due to Brexit. I guess good things are worth waiting for.

Mini EV is fun!!! Drove it at a BMW event at FedEx Field last week.

I didn't receive 2 EVSE cords with my 2021 MINI Cooper SE. I've never seen or read about the 3.8 kW EVSE turbo-cord Alex mentions. And I've read a lot about this car.

19:47 You're a master comedian, Alex.

Very solid review with ample info

I agree with the point that one pedal driving is t optimal for efficiency, though I think the difference isn’t really that big, and varies depending on your driving style and environment. The main reason I like it, though, is for the safety, in that the car starts braking as you are lifting off the accelerator. Some studies estimate it can take 3/4 second to move your foot from one pedal to the other, so depending on how fast you are driving you could easily shorten your effective braking distance by 10-20%, which is not nothing.

100 mile range! That's hard to swallow.

Very excellent.

The ventilation for wireless charging is a nice feature. Many cars don’t take this into consideration...A wired CarPlay + wireless charging is the most stupid combination I can imagine for many other models.

If I had what some people call “disposable income,” I’d get one.

Does it take premium electrons??

This a hard pass at $37K. Like Alex said this would only make sense assuming you can take full advantage of tax credits and rebates which I’m willing to bet most people looking at this won’t qualify for all of it, and also this reliance on credits to make a sale viable is a poor strategy from Mini IMHO. Honda encountered similar criticism with the Honda E in Europe where its more of a lifestyle fashion vehicle. You really have to want an EV to spend $30K and have this type of range. Other hybrids and even some EVs mentioned in the video would make more financial sense at that point.

Etron has a standard heat pump, was not listed with other cars on your size chart.

I have been after someone who can clarify me on the following. Can an electric vehicle ,such as this ID4, bought here in the US be charged on an european charging network? I know about the different grid voltages (230V EU and 120/240V US) and frequencies (50Hz EU and 60Hz US) for AC systems. My real question is to know if the onboard charger accept both voltages and frequencies. When it comes to DC charging, frequency and voltage are not an issue. Thank you.

Really great, informative video!

I've wanted a Cooper mini for years. We have two Camrys. The older one may be coming to the end of its life. Coopers are so cute! I mostly need a car for errands and a weekly trip to a town nearby. I'm short. I don't have kids so a two door isn't a big deal. Is Colorado likely to keep its incentive in the next year or two? If so, that could be convenient.

Drove it b2b with JCW and confirm your insight - the EV is even more fun❤️

Also the $7500 Tax rebate is great!

I agree with you. The low range will frustrate most people.

What does everyone decide that red turn signal light is a good idea ?!

I can't wait for my brand new 2020 moonwalk gray with black roof being delivered from Germany September 1st for my birthday 🎂 😁🙏😘

It looks a lot like a Honda e competitor... but Honda still says they're not bringing the e to North America.

I wonder what the battery deg. will be.... 4% per year?

Thanks for the review - for info, here in the UK, the yellow design on the passenger side dash is different - its a red stylised union jack instead. Which makes me think - what else is different? I've seen a few reviews now, and I'm a bit confused about the range. I've had my Mini Electric for about a month. Its fantastic - love it. But I'm getting significantly better range than what I've seen in these reviews. My economy is currently averaging 4.5 Mi/Kw - not your 3.8 as per this video. I last charged it on the weekend - its now Friday and I've driven just short of 100 miles since then, and I still have 36% left of my battery - and thats with a mix of city and motorway driving. I'm interested - is the American version different somehow? Or am I just an amazing driver... :) ... In US reviews, the Mini's range is quoted as 110 miles - but in Europe the WLTP quoted range is 145 Miles. Which I think is about right. I understand that the US has different standards, but thats a big difference... I wouldnt have bought it if 110 was the range, whereas 145 is just about right for me.

Any thoughts on Mini SE reliability?

I love mini getting into the ev game but can't think about it till they get much bigger battery

What are the color choices?

If the car does not have the (often wasted) range for a highway trip, why tune the suspension or quiet the cabin to make it comfy for one? It is optimized for a set of use cases and seems like it is good and cost-effective at those. Is the e-Golf a competitor?

Beleza? Combinado com gasolina, ele faz quantos km por litro?

Can you cite the studies on regen you mentioned?

This is the ultimate second car if you want to spend near $20,000 and get something unique. Too bad the low range will scare lots of customers who would really enjoy this.

Gute but the VW ID will give this a hard sale

I have discovered living in the greater Atlanta area that at times my range needs can be more than some of these lower range EVs can do. When I lived in Philly, this would have been a great car. BTW I have the same shoes. Bought them at Costco. I wish I had bought like 10 pairs because they are awesome.

Nice video, but just a quick reminder, not everyone has an iPhone. I would have liked to know if this supports Android Auto.

The official MINI website says the electric mini cooper charges 2%/hour at Level 1, which would mean it takes 50 hours from zero to full. But you said it takes about 24 hours (4%/hour)? Also, isn't the last 20% the slowest, so maybe 0 to 80% would be even faster than 4%/hour? Thank you for clarifying this point.

What about the 2020 e-Soul? I felt the Kia dominated the e-Mini when I was cross shopping.

I’m sold. My next car will be the Mini SE.

I plan on buying one in 3.5 years after 65% depreciation

does anyone know if the SE comes with Summer or All Season Tires?

Alex, with all the new EVs out there now, how does this review hold up? Any changes to your comments or opinions?

