[Eric G]

Hi Folks,

I've been around the EV scene for a while and my wife and I own a LEAF and a Tesla. The LEAF is not as spry as it used to be and I'm mulling its replacement. One of the things (there are a few) that makes me shy away from a new or newer LEAF is the inability to set the charge limit to anything lower than 100% SoC. I live in the SW USA and I consider this an important feature to prolong battery life. The other is pack thermal control, and I believe the Mini has this.

I peeked at the 2020 SE user manual and did not find a user selectable charge limit, but I thought to confirm my impression.

Thanks all!

-- Eric

 

[GetOffYourGas]

The SE does not have a charge limit either. I kind of wish it did.

That said, Mini only uses 28.9kWh of a 32.6kWh battery. It is unknown how the buffer is divided between the top/bottom, but Mini insists you don't have to worry about setting charge limits- just charge to full. (I know, where have we heard that before, right?)

I'd hate to see this be the reason you decide against the SE. It really is in a class of its own. But I'd certainly understand.

 

[Eric G]

^^ Thanks.

Good point about the buffer. Does the SE have an OBD2 port and app that allows drivers to see the cell voltage when charged to 'full' ? That would tell the tale.

And on a related note, how has battery degradation been for the SE ? That is the bottom line, after all.

---
I told my wife that the MINI comes in EV and her immediate response was "can we go for a test drive ?"
First time ever I have not gotten a yawn from her where cars are concerned.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

The SE does have an OBD2 port. Mini is owned by BMW, so the "bimmercode" app is the go-to app for reading the ODB2 port. I don't have a reader so I don't have direct experience. I don't know if TorquePro works, for example.

Regarding degradation, the SE is too new to have noticed anything. But BMW reused the batteries and motor from the i3. Look at i3 data for degradation. I don't know of any detailed analysis, but if you find something please share it!

 

[Eric G]

Sounds like a plan.

Does the i3 and SE share the same thermal control systems ?

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Excellent question. They are not identical, since the Mini has a T-shaped battery and the i3 had a more rectangular shape. So they had to at least modify the outer form. I don't know how much of the thermal control system had to be changed to adapt.

 

[Eric G]

Welp, my wife was easily hooked by a visit to the dealership so we are the proud owners of a brand spanking new reservation. We grabbed the last car 'allotted' to the dealership out of 10, tentatively scheduled for manufacturing in Nov/Dec with delivery Jan/Feb

Tom Molougney (sp?) pretty much nailed my take on the car: it would benefit from being designed from the bottom up as an EV to have more interior space and more room for extra battery. But of course then it would be a $40k and not $30k car. I find the trade-off acceptable.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I frankly don't want any more battery. The range is fine, and more battery would just add more weight. More weight detracts from the Mini-ness of the car.

I have found that the car is capable of travelling if you have DC chargers along the way. A few weeks ago I took the SE on a 430 mile trip into the Green Mountains of VT. Sure, I had to make a few stops, but all but one of them were 12 minutes or less. The longer one is because I took extra time to do some shopping, not because the car needed it.

Tom himself drove the SE on a 600 mile trip from NJ to NC. Kyle followed along with his Tesla and admitted that the SE was not slowing him down very much.