Thanks for the data. I daily drive an SE. Some mornings it is 0 degrees farenheit and i wear layers to keep the heat pump on low. Definitely some range loss but on the flip side, the best fwd car ive ever driven in the snow, it just wants to keep pointing in the direction you want to go, really fun :)
Biggest range loss comes from lower battery voltage and increased internal resistance due to being cold (=slower chemical processes), mostly not heat pump unless you set it to 28 deg C. Don't torture yourself. Green mode also helps.
Thanks, that checks out, a garage to keep the mass of the battery warmer would probably do some good on the frigid morning drive. Im assuming green mode would simply keep the heat pump in its lowest mode? And, a question in case you happen to know, is there an unconditioned air setting (other than opening a window)? It seems like it must always be conditioning either warmer or cooler and i like a little fresh air but dont want to always use the heat pump.. just curious
@@Arrlidge no problem. You can also precondition the car. Mini Connected app should also be able to control that remotely (app not available where I live so I’m not sure). You can also preset that from My Mini menu. I think best use is preconditioning with your car plugged-in in your garage. For unconditioned air you can either use Green+ mode or alternatively, especially if you don’t like slow responding pedal in that mode you can set lowest possible temp 16C. If outside air is above that system will disable heating function. Is heating function of front seats available in your car? They say it’s much more efficient than air-conditioning. They’re very effective
Subscribed 👍 just a trick about running the heater while fast charging: Turn off the car completely. Then switch on and put into ready drive mode. Then heating / cooling function works. Warning: just switching on is not sufficient.
Very detailed and informative video, as always, Martin - great work 😎 But, being an i3 owner, I was surprised that, despite using lots of shared tech, the i3 struggles with keeping the cabin warm whilst on charge - even my old Leaf was able to do that...! 😮
A great video Martin. Very informative and easy to understand for a novice like me. I look forward to more details on running your Mini E. Seems perfect for city dwellers. I have yet to take the plunge to an EV. 😁
Thanks for the video - interesting content. My MINI SE seems to work quite well in the cold weather but I only charge at 7kW during the night. The biggest problem I have is removing the charging plug when it is freezing. The locking mechanism doesn't always release so I have to keep a hair dryer handy for those occasions when it is stuck.
I bought 9" x 11" magnetic sheet material to stick over the charging port overnight when its freezing rain or similar. After i broke the latch prying it open :)
Thanks for the info sir. But where i come from 3 C is balmy. Winter nights typically -25 C. Btw most li ion batteries are allowing to charge down to 0 C at the 2 hour rate.
It also helps that the mini E comes with heat pump as standard on all trim levels. I have a mini 1.5, 3 door at the moment. The range would be fine for me, as I don't travel that far. This is the first video I have watched from you, but do you think the ride is comfortable? My petrol mini is very uncomfortable! Even considering the VW E Golf as that seems a nicer ride. I will have to take them both out for a test drive. Ultimately, I am a mini fan though👍
It drives like a regular MINI - firm and sporty but not unbearable in my opinion. If you don’t like the ride of your petrol one, I don’t think this would be much different. (More videos on it coming soon.) Maybe consider the BMW i3?
@@MartinKarel Thanks for getting back to me. I look forward to your upcoming videos. I have subscribed to you aswell 👍Not really a fan of the i3. My neighbours have one. They are happy with it, but the narrow tyres don't do it for me. When the next version of the mini comes out, the current one will probably come down in price a bit more. We will see. Some other reviews have mentioned the ride height is higher on the electric mini, to protect the battery pack. Its disguised by extending the plastic wheel arches. Keep up the good work 👏
You have a different definition of "cold" than I do. When planning my winter biking I decided I needed to be able to operate at -20C to make it worthwhile. The transition seasons are actually worse than -20C for the bicycle: ice/salt on the roads. The city stops salting at -20C.
I got around 160km of range in the winter with this car. I liked the handling of the car and the seats were nice for my body. But I could not stand to have do daily charge my car at public charger :/
The range definitely limits who the MINI Electric is suitable for, but I have to rely exclusively on public chargers as well and so far it has actually been much less problematic than initially expected. (I do very low mileage though.)
@@MartinKarel yeah, I wish I had waited a while buying it, since today we have the generation 2 of the Mini Cooper with 54kWh battery (mine was the 32kWh), so I think that one had worked much better. The new one has also a stronger motor. Not sure about battery preheater, but I think it has.
