Hi guys,
I am the owner of a Mini Cooper SE (F56) 2023. Bought it used with 1k miles and 5 months of use, and accident-free.
Today, I noticed that the fit and finish in the upper corners of the hatch opening doesn't look great. Both sides look similar, so I'm wondering if this is by design. I'm not sure if this is normal or a defect. Is this okay, or should I check with my dealer?
I need a car and I am almost sold on a Mini Cooper SE.
I absolutely loved it during test drives.
The only things stopping me are the missing option for an openable sunroof (like the non-electric Mini Cooper S can have) and a trailer hitch. I can deal with the non openable sunroof, but a trailer hitch is non negotiable to me.
I don’t want to pull big trailers, but I do want to add a small bike carrier. I absolutely love doing bike tours and would like to be able to take my bike on a car trip.
At the car dealership they told me it’s not possible to have a trailer hitch added at all.
On the internet I saw people who upgraded their Mini with a third party trailer hitch.
Has anyone here done that? Was it possible or where their any drawbacks?
I’m looking into buying a 2020 to 2024 electric mini (the 145 mile range one) and I’m wondering if there’s anything to look out for. Do any of the range have known issues etc? Is it mostly the same car for the entire 4 years of the range?
I drive pretty short distances currently. Maybe 10-15 mile round trip to work and back per day so I think the car will be pretty well suited for me. (I hope).
Thanks in advance
edit: thank you all, very useful info. really appreciate it
When the AC is on I can hear a whooshing sound inside the cabin. I understand that EVs are quieter than ICE cars but the sound it makes is loud enough to hear over the stereo even at a reasonable volume.
I know there’s been a few posts on whether or not the earlier electric cooper (SE) works with Tesla charger in the US but wanted to post my findings
I have a 2024 SE with Lectron Vortex Plus adapter. The Tesla app says my car will work at their charging stations with the adapter. I can start the charging process but it will not charge the car. I tried a few different locations with the same result. I did not try one with the magic dock.
My car hasn’t been to the dealer in about 8 months so not sure if there is a system update or to fix it.
Has anyone seen anything different?
Initial impressions after driving it about 25 miles:
I like the looks of the exterior. It's a bit plainer w/o, e.g., the hood scoop or side scuttles, yes, but the JCW package dresses it up nicely (and I'm not offended by that);
Overall, I also like the looks of the new interior. Yes, the dashboard and door inserts are hard and perhaps a bit cheap looking, but it's not like I would, e.g., ever take a nap with my face against them (think of the interesting pattern on your cheek, though!);
The OLED in the middle of the dash is just gorgeous;
The head-up display was all I needed, and I didn't miss having any other instrumentation in front of me one bit;
The lack of many physical controls does mean that's there's a bit of a learning curve, but I'm sure that I would quickly learn how to access the things I need;
I found the seat a bit soft, but would probably appreciate it if I drove a long way in the car. The steering wheel, OTOH, felt great in my hands;
The "Experiences" are a bit quirky, and the Go-Kart mode almost downright juvenile . . . unless you were trying to ring lots of performance out of the car, in which case the different shift points (? or so it seemed) would be helpful. If it were my car I would probably only switch to Go-Kart to impress passengers (which would certainly be fun);
That said, one benefit of Go-Kart mode would seem to be that it turns off auto start-stop, which I found especially annoying coming from an F56 SE;
So I really like the ride and handling (tires are Hankook Kinergy XP non-RFT in 215/17R215), but have yet to drive on any rougher roads;
Based on my butt dyno, I would say that my SE is faster 0-60 (especially 0-30) and probably about the same 50-70. The SE starts to run out of steam (er, electrons) quickly after that, though, so something to keep in mind if you regularly drive at high speeds;
It's looking like I will have the car at least through this weekend, so if anybody has any questions, features you'd like me to explore, etc., just say the word.
Had a nice warm day last weekend, was doing a spring-painting of some yard furniture, and thought “Oooh, I should paint my Mini-bits!”
Finally got around to doing the belt-line trim with PlastiDip. Here’s the process and results.
Step 7: another coat, but getting closer!
Step 9: back on Jules! Front and…
I like the look, not yet sure if I’m completely satisfied with the PlastDip. I think I may need to polish it just a little bit. By taking off the trim, the only part I had to peel the dried PlastiDip from was the upper rubber, which was trivial.
While streaming this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, I wondered about the SE. Yup, in 2023, Mini had SEs (including a convertible!) at Goodwood!
My wife took my car into town to meet a friend today. Came back and found two more parked around her!
