Golf R to Electric Mini yay or nay

[tim0e]

Currently have a 2020 Golf R but at the time of life “20’s” of feeling these cars are just money pits to an extent Finance, Insurance, FUEL!

I’ve been searching for a little “cheap run around” I probably do 5k miles or less a year, anyone heard anything on the Electric Mini, Itll have no monthly payments insurance goes to £450 from £1100 and I’ll steal my parents electric, My only issue is the depreciation of EVs and I’ve looked at normal cars but for the price and technology of an Used electric Mini it seems a no brainer, anyone done similar

[macron]

Very short ranges reported from them, an e car yes if your use merits it, but Honda-e cheaper, i3 cooler, Dacia Spring potentially new and warranted for a smidge over 10k.

[66HFM]

My MIL has one as a Motability car, great little car but the range is 150 miles maximum on a boiling hot sunny day, the furthest she's driven it is 30 miles round trip.
She's moving house by the end of the year (300 miles away), I'm looking forward into the logistics of them doing that...

Why not go something a bit older and cheaper that you can buy outright - Fiesta ST, Clio 197 etc or MX5.

[BlackTails]

macron said:

Very short ranges reported from them,

By design, IIRC: they are intended to be city cars. Lots of short journeys, recharge overnight. I think this was based on Mini’s research into how their cars were actually being used.

[tim0e]

66HFM said:

My MIL has one as a Motability car, great little car but the range is 150 miles maximum on a boiling hot sunny day, the furthest she's driven it is 30 miles round trip.
She's moving house by the end of the year (300 miles away), I'm looking forward into the logistics of them doing that...

Why not go something a bit older and cheaper that you can buy outright - Fiesta ST, Clio 197 etc or MX5.

I mainly just do city journeys popping around town those cars are probably just but what’s the fuel like on an st? Also the technology in the Mini has everything my golf does surprisingly I love adaptive cruise and these little things

[PovertyPrince]

I like how they drive but the range is useless. Would go for an I3 instead tbh

[Deep Thought]

macron said:

Very short ranges reported from them, an e car yes if your use merits it, but Honda-e cheaper, i3 cooler, Dacia Spring potentially new and warranted for a smidge over 10k.

For the original F56 variant, yes, but as has been pointed out, they're a city car.

The latest model though has a predicted range of 251 miles, so probably 200 ish real world.

[Mark-ri571]

Have had my 2022 Mini SE for 39 months. Cost new £27k. Just part exed for a JCW Aceman. Got £14250 ( webuyanycar was £13,650) as a part ex ( on 14,400 miles) and £3k off the new one. The F56 SE has been faultless and other than the depreciation (=£333 pm) it s been cheap to run on Octopus IO Go. If you just need a nippy and efficient 3 door small car then a used one is a good buy. My SE is Level 2 ,black with upgrade wheels and black pack with privacy glass so looks stylish. Would recommend if you can find a nice well looked after car at a reasonable price. Depreciation should also begin to level off from now on.

Edited by Mark-ri571 on Wednesday 22 October 09:34

[tim0e]

Mark-ri571 said:

Have had my 2022 Mini SE for 39 months. Cost new £27k. Just part exed for a JCW Aceman. Got £14250 ( webuyanycar was £13,650) as a part ex ( on 14,400 miles) and £3k off the new one. The F56 SE has been faultless and other than the depreciation (=£333 pm) it s been cheap to run on Octopus IO Go. If you just need a nippy and efficient 3 door small car then a used one is a good buy. My SE is Level 2 ,black with upgrade wheels and black pack with privacy glass so looks stylish. Would recommend if you can find a nice well looked after car at a reasonable price. Depreciation should also begin to level off from now on.

Edited by Mark-ri571 on Wednesday 22 October 09:34

Hello found a level 3 2020 for £13,800 the difference from lvl1 to lvl3 is worth the £1400 imo

[maz8062]

tim0e said:

Currently have a 2020 Golf R but at the time of life 20 s of feeling these cars are just money pits to an extent Finance, Insurance, FUEL!

I ve been searching for a little cheap run around I probably do 5k miles or less a year, anyone heard anything on the Electric Mini, Itll have no monthly payments insurance goes to £450 from £1100 and I ll steal my parents electric, My only issue is the depreciation of EVs and I ve looked at normal cars but for the price and technology of an Used electric Mini it seems a no brainer, anyone done similar

Funny post, this. Half the insurance cost, no finance, free fuel, but you re worried about depreciation. You really do want your cake and be able to eat it too.

For the road, not track, the mini will be just as fast as the R, just as nimble and cheap to run. It may not have the same street cred as the R, but as you re getting to that time of life, lol, pragmatism beats throwing away your cash to please others.

A 120 ah I3S is even better.

Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 22 October 11:06

[AyBee]

Bought a level 3 about 2 months ago (categorised 2023 and very cheap). The torque steer is amusing! I think it's a great car - very cheap to run (on the 3k miles that it's insured for, it'll cost £45 in electric ). I did lots of research on small electric cars that are fun, and the Mini seemed to come out top. Have you seen the Harry's Garage review?