Sorry but know it’s not good in the cold. I have the face lifted 2022 model and love in Norway, I love the car but when the temp drops the minis range and charging crashes. I needs battery preconditioning, that would make a huge difference, like it does in our iX.
Very cool, what app do you use to read OBD values? FYI, Tesla is actually heating up the battery at DC chargers to around 50°C. Not sure if it's really required, sometimes I would rather spend a few minutes more while charging, rather than hurting the battery with such high temperatures.
It's an app called the mi3 - originally designed for the BMW i3 but because the MINI basically shares the same comms / sub-systems, it works without any hiccups. The temperature also depends on battery chemistry. But Tesla is the one brand I would trust with batteries. Yes, they push them right to the limit, but that's because they have so much experience that they know where the limit actually is.
@@CastleKnight7 Many of them simply ran out of charge waiting for the charger. It's a problem for Apt dwellers living in a city with no option to charge overnight and having to park outside. My Chevy Bolt definitely does better parked in our heated garage than sitting outside in 10F.
Ehm. Exactly. But starting at 3 ºC and reaching a peak charge rating of ~ 1.4 C in a matter of minutes without any battery pre-heating is impressive (especially considering that the MINI uses technology at least one or two generations behind the latest and greatest). You can look at Teslas with LFP packs to see the opposite end of the spectrum.
@@MartinKarel yeh but the thing is that's not ideal thermal management, other EVs coldgate when under roughly 14°c because they want to prolong the life of the battery. Cramming electrons in at 1.4c at low temperatures causes unnecessary battery degradation. Not a feature - a design flaw.
@@SustainableGal The Mini SE has a CATL battery compared to the older Samsung product on the i3. I'd guess CATL as a leading battery manufacturer knows how to program their BMS to optimal performance, they don't want to screw their customers (BMW) and more importantly, their potential customers worldwide.
@@pqvid fair point, is the BMS made & programmed by CATL thou? Be interesting to know, coz usually its the electrical drive system designers that decide how it would be programmed. Great to know it's CATL cells thou, at least they'll put up with any abuse (if the BMS was programmed by BMW which I'm guessing it was)
This is the "previous generation" 2021 vehicle - codenamed F56. The 2024 model year car is built on a completely different bespoke EV platform in China and carries the J01 designation.
Yes, but don’t quite understand the question. Like in a car with a combustion engine, those controls only affect the cabin heating / cooling. The battery thermal management is completely independent and works automatically in the background, regardless of the cabin preferences.
Assuming the controls are the same here as the i3 [the screen UI is the same function for the aux heating] then the 'round knobs' or in fact the climate buttons only fire up the fans if the car has been turned off and plugged in. You have to drill down a couple of layers to turn on the heating - the trick is to catch the 'goodbye screen' where you can activate the heating with a twist and OK but you have to be quick about it.
What do you mean? Your electricity prices are among the lowest in Europe, currently I see 0.32-0.35€ for DC quick charging at superchargers. The chargers are plentiful and well-maintaned. I always show NL as an example of how it should be done. At the same time, gas is around 2.00€ - so to match this Mini SE costs (16kWh/100km, at 0.35€) you would need to be at around 2.8L/100km. I guess you would consistently run twice, if not 3 times, the cost of the electric Mini in a gas equivalent.
Its ok to not want an ev, dont let the internet shame you. The throttle response is surprisingly super fun but definitely doesnt have the horsepower of a boosted ice
Thanks for the data.
I daily drive an SE. Some mornings it is 0 degrees farenheit and i wear layers to keep the heat pump on low. Definitely some range loss but on the flip side, the best fwd car ive ever driven in the snow, it just wants to keep pointing in the direction you want to go, really fun :)
Biggest range loss comes from lower battery voltage and increased internal resistance due to being cold (=slower chemical processes), mostly not heat pump unless you set it to 28 deg C. Don't torture yourself. Green mode also helps.
Thanks, that checks out, a garage to keep the mass of the battery warmer would probably do some good on the frigid morning drive.
Im assuming green mode would simply keep the heat pump in its lowest mode?
And, a question in case you happen to know, is there an unconditioned air setting (other than opening a window)? It seems like it must always be conditioning either warmer or cooler and i like a little fresh air but dont want to always use the heat pump.. just curious
@@Arrlidge no problem. You can also precondition the car. Mini Connected app should also be able to control that remotely (app not available where I live so I’m not sure). You can also preset that from My Mini menu. I think best use is preconditioning with your car plugged-in in your garage. For unconditioned air you can either use Green+ mode or alternatively, especially if you don’t like slow responding pedal in that mode you can set lowest possible temp 16C. If outside air is above that system will disable heating function. Is heating function of front seats available in your car? They say it’s much more efficient than air-conditioning. They’re very effective
Subscribed 👍 just a trick about running the heater while fast charging: Turn off the car completely. Then switch on and put into ready drive mode. Then heating / cooling function works. Warning: just switching on is not sufficient.
