Let me start off by saying – I have no intentions of getting rid of my 2016 MINI Cooper S!!  I love my MINI and I plan on driving it for a long time and remaining an active member of the MINI enthusiast community.  As mentioned in my previous post, we also plan on keeping my wife’s 2012 MINI Cooper S Countryman in the family for my son to use once he gets his driver’s license.  He will be getting his learner’s permit in 2019 so we have a few years to figure out exactly what we are going to do, but there is no harm in seeing what’s out there, right?Some may assume that we would simply add a third MINI to the household for my wife to drive when my son takes over piloting her Countryman.  For a while, that was our assumption as well, and it very well may still happen, depending on what MINI comes out with between now and then.  However, as I alluded to in my previous post, some things have happened with the MINI brand recently that has given us reason to pause and consider other options.  MINI has recently made a shift from the cheeky, fun car company to a more modest, premium car company.  With this shift some new, larger models have been introduced with an accompanying larger price tag.  Don’t get me wrong – there is still plenty of fun to be had driving a MINI –  it’s just that the brand is not focusing so much on the fun aspect of the car in their corporate identity these days.

As I stated in my previous post, I believe there is a mental threshold that exists among car buyers in today’s market of $35,000.  Once this threshold is reached, a whole new world of premium choices exists for that consumer that they hadn’t considered before that may fall within $5,000 – $7,000 of that price point.My wife’s requirements for her car are simple: a blue, four door, non-station wagon vehicle that has as much interior room as her current Countryman with leather-type interior and have some power to get up and go (ironically, she does not like to be in the passenger seat when someone hits the gas too hard, but doesn’t seem to mind when her foot mashes the pedal to the floor lol).  The car should also have a quality sound system, be efficient and having autonomous technology built-in is a plus.  That gives us 1 option within the MINI family: the upcoming F60 MINI Countryman (the F55 Four Door MINI Hardtop is too small and the F54 MINI Clubman is too much of a wagon for her taste).

Pricing out an F60 Countryman is not possible just yet as the model has not been officially released yet, however, we can use the F54 MINI Clubman as a general guide as to what pricing might be like with the new Countryman once it is released.  If anything, I would expect the Countryman to actually be slightly more expensive than the Clubman, but time will tell.  As of today, a properly configured F54 MINI Cooper S Clubman with the “Fully Loaded” package which pretty much hits all the requirements laid out (except that it is a wagon) comes in right at about $35,000.  It is here that we stop and take a moment to consider all of our options…I will be the first to admit that I never paid much attention to hybrids or electric cars before.  They all seemed ugly, slow and appeared boring to drive.  Between the Toyota Prius and the Nissan Leaf, I really had no desire to even look into those types of cars.  Of course, Tesla was making beautiful cars that also delivered “ludicrous” performance, but they were also matched with a “ludicrous” price tag so Tesla became a brand that was immediately dismissed as an option that was out of reach.  Fast forward to March 31, 2016 and the introduction of the $35,000 Tesla Model 3…When Elon Musk announced what he has planned for the Model 3 and that he would be pricing the car to start at the important $35,000 mark, for the first time I was finding myself actually considering an electric vehicle.  It is important to note the word “starting” when viewing the pricing information that is out there on the Model 3.  Tesla has even stated that they expect the average consumer to option the car to be $42,000 on average (notice that $42,000 is exactly $7,000 more than that $35,000 number I have been talking about?  I believe this is no coincidence).Elon Musk states that even if no options are selected the base Model 3 will have at least a 215 mile range between charges and will accelerate from 0-60 in under 6 seconds, at the very least.  Autopilot safety features will also be standard as well as Supercharging (there is some debate as to whether Tesla will charge Model 3 owners for the use of their Supercharger network, but the car itself will be Supercharger-capable from the factory).  In a nutshell, the Model 3 is expected to be a smaller version of the Tesla Model S for $35,000.  After some discussion, we decided to put down our $1,000 fully refundable deposit on a Model 3 and scheduled a test drive of a Tesla Model S to see what driving a 100% electric car felt like.When we first arrived at the local Tesla Store in our mall, my wife was surprised at how large the Model S actually was.  She made the comment “I sure hope the Model 3 is smaller than this!”.  The Tesla employee assured her that the Model 3 was expected to be 20% smaller than the Model S so not to worry.  This being our first time exploring electric cars, it was interesting to see how much storage there was in the vehicle since you have a nice size rear trunk as well as storage space under the front hood that would normally house the engine.  The Tesla rep quickly pointed out that the Model S had more storage capacity than most SUVs.In the middle of the showroom, they had the bottom frame of the Model S on display without the body so you could see what makes the Model S go.  The batteries all fit nicely at the bottom of the car, providing a low center of gravity as well as extra rigidity to the frame.  In the rear of the car is the electric motor and in the front of the car are the steering controls and various sensors to keep you safe.  I was really surprised to see how little there actually was to the car. The interior of the Model S really gives you the feeling that you have just sat down in the car of the future.  Gone are the knobs on the center console to adjust the air or to lock or unlock your doors.  Instead, what can only be described as a 17” iPad installed in portrait orientation controls just about every aspect of the car.  The interface even seems very iOS-like.  The number of options you can select is impressive, but what’s more impressive is the way the interface allows you to access all of the options without feeling lost.  Individual driver profiles can be stored so your customizations can be recalled once you sit in the driver seat.  Overall, the interior is very roomy and comfortable.Looking at the cars in the showroom was fun, but it was time to go out and actually drive one.  Our Tesla rep took us outside to a black Model S P90D waiting for us.  If you don’t know anything about the various Tesla models, the numeric designation in the model name signifies the size of the battery in the car, the “D” signifies that the car is all wheel drive, and the “P” signifies that the car is a performance model.  This all translates to… this car is FREAKING FAST!  It even has a special mode called “Ludicrous Mode” that turns up the acceleration to allow you to go from 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds.  For those Disney fans out there that love the Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster, that is equal to the initial launch on that ride (talk about insane G forces).Since we were wanting to get more of a Model 3 experience as possible, our Tesla rep set the car in what’s known as Model S 70 mode to simulate more of a realistic power setting that we would experience in the Model 3.  Instead of 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds, the car would now do 0-60mph in less than 6 seconds.  Believe me when I tell you that even in the Model S 70 mode, the car still had a crazy amount of torque when we went to accelerate from a dead stop.  That being said, the car still behaved like a normal gas-powered car with regards to normal acceleration, steering and braking.  The ride was very smooth and comfortable.  Since there are no gears, you never feel the transmission shifting.  Since there is no engine, the ride is extremely quiet.  I didn’t know exactly what to expect from driving an electric car, but aside from the amazing acceleration that is possible, everything else feels “normal”.Sadly, we did not get to test out any of the auto-pilot modes on this test drive, nor did we get to test out Ludicrous Mode (my wife could barely handle the 0-60mph launch I played with lol).  Overall, my wife was impressed with the car and for now, our Tesla Model 3 reservation is still active.  We are looking forward to what Elon Musk will announce in the second part of the Model 3 unveil next year.  Some are speculating on more advanced auto pilot features and a full heads-up display on the interior.  Time will tell and we will be watching.  Until then, we will be keeping our eye on what MINI brings to the table as we enjoy driving our current MINIs each day with smiles on our faces!