My car is here but only sort of ordered it, torn

I haven't heard of anyone paying less than MSRP, MINI can't seem to make the SE fast enough for the demand.

I believe pretty much everyone is getting far above the 110 miles per charge that is the official rating. Personally I'm now able to go 40 miles and only use 25% charge, by changing what route I take. But when I want to have fun I still get over 100 miles per charge. The MINI SE seems to be one of the more efficient EVs available.

The SE is more fun to drive than any MINI I've been in, and I've owned four S models previously. If you like driving a MINI, you'll love the SE. It accelerates faster, stops quicker, and corners better than the ICE version. The smaller battery (compared to other EVs) actually is an advantage for handling. The smaller battery charges more quickly, so unless you drive long hauls it's a great EV choice.

If you're happy with the configuration I don't think you'll be disappointed. Or you could order exactly what you want and wait, or look around to see what others are available. The SE comes up for sale here and there from orders that fall through. Really, though, the differences in the trim levels are not extremely different so I think it comes down to personal preference. The performance is the same across all levels.

 

I've got one on order and recently did a two day test drive of the car and wrote down my impressions:

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/minis-se-test-drive-impressions.9861/

It's a lovely drive. Very sporty and fun. If your wife likes driving Minis then she won't be disappointed with this. It's got great speed and acceleration and handles beautifully with the lower centre of gravity. I go into the driving experience more in the thread above. Range is variable but the general consensus seems to be that many people are getting above the 110 mile quoted range unless they are really driving it hard in sports mode a lot. A lot of range test videos can be found on Youtube demonstrating this. Drawbacks? Apart from range, which is shorter than many other EVs on the market, the obvious one is storage space / carrying capacity but who buys a Mini for that?

I haven't heard of anyone getting these below MSRP. Demand seems to be very high and your dealer obviously isn't worried about selling it if you decide to pass.

 

Tell us about the unconfirmed upgrades so we can kibitz on those.

I got the nearly-full-boat Iconic (I didn't pop for the $500 black seats) and I think it's worth every MSRP penny. I assume you can take advantage of the $7,500 fed EV tax credit (do you know about moving IRAs to Roth IRAs?).

There was one expensive downside: I had to order a new MINI Cooper hood without a hood scoop and have it painted and installed by a body shop because an electric car doesn't need a hood scoop. You may feel differently about the fake hood scoop.

 

The SE is a fast car and very well built. I've driven it for over 1100 miles and its just amazing. I drive mostly on the highway at 75- 80 mph and get around 105 miles of range. The predicted miles is always conservative.
I did get $1600 off MSRP by playing two MINI dealers against each other in July. But I live in a state that provides no incentives for EV's. In states that provide incentives to buy EV's, I've seen dealers sell at or near MSRP.

 

"Had to"

 

How did you play dealers off each other given how Mini sets up their ordering system?

 

I am a couple weeks out from production so I am in the do or forget it time. What about the Iconic level do you think is the best feature that makes it worth it? Every once in a while I think I should jump but I cannot use the charger, and didn't love the HUD. Mostly crowd sourcing to make sure I did pick right for me.

 

By contacting them before you place the $500 deposit..

 

I personally find the HUD very useful, a lot of info shows up there. The 8.8" navigation display is a big change over the 6.5" display. There's also the addition of front parking distance control to keep from hitting things pulling forward, and parking assist which I haven't used yet. I also wanted the power spoke wheels, which are only available with Iconic, as is the Enigmatic Black color.

$3000 extra for the Iconic Trim over the Signature Plus isn't too great, considering the extras.

 

Your last sentence is why I'm still at the Sig Plus. The HUD was just at an odd height for me. I do want BRG and black wheels. Black leather too. I'm not sure how much front sensors and a larger screen are worth to me though

 

It probably doesn't matter now if you've already put your order in but did you try adjusting the HUD display through the settings menu? It wasn't until I adjusted the HUD display to the correct position that I truly started to appreciate how useful a tool it is.

 

The salesperson did try to help adjust it. It still felt low. Things to ponder in my last weeks before the build starts. (I can make changes up until it goes into production)

 

I agree with @Puppethead's order of value of the Iconic exclusives. I went with Moonwalk Grey rather than Enigmatic Black only because I'm too lazy to wash my car as often as that color would demand due to my poor SE being parked outside.

My wife and I like the Satellite Grey Chesterfield Leather seats very much. The Iconic trim's anthracite black headliner would make the interior very dark if I had deleted the sunroof so I don't think that's an advantage over the white headliner of the lower-level trims. I guess MINI considers the black headliner more luxurious.

When I was taking delivery of my SE, I asked my MA if she had used the Parking Assist feature when she went through SE training in California. "Yes, it's terrifying!" she replied. I waited to try it until this weekend, after I had switched from the Power Spoke wheels to my used Loop Spoke winter wheels. It IS terrifying!

I pulled up next to a Ford F150 pickup and activated the Parking Assist. The first time I tried I couldn't keep my hands off the steering wheel and Parking Assist aborted and scolded me for touching the wheel. I held my breath and tried it again. It was scary watching how close to the truck it came as it was backing my SE into the space behind. However, after coming so close to the truck, Parking Assist left me further behind the truck than I expected. It switched from Reverse to Drive and instructed me to use the accelerator to pull closer.

I haven't decided if I'll try to overcome my fear of Parking Assist or just keep parallel parking the way I always have. I'd prefer to have Adaptive Cruise Control, but I've read that the Adaptive Cruise Control MINI offers on other models isn't very good. I'd try learning to trust the Parking Assist just so I can terrify my friends, but driving with friends is a fading memory these days.

 

Thank you for your thoughts! Maybe we need a "is this level worth it thread" lol

I'm dead set on green. It's what I've always wanted on a car and on Minis it's just right. I actually do not want the power spoke wheels either. I would do the black leather as well. I wear jeans all the time and I already made the mistake of light leather in a car prior to my current Mini. I currently have the lighter head trim and I'm indifferent. I do have black accents instead of the lighter gray.

The Park assist intrigues me, but I only park at one friend's house on the street regularly. We're suburbanites who have driveways or at least light street parking. The tech fun does draw me in though. But I suppose it's the, is it worth $3k more?

 

@interestedinEV, please tell us about the difference between what you thought you ordered and what the dealer actually ordered.

 

Are you thinking of taking the car? I must say after spending time with each interior, I find the upgraded leathers to be worth it! Though if it isn't what you really wanted that does make it harder. I would bargain to remove the cost or similar.

 

Once I decided on Iconic trim, I had no choice but to get the MINI Yours black leather interior and black headliner. When I ordered there were no other options for Iconic.

And I have to say, I love the leather interior. It's incredibly soft. And since I have the moonroof I don't find the black headliner to be an issue. My all-black interior doesn't get any hotter than my previous gray interior with light headliner. In the hot sun I try to always open the moonroof to vent the car.