The MINI Cooper SE Could be the Best Electric Car Buy of 2020
The MINI Cooper SE is rumored to start under $29,000 when it hits dealerships in early 2020. On the face of it, $29k for a car that gets 120 miles on a charge seems steep. But the more we dig into what the final price vs performance will be, the more we’re convinced that the SE could hit a sweet spot for quite a few looking for an electric daily driver.
The MINI Cooper SE – Making the Case
To start with the MINI Cooper SE should qualify for the $7,500 tax credit (which is a credit the buyer claims on their federal tax return). On top of that many states also have tax credits that could be applied in a similar fashion. Added together that $29k price starts to get a lot closer to $20k mark – an incredible deal when you consider the quality of a MINI and the performance of the Cooper SE that we’ve all read about.
What about competitors? The Honda E is a particularly interesting one but one that likely won’t be coming to the US any time soon (and even if it does the MINI beats it on specs). So lets look at a few that are on sale as we speak. The Golf E gets about the same range for $32k. It has two extra doors, a bit more room but doesn’t come as well equipped as the MINI. However because VW reportedly loses money on everyone made, it’s only available it states that mandate some level of electric sales. The Nissan Leaf on the other hand is available everywhere and offers a 150 mile range for $30,885. But it’s questionable design, poor quality and mediocre driving experience have turned us off both times we’ve sampled them.
Then there’s the long-range champion of the segment the Chevy Bolt. The 238 mile range gets top billing as it kills time competition in this category. How can Chevy offer this in a car starting at $36,620? For one it’s a loss leader as GM is rumored to lose $8-9k on each one sold. Then there are the materials and driving experience – both of which leave a lot to be desired.
That leaves us back where we started. The more we look at it, the more the MINI Cooper SE seems to hit a sweet spot for those looking at a commuter electric car. The F56 quality is well known and MINI’s history of great drivers cars could make it totally unique in the category.
No it doesn’t have Tesla like range. But this is a small MINI and it’s natural habitat is urban environments where commutes are short (in miles) and chargers are plentiful.
Electric MINI Cooper SE: The Numbers
The MINI Cooper SE is equipped with lithium-ion batteries delivery a range of 235 to 270 km according to MINI. Official US EPA figures are being determined as we speak but it’s worth noting that more stringent (real-world) WLTP testing show a range of 124-144 miles. We’d expect US numbers to be similar. So why does MINI quote 146 to 168? Simply put that’s what the car is capable of when driven sensibly and in ideal conditions. No matter what number you look at the range MINI has delivered (while not taking away interior volume) is impressive. Especially considering the F56 platform was never designed to accommodate batteries.
Perhaps more important than range is how quickly the MINI Cooper SE can charge. The SE can be charged on everything from a normal 120 volt socket to a fast direct-current 50kW charger (the latter allowing an 80 per cent charge to be achieved in just 35 minutes)
Like all electric cars the SE will have energy recuperation that acts as automatic braking. However MINI has designed a system that allows this energy recuperation to be variable giving the two levels to choose from tailoring their one-pedal driving experience.
Electric MINI Cooper SE: Equipment, Price and Performance
But let’s put all that aside for a moment and remember this is a MINI and intended to be an engaging driving experience rather than an appliance like so many electric cars. While the 0-62 time of 7.3 doesn’t seem all that impressive, the immediacy of the torque and ultra low center of gravity reportedly create a feeling like no other MINI. According to those who have driven the SE, it’s an absolute riot on the track and is likely the most capable around an autocross. This is also due to something called ARB – BMW’s highly advanced traction control system designed for electric cars that features a slip control system positioned directly in the engine control unit making it dramatically faster to react. Combined with with DSC, actuator contiguous wheel slip limitation (say that three times) significantly reduces the power understeer usually experienced with front-wheel drive vehicles, but without control intervention to stabilize lateral dynamics.
The MINI Cooper SE will be well equipped with LED headlamps, 2-zone automatic air conditioning, heating with heat pump technology, auxiliary heating, electric parking brake and Connected Navigation. It will also debut the highly anticipated digital gauge cluster that we’ve been reporting on for years at MF (look for this to make its way to other MINI models by 03/20 production).
