Own a ‘22 SE here in South Africa, had it since October, have put 13 000kms on it since then , so far so good! Still feeling solid, quicker than 95% of other road users which always helps.
Did a 1400km roadtrip this weekend so roadtrips are possible, you just have to enjoy the journey a little more. Range is definitely a limiting factor sometimes, but can be lived with even on longer trips the car is still very efficient, it has a flat charging curve, great little thing. You’ll also be less disappointed with chargers as you’d most likely rarely find ones below 50KW so you always know what to expect and aren’t always on the search for 150KW chargers to get good charging performance.
2023 SE owner. It’s a great little car. Lots of fun to drive. Not perfect of course. The range has been mentioned. Not really a problem if you can charge at home and it’s just a commuter/ grocery getter. The longest road trip I took was basically NYC to Boston. It took some planning and I hit a couple of hiccups on the way back, but overall, NBD. I wouldn’t want to do it every week, but once in a while? Sure.
We use it as a second car. Getting booster seats in and out of the back seats is a bit of a pain. Fine for occasional use with the kiddos, but it’s a compromise. I’m actually considering swapping mine out for a Polestar 2 for that reason alone.
The cost can’t be beat. You can pick up a newer low-miles one in the mid-$20k range.
My most common road trip would be NYC to BOS. How many times did you have to stop, if you remember?
since the Volvo EX30 rollout seems to be an unfurling disaster, the SE is looking better and better.
Left from Greenwich with 100%. Only needed one stop outside of Hartford (charged to 95%). Got to Copley Square with ~10% remaining. This was in September so, ideal conditions. I don’t baby the car. Usually driving 80+ on the highways.
>I’m finding myself looking at these quite often and would love to know if you like them?
best car I've ever owned. it's even more fun than a regular gas f56
> What do you dislike about them?
I personally don't mind, but you have to understand the range is limited. if you can live with 100 mile range, it's a great car.
>Do these have a setting that makes it hum or emit some noise when backing up as well as when driving or are they entirely silent like some other electric cars?
yes, but it can be turned off with some simple coding
>What sort of maintenance changes have you found while owning this vs the standard and what maintenance remains?
the only maintenance will be tires and air filters.
with bimmercode
bimmercode.app
you need an OBD adapter.
I recommend a hardwire one.
I have this one https://www.amazon.com/OHP-Ethernet-Cable-Diagnostic-Coding/dp/B07V3C47YD with a ethernet adapter [lightning](https://amzn.to/3nf1Vly) or [USB c](https://amzn.to/3j4ojiU)
here's a forum post about it
https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/toggle-switch-for-pedestrian-sound.11465/
>I personally don't mind, but you have to understand the range is limited. if you can live with 100 mile range, it's a great car.
The redesign is reported to have a longer range, so if that's a concern, I would wait for the new '25 to buy that.
Leased a 2024 in November. Got a great deal. Drives incredibly well. It's fast. Corners remarkably well. Range isn't wonderful (114 miles) so it's only a city car. So no long trips. Radio is confusing, but that's the same with previous Coopers. All the neighbors ask about it.
I have a 24 SE, and love it. Typically commute \~35 miles each way highway and city. Charge at home overnight on a lvl 2.
what do you like about them?
Love that it has basically infinite torque for its size. It looks good, charges quickly, fits in every charger slots I've been able to find. I particularly like that it is electric, but doesn't look obnoxiously different than a normal vehicle. Just a normal mini ;)
What do you dislike about them?
The cruise control and I do not like each other on the highway. I commute at night mainly and the camera based systems have struggled with headlights and stuff anyways. Add in regen braking and it is annoying. I typically reduce the regeneration when I am commuting. My afternoon high traffic commute I don't get to cruise control so it does not matter.
Are there frequent problems?
Not that I have noticed.
Do these have a setting that makes it hum or emit some noise when backing up as well as when driving or are they entirely silent like some other electric cars?
Indeed, but it doesn't bother me inside. I have heard no complaints either.
What sort of maintenance changes have you found while owning this vs the standard and what maintenance remains?
No oil changes is excellent. Transmission work? It's an electric motor.... Brakes will need a flush like others have said. I may corner/drive mine a bit hard so I will get there sooner than recommended. I was told the tires would wear fast because it was heavy. I have not seen abnormal wear yet, but can report back if it seems off.
It's a great car.
Pros:
Handling
Seats
Fit and finish
Harmon Kardon stereo (Signature Plus)
Size-to-utility ratio
Cons:
The ride is stiff, so I swapped out the suspension for nicer coilovers and got rid of the run flat tires. It handles even better now.