[ChrisH72]

I thought about this last year when I changed my Fiesta ST.

The two options seemed to be a level 3 mini electric or a BMW i3s. I never did get as far as driving them as I bought an mx5 instead but I'd still consider an ev next time.

Short range wouldn't be an issue for me. The furthest I go in a day is 40 miles with most journeys shorter than that. I have a driveway so could charge at home. And if a longer journey was necessary then you just have to factor in stops for charging. The mini has a small battery but it will charge in half an hour on a public charger so no big deal.

If I were buying one now I'd go as cheap as possible. The level 3 can be had for about £13k. That way depreciation shouldn't be a problem.

[Mark-ri571]

tim0e said:

Hello found a level 3 2020 for £13,800 the difference from lvl1 to lvl3 is worth the £1400 imo

Yes L3 is definitely worth finding as the Pano roof will make the interior feel a lot nicer. I don’t like the front grill on the early SE cars though - not sure when they changed the grill over.

[a_dreamer]

If you have home charging, or can get it, EVs are the most efficient way to get from a-b assuming it's within range.

It's a very different definition of fun driving though.

I fancy seeing what the alpine and Renault 5 are like in the hope they can provide a bit more fun than the EVs I've had a go of

That said, with speed cameras, state of the roads and how big every car is now, fun is not what it used to be

[OutInTheShed]

tim0e said:

Currently have a 2020 Golf R but at the time of life 20 s of feeling these cars are just money pits to an extent Finance, Insurance, FUEL!

I ve been searching for a little cheap run around I probably do 5k miles or less a year, anyone heard anything on the Electric Mini, Itll have no monthly payments insurance goes to £450 from £1100 and I ll steal my parents electric, My only issue is the depreciation of EVs and I ve looked at normal cars but for the price and technology of an Used electric Mini it seems a no brainer, anyone done similar

If you only do 5k miles a year, you need to get your numbers straight, and stop caring about fuel.

What are you looking for?
Cheapest solution?
Something you like?

You might find with an electric car you mileage jumps up a lot, because suddenly a pointless drive to the coast or whatever of an evening only costs you a couple of quid.

Lots of people have done similar and posted lots of deranged justifications.
If you want one, JFDI, because you can and you want it.
If you try and justify it on savings, it doesn't work unless you do the miles.
You save maybe 12p a mile. times 5k miles that's £600 a year which goes nowhere!

But if you can do lots of fun trips for small change without needing public chargers, it can be a big plus.
Once you start going out of range and need public chargers, the savings start to evaporate.

[lemonslap]

I purchased a 2022 mini electric level 2 as a run about vehicle back in April for mrs Lemonslap ( in matching colours to her BMW X5M) looked at the options and the mini won because it drives and handles like a mini i.e still fun! Looked at the BMW i3, but it has specific tyres that were a lot per corner, which defeated the object of it being a cheap run around car. The mini is a fantastic piece of kit providing you are ok with 100 mile range.

It means her BMW X5M sits on the driveway and only gets wheeled out for long runs saving us alot on fuel!

[tim0e]

lemonslap said:

I purchased a 2022 mini electric level 2 as a run about vehicle back in April for mrs Lemonslap ( in matching colours to her BMW X5M) looked at the options and the mini won because it drives and handles like a mini i.e still fun! Looked at the BMW i3, but it has specific tyres that were a lot per corner, which defeated the object of it being a cheap run around car. The mini is a fantastic piece of kit providing you are ok with 100 mile range.

It means her BMW X5M sits on the driveway and only gets wheeled out for long runs saving us alot on fuel!

Everyone I read is positive other than range but it’s what you expect when buying, just starting to feel like only male in a mini haha

[hyperblue]

Following with interest as have also been looking at these as a cheap to run commuting car. Seems like you get a decent spec slightly interesting EV for around £12k

Not too concerned about the range as would be for 30 mile round trip country lane commute.

Any feedback on servicing and running costs? Any potentially expensive common issues?

[tim0e]

hyperblue said:

Following with interest as have also been looking at these as a cheap to run commuting car. Seems like you get a decent spec slightly interesting EV for around £12k

Not too concerned about the range as would be for 30 mile round trip country lane commute.

Any feedback on servicing and running costs? Any potentially expensive common issues?

I can’t help because I get it today but I think just get a warranty I got 2 years because I believe if something goes wrong it’s fairly expensive, servicing sounds minimal but when comparing with fixed prices like Halfords it seems about same price,

Also the spec and price they’re cheaper then petrol versions used ev market is where to go I think

[tim0e]

hyperblue said:

Following with interest as have also been looking at these as a cheap to run commuting car. Seems like you get a decent spec slightly interesting EV for around £12k

Not too concerned about the range as would be for 30 mile round trip country lane commute.

Any feedback on servicing and running costs? Any potentially expensive common issues?

I can’t help because I get it today but I think just get a warranty I got 2 years because I believe if something goes wrong it’s fairly expensive, servicing sounds minimal but when comparing with fixed prices like Halfords it seems about same price,

Also the spec and price they’re cheaper then petrol versions used ev market is where to go I think