While official pricing hasn’t been announced our sources point to the base MSRP being right around $29,000 (£24,000) or equivalent to an automatic equipped MINI Cooper S. With the $7,500 federal tax credit (not to mention the typical state credit) the MINI Cooper SE could easily be a $20,000 car all things considered. Given the performance, standard equipment and all that comes with a MINI that’s an exceptional price that makes the MINI Cooper SE much more compelling than many (including us) expected.
But that’s our take. Let us know your thoughts below.
<p>The Bolt (not Volt) and Leaf can both be had with larger batteries that get over 220 miles per charge. In fact, other than the Model 3, they’re the only electric cars that can achieve that. And though the $29k starting price may be attractive, you have to be able to tolerate the low range and slow charging capabilities.</p>
<p>No doubt the MINI is the best-looking car of the bunch, but is it going to be a better buy than a Cooper S? For almost everyone, the answer is no.</p>
<blockquote>The Bolt (not Volt) and Leaf can both be had with larger batteries that get over 220 miles per charge. In fact, other than the Model 3, they’re the only electric cars that can achieve that.</blockquote>
<p>220+ miles? There are more than just Bolt and Leaf and Model 3. That list would also include the I-Pace, Soul, Kona, Niro, Model S, Model X.</p>
<p>Also, the Bolt and Leaf Plus (the one with 220 miles of range) start at $37,500 and $36,500, respectively, and the Bolt only gets $3,750 of tax credit, now. There are discounts, of course, but the MINI is listed at a substantially lower price than either of those AND gets the full $7,500 tax credit.</p>
<blockquote>No doubt the MINI is the best-looking car of the bunch, but is it going to be a better buy than a Cooper S? For almost everyone, the answer is no.</blockquote>
<p>I wouldn’t say “almost everyone” would find the Cooper S to be a better buy.</p>
<p>Assuming the Cooper S and SE both start at ~$29,000, the SE is eligible for the $7,500 tax credit.</p>
<p>That makes the starting price effectively $21,500, or ~25% cheaper than the Cooper S.</p>
<p>People who are buying brand new MINIs (buying a new, premium car instead of a used or non-premium car) are relatively likely to have a place to charge at night, and also are relatively likely to have access to other cars for long trips… or they can dip into that $7,500 they saved to fly.</p>
<p>Point being, there certainly are people who the SE won’t work for, but there are also quite a few who it would work for, and a $7,500 price difference plus fuel savings goes a long way in making the SE a better buy for people who have a place to charge.</p>
<p>I think the article is right. At $29k before incentives, the MINI could be a compelling EV offering for those who A) have a place to charge and B) would consider a MINI in the first place, compared to the “meh” 150-mile Leaf or the thousands-more-expensive Leaf/Bolt/Model 3/Kona/Niro/etc with longer range.</p>
<p>The Hyundai e-Kona and Kia e-Niro both get close to 250 miles per charge. The e-Niro was a surprisingly well put together vehicle. The Kona felt a bit more cheaply assembled.</p>
<p>I may pick one up on a lease to park next to my i3. Will there be any options besides wheel choices (I would upgrade as I don’t like the stock SE wheels)?</p>
<p>Keep in mind the £24,400 price tag in the UK already includes the UK Government Grant for EVs of £3,500 – so you should be looking at just under £28k for ‘comparison’ to USD before US grant. Still not bad, just might not be quite pushing $20k after federal and state grants.</p>
<p>The biggest unknown with this car and one that would give me pause about buying is resale value. Historically, anything electric other than Tesla has shown poorly in this area. With leasing a popular purchase option, the low residuals may make payments high bringing down the value proposition.
I’m sincerely intrigued by this car. It would allow me to drive about 3 days before needing a full charge. That’s not terrible and something I could live with.</p>
<p>That’s a great question and one we’ve been thinking about at MF recently. My take is that this will have a fairly good resale value for a few reasons. First it’s a MINI and there’s value in the design, engineering and performance that something like the Bolt or Versa just don’t have. Second it’s priced so low that it will never have the astronomical fall of something like the BMW i3.</p>
<p>Yeah, I have found that out the hard way LOL. My i3 REx is now 5 years old and worth less than 20% of what I paid for it. I owe much more than what it is worth. The 5 MINIs I have owned started out with awesome resale value but then tanked with the later models. I leased a LEAF and had nothing to worry about financially.