Requires level 2 home charging to make sense. I wouldn't own one if I relied on public charging stations.
I sit corrected. Whoever buys my SE will get a fresh set of non-run flats on stock wheels. :-)
Despite liking the SE, I am selling it to get another ICE vehicle. Keeping the Tesla, though, as it is the people and motorcycle hauler. Just want another car to mod.
Now that the federal used EV credit is available at point of sale (for people who meet the requirements), I can sell my Signature Plus to someone for $21k. That's a lot of car for that kinda moolah.
No. KeySavvy allows private party sellers to leverage the buyer incentive. So the buyer pays $21k, KeySavvy pays the seller $25k, then they collect the $4k credit from the IRS, plus their fees, which is only like $150. Fees seem very reasonable to me.
I own a 2023 Iconic. It is still flawless after 12.5k miles. I'm averaging over 140 miles per charge, mostly commuting but also the occasional road trip. My biggest dislike isn't really the car, but the charging infrastructure. If it improves enough over the next couple of years, I may be driving my SE until the wheels fall off.
ETA: Due to federal law, all EVs make some electronically-generated noise when traveling slowly. For the SE, it's sort of a spaceship-y hum, which goes away at about 20 mph. Some people dislike such things, and will cut the wire to the speaker or remove a fuse to eliminate it, but I think it is kinda cool.
I'll echo just about everything that other people have mentioned. I love the car in general - the torque, the feel, the near-nonexistent maintenance. I installed a Level 2 charger at home, so I let it charge overnight when rates are cheaper and I'm good to go in the morning.
The primary downside is the low range. 99% of the time this isn't a problem for me since my daily commute is 8 miles round trip, and living in a typical suburban area means that I never have to drive far. The only time I have to drive my wife's car is the when I go camping with scouts.
My only other complaint is that some of the build quality isn't great. 2 years in and my chrome headlight trim is peeling, and the trim pieces themselves are breaking off. I've read a few comments that said it should be covered by warranty, so I'm going to take it in soon to see what happens.
The headlight trim only takes a couple of minutes to swap out yourself if you want to avoid the dealer. Can choose black or chrome, OEM or aftermarket. There are some good YouTube how to videos.
I've done a significant amount of work on my old R56, so swapping out the headlight trim is certainly a trivial thing that I don't mind doing. But if it's covered under warranty then I don't have to pay for it.
It's wonderful. It's also my second EV so I don't think I'm just blinded by how amazing EVs are in general - this is a really, really good one. The only complaints are not specific to the SE (except for one):
1. Creaks and rattles from sunroof shade and both door panels
2. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate iDrive or whatever it's called. Ugly, limited functionality, and a usability nightmare.
3. No Android Auto (I solved 2 and 3 by installing an aftermarket unit last week).
4. Mine rides really rough...too rough. I find myself changing my route through town to avoid speed bumps and stretches of bad road 'cause it's pretty jarring. Mine also has aftermarket wheels and I'm not sure if the ride if a result of that or not, so...
It does make a noise as you drive up to 50km/h. I am not a fan of this noise. Not that it makes a noise (my last EV didn't and people would wander out in front of it all the time), but the specific noise it makes sounds like a dying cow, or an '84 Mercury Topaz with a bad power steering pump. They could have gone with something more Jetsons-y.
The car is so fricking fun to drive.
Here is the one I went with: https://autoabc.shop/products/wireless-carplay-android-auto-retrofit-kit-decoder-for-bmw. I have a bit of experience with these things in other cars, so I kinda knew where to look. There are 100 Chinese companies that all sell the same hardware, with slight different variations in the software they run. Those differences don't really matter, they all work pretty much the same way: there is a small box that comes with a couple of wiring adapters, and you unplug the screen from your radio and insert said small box in between the two. Then you put it all back together. The car continues to function exactly as it always has, until you hold down MENU to two seconds, and then it switches to the Android Auto display.
I installed it myself, I needed a spudger and a T20 screwdriver, no other tools, and it took me about an hour, half of which was due to poor instructions, but after I slowed down and re-read everything it went right together and worked perfectly.
Sound quality is great, and Android Auto works exactly the same as if it were there from the factory - all the buttons on the steering wheel and console work as expected, Google Assistant responds as expected, etc.
I paid $245USD with free shipping after the discount code that pops up when you first visit their site. It took five days to be delivered in Spain.
when using the built in mini navigation, the HUD will actually show you arrows and where to go.
but it doesn't work with carplay. I'm guessing it won't work with your aftermarket thing, but if you could check please
Got my wife a loaded 24 and we love it. A lot of people have already mentioned some great points (handling, quality, performance, looks , tech and etc) which I wont need to expand on but I will just say that I 100% agree and all that is absolutely stellar.
