Mini Electric is here!
130 miles of range and £299 a month - is this the Mini to make electric mainstream?
Cast your mind back a decade, to the original Mini E concept. How far-fetched it seemed then; 600 cars were built, trialled around the UK with willing customers to assess electric vehicle usage for a future production car. Back then, a viable, sensibly priced electric Mini seemed aeons off, this being a world where the Tesla Roadster was needlessly wacky, the hybrid hypercar holy trinity was years away and the BMW i8 just a concept.
Yet here we are in 2019, with a Mini Electric developed off the back of those trials and available to buy right now - handily marking the 60th anniversary, too. Using a 32.6kWh battery and BMW's latest synchronous electric motor, the Mini Electric makes 184hp and 199lb ft, enough for a 7.3-second 0-62mph sprint and limited 93mph top speed. Interestingly, Mini is also suggesting that electric drive "takes the trademark Mini go-kart driving feeling to new heights, thanks to new suspension technology designed for this model." With a centre of gravity "at least" 30mm lower than a Cooper S and less weight over the nose (because the battery pack is between the front and rear seats), it should drive pretty nicely. "Exceptional driving dynamics" might be going a tad far, but the signs are good, especially with a DIN kerbweight of 1,365kg - 145kg more than a Cooper S auto, sure, but also 100kg less than those original Mini E prototypes.
As for charging, the Electric is designed for AC and DC charging using Type 2 and CCS Combo 2 plugs. A 50kW DC fast charge can provide an 80 per cent charge in 30 mins - fully juiced, the WLTP range is between 124 and 144 miles - and the same level of battery replenishment takes 150 mins via an AC 11kW connection. The Mini Electric charge point is where the fuel filler would be in a regular Mini, and a charge level indicator sits above it.
Elsewhere, the Electric is fairly familiar Mini: there are four drive modes - Green +, Green, Mid and Sport - and the standard 6.5-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Real Time Traffic Info. The heater is 75 per cent more efficient than a normal one. Also very Mini is the Electric's range of trim levels - you don't just buy an EV Mini. Oh no. The entry model is £24,400 after the government plug-in grant has been applied, or £299 a month plus a £4k initial rental for a 48-month PCH. Above that sits the mid-level version, which is £26,400 and adds heated seats, park distance control, a Driving Assistance pack, plus a wider range of colour and wheel options. The most expensive Mini Electric is £30,400 and comes kitted out with a larger 8.8-inch infotainment screen, panoramic roof, Matrix LEDs and a Harmon Kardon sound system.
Orders are being taken now, with build slots secured through a £500 deposit and first deliveries starting next spring. Which is about the same time the Honda e is expected, promising the same sort of experience for the same sort of money. Could you see either as your next day-to-day city car? If neither especially appeals, rumours are now circulating once more that the Rocketman will make production. That's still to be confirmed, though; the Mini Electric is definitely happening, and it's a matter of months away...
£4000 up front plus £299 per month (and that's for the base model!) for a car which will probably struggle to do 100 miles on a charge. No thanks!
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
A world away from the rest of the mainstream, who live in the city centre and are encouraged to purchase electric vechicles on their "green" credentials. The same people who bought diesels 10 years ago based on the same creentials. Except this time they haven't got access to a high powered charger, and the extension lead they have won't reach their car parked in either the underground car park or on the street. Instead they rely on charging the car when they visit their local Tesco's, but alas today the two charging points there are full. Not by disgusting petrol/diesel drivers, but by other people who - just like them - can't charge their precious status symbol at home. They decide to drive to a local service station, a bit of a trek away from their flat, only to find that the Ecotricity charger that's available either doesn't work with their car or doesn't work full stop. Dejected, they start to drive home. Only to run out of battery. The car stops, unable to move. It's an hour to wait for the AA to come and rescue them, to bring the car to a suitable location. But the Tesco charging point is now available but out of use. Alone, they leave the car plugged in, with the hope it'll charge by morning. They trudge away while booking an Uber through their unrecycled iPhone XS, and await their fossil fuelled hybrid carriage while tucking in to a Chicken and Avacado sandwich, wondering how life has gone so wrong for them to live in a council borough that won't allow you to run extension leads on or over the pavements outside their box rooms in London.
That, is why, this car isn't for the mainstream. No plug in electric car will ever be one.
£4000 up front plus £299 per month (and that's for the base model!) for a car which will probably struggle to do 100 miles on a charge. No thanks!
My rattly old Alfa GT diesel cost £4k to buy and I get a month's commuting out of a tank. Even if the electricity was free for the Mini, the cost of the Mini is almost two and a half times the cost of running the Alfa over four years (and at the end of the four years I would still own a rattly old Alfa GT, whereas with the Mini, you're back on Shank's Pony, having to fork out another initial PCH payment for the next car)
And before I get accused of polluting the planet, how much pollution have I saved by putting a quarter of a million miles on the Alfa, rather than on three brand new cars over the same period?
But like Champagne, there are some better Proseccos out there for other budgets and ultimately there is Whote Lightning down at the bus wker level. Something for everyone, but obviously not everything for everyone.