I would absolutely LEASE a Cooper SE unless you are paying cash given the rate at which EV technology is improving and given the (bad) resale values of past / currents EVs.</p>
<p>Like I said previously, I don’t see how this car succeeds in the US. Urban dwellers are almost all renters or condo owners, whose landlords/associations do not provide and will not allow charger installation. In the suburbs, small, slow, limited range, and two doors appeals to which niche, exactly? Every charger I know of at work or at the supermarket is almost always occupied by a nonelectric. The Tesla chargers, btw, are on their own little island (full disclosure, my next car in 9 months will be a Model 3). I will believe that 29K teaser price when people actually take delivery.</p>
<p>For the value conversation, the question is how well equipped is it for 29k? If this is a classic trim and you need to add $8500 for adaptive cruise and some nav solution, then that’s not a good value. If it’s truly priced about the same as the cooper S before incentives, that’s better, but then MINI must be losing a lot on each one, unless somehow we’re already at cost parity between EV and ICE.</p>
<p>The e-golf seems to be the closest competitor, similar battery/range and an existing chassis retrofit with EV bits. The golf platform has to be cheaper than the MINI platform to start out with, so if VW is losing money with a 35 kWh battery, there’s no way the MINI is going to be dramatically better. On top of that, the e-golf with a little more range can be had for 10k off msrp right now, which puts it around 24k with adaptive cruise and android auto – this is before the federal tax credit or local incentives. They don’t seem to be flying off the shelves even at this price point.</p>
<p>I was wondering why the SE is getting the 33 kWh battery from the 2017 i3 and not the 42 kWh from 2019. I think MINI can not charge enough to pay for the smaller battery, let alone the newer more expensive one which still would have left it short on range (153 miles EPA in the i3) compared to the competition. So the smaller battery with less range makes it cheaper to start but also less appealing to a wider audience so fewer sales and fewer losses.</p>
<p>It’s disappointing because 150 miles would work well for me, but <a href="https://www.autonews.com/cars-concepts/mini-goes-electric-cooper-se-offering-range-114-miles" rel="nofollow">114 miles</a>, probably not so much.</p>
<p>I think 150 miles might be feasible in certain situations. My 2014 i3 with 22 kWh battery had no problem doing 100 miles in mixed city/highway driving when new (not now because of battery degradation) and 70 miles in 70-80mph highway driving. Very much doubt you would be able to do 150 miles of ALL highway driving in the MINI, but that number for around town driving (warm / hot conditions) is reasonable. Realistic range of 100-150 for the MINI depending on driving style, temps, roads, etc.</p>
<p>Jalopnik Verdict: FUN!
<a href="https://jalopnik.com/the-electric-mini-cooper-se-is-a-lot-of-fun-but-is-tha-1836731017" rel="nofollow ugc">https://jalopnik.com/the-electric-mini-cooper-se-is-a-lot-of-fun-but-is-tha-1836731017</a></p>
<p>We unfortunately missed that press trip due to conflicts. Surprised it took Patrick so long to write about it :)</p>
<p>I’m not sure I buy the value proposition. Talking down the Bolt means you haven’t driven it much. And really, one can get used electrics at a very low price point. A 500e off lease costs about $8k or less. For most, the under 200 mile range means that it’s not going to be bought by many who’ve had an electric car before. My wife has an 11 mile commute, and she doesn’t want an electric with under 200 miles range….. With around 100 mile range, she can’t do trips across the bay after work….. (And we’ve had electrics. If you go 80 on the freeway, you’ll get much less than the rated range…. Ask me how I know!) The price is nice, but as others have pointed out, here in the US the urban buyer is screwed by most not having a charger at home (apartments, people who park on street etc.)</p>
<p>I’m all for MINI to do this, but even ignoring the troubles in China, they spec’ed a car that would have been competitive 3-4 years ago. Now, it’s an also ran…..</p>