Very detailed and informative video, as always, Martin - great work 😎
But, being an i3 owner, I was surprised that, despite using lots of shared tech, the i3 struggles with keeping the cabin warm whilst on charge - even my old Leaf was able to do that...! 😮
A great video Martin. Very informative and easy to understand for a novice like me. I look forward to more details on running your Mini E. Seems perfect for city dwellers. I have yet to take the plunge to an EV. 😁
Thanks for the video - interesting content. My MINI SE seems to work quite well in the cold weather but I only charge at 7kW during the night. The biggest problem I have is removing the charging plug when it is freezing. The locking mechanism doesn't always release so I have to keep a hair dryer handy for those occasions when it is stuck.
I bought 9" x 11" magnetic sheet material to stick over the charging port overnight when its freezing rain or similar. After i broke the latch prying it open :)
Interesting. Some manufacturers (like Tesla) started equipping their EVs with heated charge ports now to get around the problem!
Thanks for the info sir. But where i come from 3 C is balmy. Winter nights typically -25 C. Btw most li ion batteries are allowing to charge down to 0 C at the 2 hour rate.
So awesome that you're doing this!!!
It also helps that the mini E comes with heat pump as standard on all trim levels. I have a mini 1.5, 3 door at the moment. The range would be fine for me, as I don't travel that far. This is the first video I have watched from you, but do you think the ride is comfortable? My petrol mini is very uncomfortable! Even considering the VW E Golf as that seems a nicer ride. I will have to take them both out for a test drive. Ultimately, I am a mini fan though👍
It drives like a regular MINI - firm and sporty but not unbearable in my opinion.
If you don’t like the ride of your petrol one, I don’t think this would be much different. (More videos on it coming soon.)
Maybe consider the BMW i3?
@@MartinKarel Thanks for getting back to me. I look forward to your upcoming videos. I have subscribed to you aswell 👍Not really a fan of the i3. My neighbours have one. They are happy with it, but the narrow tyres don't do it for me. When the next version of the mini comes out, the current one will probably come down in price a bit more. We will see. Some other reviews have mentioned the ride height is higher on the electric mini, to protect the battery pack. Its disguised by extending the plastic wheel arches. Keep up the good work 👏
We have a Mini SE in Canada and dont really suffer that much of a drop. Maybe 10-15%. This winter was rather mild with only a few days at -25c
You have a different definition of "cold" than I do.
When planning my winter biking I decided I needed to be able to operate at -20C to make it worthwhile.
The transition seasons are actually worse than -20C for the bicycle: ice/salt on the roads. The city stops salting at -20C.
I am afraid this is about as "cold" as it gets in England, so can't do a colder test. 😶
I got around 160km of range in the winter with this car. I liked the handling of the car and the seats were nice for my body. But I could not stand to have do daily charge my car at public charger :/
The range definitely limits who the MINI Electric is suitable for, but I have to rely exclusively on public chargers as well and so far it has actually been much less problematic than initially expected. (I do very low mileage though.)
@@MartinKarel yeah, I wish I had waited a while buying it, since today we have the generation 2 of the Mini Cooper with 54kWh battery (mine was the 32kWh), so I think that one had worked much better. The new one has also a stronger motor. Not sure about battery preheater, but I think it has.
Sorry but know it’s not good in the cold. I have the face lifted 2022 model and love in Norway, I love the car but when the temp drops the minis range and charging crashes. I needs battery preconditioning, that would make a huge difference, like it does in our iX.
From cold at home full of frost before the charger would be interesting
This was as close to it as possible. The Fastned chargers are the closest / most convenient rapid chargers I have to my flat.
Why do you sound Swedish and Czech at the same time! What background are you ? Good review by the way.
Wait, are you Estonian ?
Thanks!
I am Slovak, so a very close guess with the Czech.
Very cool, what app do you use to read OBD values?
FYI, Tesla is actually heating up the battery at DC chargers to around 50°C. Not sure if it's really required, sometimes I would rather spend a few minutes more while charging, rather than hurting the battery with such high temperatures.