From my experience in my i3, it's really really easy to find the coasting area while using one pedal driving. Seeing as how the Mini shares a lot of parts with the i3, I'd guess its very similar.

Looking at what happened to the Fiat 500e, the Smart for2 ED which are no longer imported, I am afraid the Mini may follow suit into oblivion. In the kingdom of the F150 pickup truck, small cars are yet to impose themselves. I know, Texas is not the USA. The Mini may have a chance in California. But here in Houston, we are still a long way from small EVs.

Mini hands down.

Range is too limited for this Mini to be the best at anything.

Love the car! :)

Here in Au all the Big Oils are building many big new petrol stations, and more in the middle of nowhere. None of which have rapid chargers. I can't help but wonder why when the gas pump is apparently going the way of the dinosaur. Makes me think that everyone driving an electric car is still a very long way off... 🤔

One small thing I wish you'd note, not everyone has iphones, so would you note if a vehicle does or does not have android auto as well? I know BMW doesn't (and by extension, mini), and many toyota models still don't

Excellent review but take a breath. I had to keep stopping to take a breath for you. I wish I’d watch this before I purchased my mini it would have choice.

I don't see how 100 miles of range for 30k makes sense for anyone other than mini lovers with a garage. Until EVs can get down to 25k for 150 miles or so of range the market is super limited IMO

I would buy this tomorrow if it had 200+ mile range.... I know there's the limitation to how much battery capacity they can fit into a MINI frame, but as I own a Tesla now I know how important range is.... when these things get into the 200-250 mile range, I'm buying immediately.

Imagine buying a car with a three-gallon tank! that you need to fill up daily? and it takes you three hours to fill it up, then at some point in the future, you need to pay for that fuel again in the form of battery replacement, well, that's an electric car, hahaha.

I hope Mini develops an EV Mini this size -but from the ground up, not an ICE conversion.

My only car right now is a Bolt, if I could buy a second "fun car" it would be a Smart electric cabriolet

Good intro! Mini is not redesign but retrofit, thus motor is in front. We can only wish for a RWD Mini. And why didn’t BMW put the more energy dense cells in this car? It could have had almost 150 miles of range with better cells. I agree Ioniq BEV is better all around car.

I test drove a S and the moon roof slides rattled.

Other people have Ferraris that they park and don't drive often. Only a select few choose a mini that they can't take anywhere

Relative comfort but u just can’t lean back? 🤷‍♀️

I own a 2017 Ioniq EV and can say that it is an excellent car. Practical, well built, Comfortable and very efficient. Mini Cooper sire sounds more fun but it can't beat the practicality and range of Ioniq or the Leaf. 2 door is a deal breaker for me.

I get 4.7-5.5 miles/kilowatt on my Fiat 500e

No reason they couldn't stuff 4x the amount of batteries in this thing (under the seats). And give it a real usable range. Almost no one is going to spend $30k+ for a 3rd car so that they can save a few bucks in gas. My 2011 ford ranger only costs me $1,700 in gas a year (12k miles, $2.50/gallon). I could fill my tank for decades for the cost of this mini AAAAAAaaaannd I can drive my truck cross country if the mood so strikes...

Where are you getting the 110 mile range figure from? The official WLTP is listed as 203-234km (126-146 miles), while carwow managed 154 miles ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wd2ArceiJd0.html or is the US version gimped in some way?

Wait a year, buy used for half the price. All EVs except Tesla have poor resale value.

Buy the Ioniq

Due to the range it will have INSANE depreciation. Especially because you know, Mini reliability.

5:00 ALL Teslas in 2022 have heat pumps. Tesla makes the most efficient EVs. The Model 3 is far more efficient than even the small mini. I love the Mini SE btw

Range is too short. Not even enough for the average commuter.

Noise: the Model 3 got 72 dB and was rated C-, the Mini got 73 dB and an A- rating. Just curious why?

Compliance car

Why do electric cars have those strange wheel and grille designs

Prefer the soul ev

How is it possible the SE Mini qualifies for the Federal Tax Credit? It is over $25 ,000.00. Battery is not built in USA.

All these Mini jokes are getting old. The reliability has improved tremendously. The gear shift is also in the other Minis as well.

It seems they went with the small battery to fit into the space originally for the gas tank, and to keep the base price at 30 thousand. Good as a second car for 2 adults and 2 kids, or if you take a bus, train, plane or rental car for longer trips. I might buy a used one later with about 40 thousand miles to lower the price, and it is good for some snow with front wheel drive. I am close to retirement, so I am less concerned with its eventual battery replacement, maybe after 150 thousand miles if the battery reliability is similar to a Prius, with some going to 300 thousand miles with the original battery. Note Elon Musk did not mention a million mile battery, and he did mention the idea of making the battery box part of the frame like a plane wing, also maybe no cobalt, longer range and more power in 2 to 3 years, maybe, also a base model for 25 thousand in the same time frame.

Not everyone has an iPhone.

100 miles is "adequate" if your commute is solely within a city, but what do you do after 2-3 years when the battery degrades and you can only recharge 80% of the original battery? What do you do when you want to travel over large distances? This is a strictly a city car and, thus, it will not convert the masses to electricity despite its lower price tag.

Any electric vehicle that is simply a converted gasoline powered vehicle has inherent design and engineer in compromises.

My ears hurt!

technically its the motor from the more powerful i3s :)