A few random Mini Cooper SE questions after a month of driving

[Lady_Dimitrescu]

I've been driving my Mini Cooper SE for about a month now and while I absolutely love the car I’ve got a few random observations and questions:

Windscreen visibility – Is it just me, or does the rearview mirror block a lot of the view? Took me a while to get used to it though.
Sun visors – Are they just… there for decoration? They don’t seem all that useful.
Waterfall lights – What do they actually do? I haven’t seen them serve any real purpose yet.
Reversing mirror position – My nearside wing mirror tilts way down to the ground when reversing, which isn’t always helpful. Can this be adjusted?
Customizing the center display – Am I stuck with orange themes for media, maps, etc., or is there a way to tweak the look?
Lock/unlock beep – Can I enable this myself, or does it require a trip to the dealership?

Also, one small frustration the wireless charger doesn’t fit my Samsung S23+ Ultra properly. Either the width or length is just off. Has anyone else found a good workaround for this?

Overall though I’m really enjoying the SE! The handling is sharp, and the instant EV torque suits my driving style perfectly. It actually reminds me a lot of my old Mk1 Audi TT.

 

[Maria_Latore]

I had some of the same thoughts when I first got mine. The rearview mirror does block a decent part of the windshield, but after a while, I just stopped noticing it. The sun visors, though? Yeah, those are more for decoration than actual function. As for the waterfall lights, they don’t really do much beyond adding some ambient lighting, so I wouldn’t expect them to serve any real purpose.

That tilting mirror in reverse can definitely be adjusted. If you set it to the position you want while in reverse and then shift back into park, it should save your preference. As for the center display themes, unfortunately, Mini locks you into the orange theme unless you go the coding route, which isn’t something I’ve tried yet. The lock and unlock beep is possible, but you’ll need a dealer to activate it.

 

[GoMickey]

I had some of the same thoughts when I first got mine. The rearview mirror does block a decent part of the windshield, but after a while, I just stopped noticing it. The sun visors, though? Yeah, those are more for decoration than actual function. As for the waterfall lights, they don’t really do much beyond adding some ambient lighting, so I wouldn’t expect them to serve any real purpose.

That tilting mirror in reverse can definitely be adjusted. If you set it to the position you want while in reverse and then shift back into park, it should save your preference. As for the center display themes, unfortunately, Mini locks you into the orange theme unless you go the coding route, which isn’t something I’ve tried yet. The lock and unlock beep is possible, but you’ll need a dealer to activate it.

He has said it all! Yep, the rearview mirror takes some adjusting, and those sun visors? Practically ornamental. The waterfall lights are mostly ambient, and mirror tilt can be tweaked in settings..

 

[Rick Donovan]

The mirror tilt on my SE can be adjusted with the mirror selector switch on the door. If it it is positioned to the left mirror won't tilt down, move it to the right and the right(passenger) mirror will tilt down. I leave it to the left so it doesn't go down normally but when parallel parking I switch it to the right so mirror comes down and I can see the curb better