Mini Cooper EV | Better With A Battery

We review the 2020 Mini Cooper SE, a pure electric plug-in vehicle. It seems in America Mini has been left in limbo yet this may be the brand to take all-electric. So take a journey and discover the good and bad of one of the more interesting and affordable EVs available. While Tesla commands all the attention in the Electric segment, other cars to consider are the Mazda3, Hyundai Ioniq, Honda Civic, and Corolla.

#cars #ev #electric
Music @alanfowlermusic

Index:
00:00 - 00:45 Intro
00:45 - 4:03 Interior Impressions
4:03 - 7:42 Mechanicals, Suspension, and Underbody
7:42 - 14:19 Driving Impressions
14:19 Final Thoughts

[AproposAndy]

I appreciate the perspective coming from you. At the end of the day a lot of us TOUGH CAR GUYS that are lucky enough to have multiple cars in the driveway will need something to put commuter miles on, and a small 2 door electric hatchback fits the bill so well. If VW could remake the beetle into a rear drive electric car with enough range for a day trip and enough go to giggle over, then I could be the tree hugging hippie I knew I was meant to be.

[quackman]

I like how EV cars almost always get silly with the wheels... these "crucifix" wheels are great.

Love the long takes you do, not all chopped up editing, especially the driving sequences!

[TheMachRider]

Holy shit dude, are you an oldschool gamer at heart? Phantasy Star battle theme in a Mini Cooper EV review..??

Your music transitions sometimes are really oldschool games... always catches me off guard. Just another small part of what makes this my favorite automotive channel.

[mmeya]

You forgot to tell people to subscribe! I think it works, I saw the subs from 380k to 401k quickly after you tell people to sub.

[officialyasir]

Fun fact: the wheels were originally called Corona but of course they quickly changed the name after the whole virus thing

[hypnotoad]

Good callout on the point of consumables. It's often repeated by pro-ev people that EV's "don't need maintenance" which is a generally false statement. However, they do need significantly less maintenance; the best benefit being no engine oil changes, no belts, no spark plugs, and no exhaust issues. In checking the service schedule for most EV's, you still have to flush and swap the transmission fluid and battery coolant around every 100, 000 miles or so. Brake wear and tear is slower, but they do still have to be serviced eventually.

[Muffinman]

I cannot wait to see your Tesla videos. I know you tend to have a more traditional enthusiast's view on cars, but your attention to detail and the technical side of things is unmatched on YouTube! Hope we can learn a lot from those videos!

[Saxafruge]

Great video .. lookin forward to the EV series!

[AnalogueKid]

RE: brake rotor rust in the Midwest. I’ve been driving a Ford Focus Electric for the past four years in Ohio. I’ve never had an issue with the brakes because this and other EVs use the friction brakes for the last few mph before stopping. It is much smoother and prevents rolling back. This means they get used every single time you drive (even with max regeneration) and don’t have issues with sticky calipers and such that you suggested in the shop. Great review overall.

[davidtaylor]

I've just watched a YouTube video where the owner managed 170 miles out of this very model. This was in the rural back-lane's of Norfolk, England. He set regen' braking to minimum for a smoother drivetrain. The wheels are styled to echo that of a 230 volt U.K. wall-plug.

[colingoldthorpe]

I own three Mini Coopers a 2012 Cooper S, 2013 Paceman S All4 and a 2015 Cooper convertible. When people say why my simple answer is there fun, they dont look like every CRV/Rav4 get good gas mileage yep some thing are just plain stupid but that's the character of a Mini. Will always have one in my garage, they just make you smile unlike 90% of all other vehicles. i came from an Ram 1500 and Ford F150...

[EVfella]

Chevy Bolt driver here, the brakes are a non-issue as mentioned before, neither are fluid changes. The only scheduled maintenance from the factory is a battery heating - cooling fluid change at 120k miles, other than that its virtually maintenance-free. That said a mini cooper on the bolt platform would totally rock, biggest complaint on the Bolt are the seats, and the top speed limited to 92mph.

[bradcomis]

Nice to finally see a Mini review on the channel! This review is a lot more positive than I expected. Comments on the video: Minis are usually 2nd cars anyhow, so nothing new there. It would have been cool if you could have taken this thing into Chicago to blast through traffic. That's where these tiny cars really come to life- in the tight corners and blasting and in and out through heavy traffic.

[emptyspace]

I really hope this reflects a direction that the EV market can go. I understand the larger the car, the larger the battery, and therefore the longer the range. However, when the world becomes 100% electrified I hope to be able to drive a small, nimble EV with minimal tech, instead of a bloated beast like all the electric SUV's and trucks that manufacturers are creating these days.

[tbreit]

"Green"? That is PNEUMONIA VOMIT YELLOW!

[a.e.w.]

I test drove this car a few weeks back. Very impressed with the overall design, once the real-world range can get above 150 miles I will be buying this car. I am crossing my fingers that BMW will be upgrading the batteries in the coming years. As an 8 year EV driver, this car really intrigues me all that's missing is a better range capability.

[smilingsatan]

Amazing review as always. One quick point, the EV range in the winter is severely compromised. Up here in the north, from November to March, the range takes a hit of almost 40%. That a 44 mile hit.

[MatthewGaither]

Not going to lie, after this review I am more impressed by this little car than I thought I would be. I saw one of these in a local dealership and if you can live with the short range then this would probably be an ideal commuter car.

[gregnote]

Great review as always. I wanted to buy Mini SE as I have less than 10 mile commute. Had an electrician ready to installer a home charger too. But the dealer experience was terrible. Very disappointed. So I got a Mazda MX5 instead. It is also a fun car.

[dbajonr]

The tunnel with the big T shaped piece is a battery too. I really don't get the hate on the range. It is a perfect second car.