This is like a Goldilocks problem. We've test driven both the Mini Cooper 2 Door SE as well as the Mini Countryman SE, and while we found delight in both of them, one is too small and the other too big.
Our family daily driver car is a 4 door hard top Cooper S. We love this thing. This nifty little beast has hauled everything from a crib, to a changing table, winter tires, dog, toddler, the elderly and their large collapsible walker, to a bookshelf, large tall plant, etc.
It is deceptively large, more comfortable than you'd think, and is just such a joy to drive. The turning radius is awesome, and we say thank you to our car for being nifty every time we have to park anywhere.
It is literally the perfect car for us. We're mostly city / near the city folk, and although we can make it work, we truthfully don't need the larger size of a Countryman, and while we don't mind it, it just doesn't spark as much joy as the 4 door package does for us. That being said, it's too difficult loading passengers in and out of the back of a 2 door; we have a family and the 2 door is too limiting.
We just want exactly what we have, a 4 door mini cooper. But electrified.
Please, for the love of all that's holy, not everyone needs either an SUV (countryman) or is a single/DINK couple (2 door mini). There are some of us who think the 4 door is THE perfect city family car.
All I want for Christmas is world peace, and Mini to release an EV version of the 4 door hard top cooper SE, and to bring it to Canada.
MINI COOPER 4 DOOR HARD TOP SE
PLEASE!!!
That is all.
EDIT: We don't get the Aceman in our region. And we still literally just want them to stick an electric battery pack into a cute little 4 door Cooper. Coopers are unique and have so much charm. The Aceman looks too much like a miniature Countryman. We WANT the classic Mini look. Electrified. If you're reading this, Mini marketing department, hear our prayers.
UK based, looking at Arnold Clark to buy a 2022/23 model. Have zero knowledge of cars or buying them, is there anything specific I need to look out for/ask?
... And which variant/year do you have?
I haven't tested it yet so I'm curious to see what kind of range you're all getting in your electric MINIs.
I recently went on a 171 mile trip and went from 85% to 19%, so used 66% for my trip. This would suggest a 100% range as being around 250 miles at 57-70mph.
What kind of actual range are you getting, which MINI variant do you have, and what's your average cruising speed?
2026 Countryman SE ALL4.
Can’t believe this is still a problem even after all the software updates.
This has been driving me crazy. The phone app picks up my contacts without an issue, but my car's interaction unit (brand new J01) refuses to load any contacts into navigation. They show up in the phone app, including addresses, but as soon as I attempt to search for them in navigation or instruct the voice assistant to navigate to any of them, the car seems afflicted by an acute case of amnesia. I thought "fine, I'll just save a bunch of them to my favourites", and in navigation they DO show up in my list of favourites, but the voice assistant still refuses stubbornly to acknowledge their existence. I have tried re-syncing contacts, re-pairing my phone, using it with AirPlay and without, fat chance. Phone contacts show up fine, but they never make it to navigation. Suggestions? Helpful experience?
Probably more for the Dutch owners.
Has anyone used the free 5 years free roadside assistance service that comes with a new mini?
Picking up our mini se next Tuesday and looking at the various insurance packages available, not sure if I should double up on roadside assistance or just keep the free mini service.
Thanks
Seen many on the road but never parked 😁 wanted to park next to it but this worked. Took the photo once i got out then parked next to it.
I'm looking to buy a used 24 or 25 but the new design with the cloth dashboard and minimalist view doesn't appeal.
If i go with the 24 am i missing out on too many upgrades?
It's a second car so the extra range would be nice but not a stopper.
I read the 25 is the first full ev but not clear what that really means.
Thanks for any insights
First rule #1 in our new to us ‘25 Countrymen! Replaced our 2006 Mini Cooper S 😭 but we are loving the SE so far. ⚡️
I recently purchased a used Mini SE electric vehicle which so far I am really enjoying. I decided to upgrade the standard plastic pedals with OEM Mini Stainless Steel so I bought a set from ECS Tuning that the website said was compatible. I was easily able to swap out the foot rest insert and the slip on brake pedal. My issues started when I noticed how different the gas pedal looks to the original OEM part 3542-6853177.
ECS were very helpful and responsive to my additional questions and suggested other potentially compatible parts. In the end I contacted the local Mini dealership and had them double check and provide the replacement part number. They confirmed there is no alternative stainless steel accelerator pedal module for the SE and no other module plugged in to replace the original pedal will work. I'm glad I paused there then!
All that being said. Has anyone else had this experience with the Mini SE? Can anyone recommend an adhesive stainless steel cover for the SE accelerator pedal? I see various options on eBay and Amazon. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated.