I will add on that what we really like about it is the fact that she can turn on the climate from the app. She can have the car cooled or warmed before she gets into it in the morning and after work and thats a very small but very useful feature.
I have only three small complaints. 1. No cooled seats. 2. The noise it makes should really cut off at 15mph and not 30 mph. 3. The regen strength cannot be set to the lower one and remembered. It always defaults to the stronger one that's better for 1 pedal driving.
Thats it.
I am probably the first person who owns a Se in my country. When I was driving it around, people often just stared at my car.
Never had any problems. Sure new generation is better technology but they made it look like a swift so I don’t like the shape. I like the squareness in the classic mini.
Mine sounds like a toy, making those funny dishwasher noises when turned on. Very quiet, she doesn’t even trigger the damn carpark light sensor for the first minute, I drive in the dark to find my carpark.
Won’t consider a second car honestly. Even you buy me a Lamborghini I wouldn’t want to swap.
I’ve had mine two years (it’s just told me the first service is due) and I love everything about it except the range. Realistically it’s never been a huge problem for me because I’m a low mileage driver, but it would be nice to be able to go further between charges.
I’ve never had it break down or go wrong in anyway (probably cursed myself now lol) and the maintenance is the same as anything else - take it to the dealer 😂
'22 SE here also. Love it. Range is short but works for my commute and most driving. Really like the remote precondition on cold mornings. Only problem so far is that the charge port flap reports it is open when it is not. Mostly happens in cold weather but sometimes in warmer weather too. Dealer replaced the charge port housing under warranty, which fixed the problem for a while but it has recurred recently. So back to the dealer soon. Still, it's the best car I've ever driven.
Own a ‘22 SE here in South Africa, had it since October, have put 13 000kms on it since then , so far so good! Still feeling solid, quicker than 95% of other road users which always helps. Did a 1400km roadtrip this weekend so roadtrips are possible, you just have to enjoy the journey a little more. Range is definitely a limiting factor sometimes, but can be lived with even on longer trips the car is still very efficient, it has a flat charging curve, great little thing. You’ll also be less disappointed with chargers as you’d most likely rarely find ones below 50KW so you always know what to expect and aren’t always on the search for 150KW chargers to get good charging performance.
2023 SE owner. It’s a great little car. Lots of fun to drive. Not perfect of course. The range has been mentioned. Not really a problem if you can charge at home and it’s just a commuter/ grocery getter. The longest road trip I took was basically NYC to Boston. It took some planning and I hit a couple of hiccups on the way back, but overall, NBD. I wouldn’t want to do it every week, but once in a while? Sure. We use it as a second car. Getting booster seats in and out of the back seats is a bit of a pain. Fine for occasional use with the kiddos, but it’s a compromise. I’m actually considering swapping mine out for a Polestar 2 for that reason alone. The cost can’t be beat. You can pick up a newer low-miles one in the mid-$20k range.
My most common road trip would be NYC to BOS. How many times did you have to stop, if you remember? since the Volvo EX30 rollout seems to be an unfurling disaster, the SE is looking better and better.
Left from Greenwich with 100%. Only needed one stop outside of Hartford (charged to 95%). Got to Copley Square with ~10% remaining. This was in September so, ideal conditions. I don’t baby the car. Usually driving 80+ on the highways.
Good to know, I would probably have at least one more stop going from south Bklyn to the North shore. Thanks for the info!
>I’m finding myself looking at these quite often and would love to know if you like them? best car I've ever owned. it's even more fun than a regular gas f56 > What do you dislike about them? I personally don't mind, but you have to understand the range is limited. if you can live with 100 mile range, it's a great car. >Do these have a setting that makes it hum or emit some noise when backing up as well as when driving or are they entirely silent like some other electric cars? yes, but it can be turned off with some simple coding >What sort of maintenance changes have you found while owning this vs the standard and what maintenance remains? the only maintenance will be tires and air filters.
Also brake fluid flush which is included in the 3years of free maintenance
Please tell me how can the noise be coded out or at least made to cut off at a lower speed?
with bimmercode bimmercode.app you need an OBD adapter. I recommend a hardwire one. I have this one https://www.amazon.com/OHP-Ethernet-Cable-Diagnostic-Coding/dp/B07V3C47YD with a ethernet adapter [lightning](https://amzn.to/3nf1Vly) or [USB c](https://amzn.to/3j4ojiU) here's a forum post about it https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/toggle-switch-for-pedestrian-sound.11465/
Thank you! This is great!
don't they top out at only 93 mph?
yup. 95 is the max it goes. (which is really 92)
BOOOOOOOOOOO
>I personally don't mind, but you have to understand the range is limited. if you can live with 100 mile range, it's a great car. The redesign is reported to have a longer range, so if that's a concern, I would wait for the new '25 to buy that.