It's an app called the mi3 - originally designed for the BMW i3 but because the MINI basically shares the same comms / sub-systems, it works without any hiccups.
The temperature also depends on battery chemistry. But Tesla is the one brand I would trust with batteries.
Yes, they push them right to the limit, but that's because they have so much experience that they know where the limit actually is.
@@MartinKarel Mi3 app not available in Canada...do you know if it's provided under a different name on the App Store in other countries?
Only problem is that - Its a Mini. Love the inside - Like an arcade - Where do you put your coins in while your waiting.
How would this compare to a 42kwh i3 Martin?
In Chicago it was -5F when even Teslas were having trouble charging!
Their owners hadn’t preconditioned the battery before charging.
@@CastleKnight7 Many of them simply ran out of charge waiting for the charger. It's a problem for Apt dwellers living in a city with no option to charge overnight and having to park outside. My Chevy Bolt definitely does better parked in our heated garage than sitting outside in 10F.
Great vids. Have you seen the latest salvage rebuilds video....salvaging an i3 :-)
Thanks.
Yes! It's clear they are all very new to the EV stuff but glad to see they went into it with an open mind and love the i3s.
Heating the battery to charge is nothing special, 3°c is not that impressive, most EVs get on fine in Norway at -14°c with good thermal management
Ehm. Exactly.
But starting at 3 ºC and reaching a peak charge rating of ~ 1.4 C in a matter of minutes without any battery pre-heating is impressive (especially considering that the MINI uses technology at least one or two generations behind the latest and greatest).
You can look at Teslas with LFP packs to see the opposite end of the spectrum.
@@MartinKarel yeh but the thing is that's not ideal thermal management, other EVs coldgate when under roughly 14°c because they want to prolong the life of the battery. Cramming electrons in at 1.4c at low temperatures causes unnecessary battery degradation. Not a feature - a design flaw.
@@SustainableGal The Mini SE has a CATL battery compared to the older Samsung product on the i3. I'd guess CATL as a leading battery manufacturer knows how to program their BMS to optimal performance, they don't want to screw their customers (BMW) and more importantly, their potential customers worldwide.
@@pqvid fair point, is the BMS made & programmed by CATL thou? Be interesting to know, coz usually its the electrical drive system designers that decide how it would be programmed. Great to know it's CATL cells thou, at least they'll put up with any abuse (if the BMS was programmed by BMW which I'm guessing it was)
According to ev-database, there is a "Mini Cooper SE" from 2021 and a different one from 2023. They have very different specs. Which one is this?
That's the Gen 1 Cooper SE.
This is the "previous generation" 2021 vehicle - codenamed F56.
The 2024 model year car is built on a completely different bespoke EV platform in China and carries the J01 designation.
Can't you just turn on the AC by using the round knobs?
Yes, but don’t quite understand the question.
Like in a car with a combustion engine, those controls only affect the cabin heating / cooling.
The battery thermal management is completely independent and works automatically in the background, regardless of the cabin preferences.
Assuming the controls are the same here as the i3 [the screen UI is the same function for the aux heating] then the 'round knobs' or in fact the climate buttons only fire up the fans if the car has been turned off and plugged in. You have to drill down a couple of layers to turn on the heating - the trick is to catch the 'goodbye screen' where you can activate the heating with a twist and OK but you have to be quick about it.
In the Netherlands owning and driving electric cars is very expensive unless on some subsidised by tax payer lease scam.
What do you mean? Your electricity prices are among the lowest in Europe, currently I see 0.32-0.35€ for DC quick charging at superchargers. The chargers are plentiful and well-maintaned. I always show NL as an example of how it should be done.
At the same time, gas is around 2.00€ - so to match this Mini SE costs (16kWh/100km, at 0.35€) you would need to be at around 2.8L/100km. I guess you would consistently run twice, if not 3 times, the cost of the electric Mini in a gas equivalent.
@@pqvid If you think the Netherlands is best/cheapest for EV, the rest of the world has to be an absolute hell for EV driving.
Im a mini man. Still wouldn't want an electric mini ever....
"Ever" - more than anything you seem to be very open minded. 🙃
Try one and you will not go back to an ice !
Its ok to not want an ev, dont let the internet shame you.
The throttle response is surprisingly super fun but definitely doesnt have the horsepower of a boosted ice
Evs are the Androids of cars
😐
@@MartinKarel i think my comment deserves a heart ❤️
@@nikschaI think we deserve an explanation... 🫤
@@LivingLifeSlower it's an insider joke 😉