With a low range and a high price tag it seems pretty obvious, even to the most bitter, that this is a product designed to target those with the means to both buy it and use it and that does seem to aimed at the suburban runabout sector.
A world away from the rest of the mainstream, who live in the city centre and are encouraged to purchase electric vechicles on their "green" credentials. The same people who bought diesels 10 years ago based on the same creentials. Except this time they haven't got access to a high powered charger, and the extension lead they have won't reach their car parked in either the underground car park or on the street. Instead they rely on charging the car when they visit their local Tesco's, but alas today the two charging points there are full. Not by disgusting petrol/diesel drivers, but by other people who - just like them - can't charge their precious status symbol at home. They decide to drive to a local service station, a bit of a trek away from their flat, only to find that the Ecotricity charger that's available either doesn't work with their car or doesn't work full stop. Dejected, they start to drive home. Only to run out of battery. The car stops, unable to move. It's an hour to wait for the AA to come and rescue them, to bring the car to a suitable location. But the Tesco charging point is now available but out of use. Alone, they leave the car plugged in, with the hope it'll charge by morning. They trudge away while booking an Uber through their unrecycled iPhone XS, and await their fossil fuelled hybrid carriage while tucking in to a Chicken and Avacado sandwich, wondering how life has gone so wrong for them to live in a council borough that won't allow you to run extension leads on or over the pavements outside their box rooms in London.
That, is why, this car isn't for the mainstream. No plug in electric car will ever be one.
Enjoyed that!
The point is that this is the first attainable big brand car that a lot of people will be familiar with and would want to own, so it will be really interesting to see how it does. It's a Mini, but it's electric. That will be very, very comforting for a lot of people as it's instantly familiar.
Petrolheads aren't the target, people like my wife with her petrol Cooper are. She doesn't really know anything about cars, but she knows what she likes and the Mini ticks all the boxes for her. She likes the idea of EVs generally but finds everything affordable which is currently on the market unappealing for one reason or another. The Zoe has a crap interior, the i3 "looks weird", etc, etc. Home charging an EV would be easy for us. She doesn't need a car which can do hundreds of miles more than once in a blue moon, and she can drive my car if she ever does need to do a long journey.
I think it'll sell by the bucket-load.
This is from the ad for the highest mileage Tesla in the classifieds:
"It has been fully maintained by Tesla having recently had a full health check including the battery degradation test, which returned an impressive result of only 6% to 9% of usable battery degradation.
This Tesla has covered 90,000 miles."
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
My rattly old Alfa GT diesel cost £4k to buy and I get a month's commuting out of a tank. Even if the electricity was free for the Mini, the cost of the Mini is almost two and a half times the cost of running the Alfa over four years (and at the end of the four years I would still own a rattly old Alfa GT, whereas with the Mini, you're back on Shank's Pony, having to fork out another initial PCH payment for the next car)
And before I get accused of polluting the planet, how much pollution have I saved by putting a quarter of a million miles on the Alfa, rather than on three brand new cars over the same period?
Your last point is perfectly valid of course but, again, in order for you to have your old car, someone had to buy it new at one time. The ultimate solution to the problem of pollution caused by transport is of course to produce and use less cars, but that doesn't fit very well with economics, which is what is behind a lot environmental decisions in reality.
And Pedro didn't trim the grass with the toe nail scissors that I explcitly asked for.
£4000 up front plus £299 per month (and that's for the base model!) for a car which will probably struggle to do 100 miles on a charge. No thanks!
My rattly old Alfa GT diesel cost £4k to buy and I get a month's commuting out of a tank. Even if the electricity was free for the Mini, the cost of the Mini is almost two and a half times the cost of running the Alfa over four years (and at the end of the four years I would still own a rattly old Alfa GT, whereas with the Mini, you're back on Shank's Pony, having to fork out another initial PCH payment for the next car)
And before I get accused of polluting the planet, how much pollution have I saved by putting a quarter of a million miles on the Alfa, rather than on three brand new cars over the same period?
Also what do you think they do with PCP cars after 3 years? They don't bin them and make a new one you know.
I like it, from what I've heard its actually cheaper than the petrol equivalent and for people like my Mrs who do 12 miles a week and have a driveway to charge on it's perfect.
I swear anything to do with electric cars has the luddites fuming.
Range isn't a huge issue for us as we will always have a large family car for that alongside whatever toy I choose for myself.
I'm not a huge EV fan personally but I do see the Mini will bring EV's to a far wider market.
The point is that this is the first attainable big brand car that a lot of people will be familiar with and would want to own, so it will be really interesting to see how it does. It's a Mini, but it's electric. That will be very, very comforting for a lot of people as it's instantly familiar.
Petrolheads aren't the target, people like my wife with her petrol Cooper are. She doesn't really know anything about cars, but she knows what she likes and the Mini ticks all the boxes for her. She likes the idea of EVs generally but finds everything affordable which is currently on the market unappealing for one reason or another. The Zoe has a crap interior, the i3 "looks weird", etc, etc. Home charging an EV would be easy for us. She doesn't need a car which can do hundreds of miles more than once in a blue moon, and she can drive my car if she ever does need to do a long journey.
I think it'll sell by the bucket-load.
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