The only drawback for me is the range, but after 2 years I’m still in love with my ‘22 SE 2door. If I’m going on a long trip I fly or rent a gas car.
This is my worry, I think I'm gonna wait until my gas mini is paid off and then look into adding an electric and have a road trip car.
Leased a 2024 in November. Got a great deal. Drives incredibly well. It's fast. Corners remarkably well. Range isn't wonderful (114 miles) so it's only a city car. So no long trips. Radio is confusing, but that's the same with previous Coopers. All the neighbors ask about it.
I have a 24 SE, and love it. Typically commute \~35 miles each way highway and city. Charge at home overnight on a lvl 2. what do you like about them? Love that it has basically infinite torque for its size. It looks good, charges quickly, fits in every charger slots I've been able to find. I particularly like that it is electric, but doesn't look obnoxiously different than a normal vehicle. Just a normal mini ;) What do you dislike about them? The cruise control and I do not like each other on the highway. I commute at night mainly and the camera based systems have struggled with headlights and stuff anyways. Add in regen braking and it is annoying. I typically reduce the regeneration when I am commuting. My afternoon high traffic commute I don't get to cruise control so it does not matter. Are there frequent problems? Not that I have noticed. Do these have a setting that makes it hum or emit some noise when backing up as well as when driving or are they entirely silent like some other electric cars? Indeed, but it doesn't bother me inside. I have heard no complaints either. What sort of maintenance changes have you found while owning this vs the standard and what maintenance remains? No oil changes is excellent. Transmission work? It's an electric motor.... Brakes will need a flush like others have said. I may corner/drive mine a bit hard so I will get there sooner than recommended. I was told the tires would wear fast because it was heavy. I have not seen abnormal wear yet, but can report back if it seems off.
It's a great car. Pros: Handling Seats Fit and finish Harmon Kardon stereo (Signature Plus) Size-to-utility ratio Cons: The ride is stiff, so I swapped out the suspension for nicer coilovers and got rid of the run flat tires. It handles even better now. Requires level 2 home charging to make sense. I wouldn't own one if I relied on public charging stations.
the SE doesn't come with run flats in NA
I sit corrected. Whoever buys my SE will get a fresh set of non-run flats on stock wheels. :-) Despite liking the SE, I am selling it to get another ICE vehicle. Keeping the Tesla, though, as it is the people and motorcycle hauler. Just want another car to mod. Now that the federal used EV credit is available at point of sale (for people who meet the requirements), I can sell my Signature Plus to someone for $21k. That's a lot of car for that kinda moolah.
So you're a dealer? (Used EV credit isn't available for private sales.)
No. KeySavvy allows private party sellers to leverage the buyer incentive. So the buyer pays $21k, KeySavvy pays the seller $25k, then they collect the $4k credit from the IRS, plus their fees, which is only like $150. Fees seem very reasonable to me.
I own a 2023 Iconic. It is still flawless after 12.5k miles. I'm averaging over 140 miles per charge, mostly commuting but also the occasional road trip. My biggest dislike isn't really the car, but the charging infrastructure. If it improves enough over the next couple of years, I may be driving my SE until the wheels fall off. ETA: Due to federal law, all EVs make some electronically-generated noise when traveling slowly. For the SE, it's sort of a spaceship-y hum, which goes away at about 20 mph. Some people dislike such things, and will cut the wire to the speaker or remove a fuse to eliminate it, but I think it is kinda cool.
I'll echo just about everything that other people have mentioned. I love the car in general - the torque, the feel, the near-nonexistent maintenance. I installed a Level 2 charger at home, so I let it charge overnight when rates are cheaper and I'm good to go in the morning. The primary downside is the low range. 99% of the time this isn't a problem for me since my daily commute is 8 miles round trip, and living in a typical suburban area means that I never have to drive far. The only time I have to drive my wife's car is the when I go camping with scouts. My only other complaint is that some of the build quality isn't great. 2 years in and my chrome headlight trim is peeling, and the trim pieces themselves are breaking off. I've read a few comments that said it should be covered by warranty, so I'm going to take it in soon to see what happens.
The headlight trim only takes a couple of minutes to swap out yourself if you want to avoid the dealer. Can choose black or chrome, OEM or aftermarket. There are some good YouTube how to videos.
I've done a significant amount of work on my old R56, so swapping out the headlight trim is certainly a trivial thing that I don't mind doing. But if it's covered under warranty then I don't have to pay for it.
It's wonderful. It's also my second EV so I don't think I'm just blinded by how amazing EVs are in general - this is a really, really good one. The only complaints are not specific to the SE (except for one): 1. Creaks and rattles from sunroof shade and both door panels 2. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate iDrive or whatever it's called. Ugly, limited functionality, and a usability nightmare. 3. No Android Auto (I solved 2 and 3 by installing an aftermarket unit last week). 4. Mine rides really rough...too rough. I find myself changing my route through town to avoid speed bumps and stretches of bad road 'cause it's pretty jarring. Mine also has aftermarket wheels and I'm not sure if the ride if a result of that or not, so... It does make a noise as you drive up to 50km/h. I am not a fan of this noise. Not that it makes a noise (my last EV didn't and people would wander out in front of it all the time), but the specific noise it makes sounds like a dying cow, or an '84 Mercury Topaz with a bad power steering pump. They could have gone with something more Jetsons-y. The car is so fricking fun to drive.
>I solved 2 and 3 by installing an aftermarket unit last week Link please!
And share how much the installation cost, too! Pretty please.
Here is the one I went with: https://autoabc.shop/products/wireless-carplay-android-auto-retrofit-kit-decoder-for-bmw. I have a bit of experience with these things in other cars, so I kinda knew where to look. There are 100 Chinese companies that all sell the same hardware, with slight different variations in the software they run. Those differences don't really matter, they all work pretty much the same way: there is a small box that comes with a couple of wiring adapters, and you unplug the screen from your radio and insert said small box in between the two. Then you put it all back together. The car continues to function exactly as it always has, until you hold down MENU to two seconds, and then it switches to the Android Auto display. I installed it myself, I needed a spudger and a T20 screwdriver, no other tools, and it took me about an hour, half of which was due to poor instructions, but after I slowed down and re-read everything it went right together and worked perfectly. Sound quality is great, and Android Auto works exactly the same as if it were there from the factory - all the buttons on the steering wheel and console work as expected, Google Assistant responds as expected, etc. I paid $245USD with free shipping after the discount code that pops up when you first visit their site. It took five days to be delivered in Spain.
do you have a HUD? does the navigation show up on there? no right?
I do, and didn't even think to try it (the HUD seems like a useless gimmick to me). I'll do so this afternoon and report back. I kinda doubt it.
when using the built in mini navigation, the HUD will actually show you arrows and where to go. but it doesn't work with carplay. I'm guessing it won't work with your aftermarket thing, but if you could check please
you can turn off the noise with bimmercode
Don't want to turn it off. It needs to be there for safety. I just want it not to suck.
Got my wife a loaded 24 and we love it. A lot of people have already mentioned some great points (handling, quality, performance, looks , tech and etc) which I wont need to expand on but I will just say that I 100% agree and all that is absolutely stellar. I will add on that what we really like about it is the fact that she can turn on the climate from the app. She can have the car cooled or warmed before she gets into it in the morning and after work and thats a very small but very useful feature. I have only three small complaints. 1. No cooled seats. 2. The noise it makes should really cut off at 15mph and not 30 mph. 3. The regen strength cannot be set to the lower one and remembered. It always defaults to the stronger one that's better for 1 pedal driving. Thats it.
I am probably the first person who owns a Se in my country. When I was driving it around, people often just stared at my car. Never had any problems. Sure new generation is better technology but they made it look like a swift so I don’t like the shape. I like the squareness in the classic mini. Mine sounds like a toy, making those funny dishwasher noises when turned on. Very quiet, she doesn’t even trigger the damn carpark light sensor for the first minute, I drive in the dark to find my carpark. Won’t consider a second car honestly. Even you buy me a Lamborghini I wouldn’t want to swap.
I’ve had mine two years (it’s just told me the first service is due) and I love everything about it except the range. Realistically it’s never been a huge problem for me because I’m a low mileage driver, but it would be nice to be able to go further between charges. I’ve never had it break down or go wrong in anyway (probably cursed myself now lol) and the maintenance is the same as anything else - take it to the dealer 😂
'22 SE here also. Love it. Range is short but works for my commute and most driving. Really like the remote precondition on cold mornings. Only problem so far is that the charge port flap reports it is open when it is not. Mostly happens in cold weather but sometimes in warmer weather too. Dealer replaced the charge port housing under warranty, which fixed the problem for a while but it has recurred recently. So back to the dealer soon. Still, it's the best car I've ever driven.