I repented this month by using the Mini to make a 250-mile round trip from Lincolnshire to Buckinghamshire to get to the launch of the updated Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. I shirked my responsibilities last month and dodged the bullet of an early-morning, long-distance motorway voyage in the short-range Mini by borrowing Jake’s long-term Mazda 3. Month 4 living with a Mini Electric: the slow movement In other news, last week the Mini Connected app came over a bit Y2K and told me the car’s current location was Berlin… Logbook: Mini Electric Level 3Įfficiency 3.9 miles per kWh (official), 3.7 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 Recently it’s been snaking through letterboxes and under garage doors while I’ve been away visiting family and beg-borrowing their plug sockets. And much like walking onto carpet from outdoors on a rainy day without taking your shoes off, I feel a bit guilty lobbing it straight into the boot afterwards if I’m in a hurry. Like having a new pair of white trainers, I feel a bit guilty routing the Mini’s smart charging cable through the muck of a rain-grimed path or driveway. Month 5 living with a Mini Electric: cables everywhere! Performance 32.6kWh battery, single e-motor, 181bhp, 7.3sec 0-62mph, 93mphĮfficiency 3.9 miles per kWh (official), 3.9 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2 If the odd styling and the curious driving experience of EVs has previously put you off, this could be the car to change your mind – provided you plan ahead for long journeys. The Mini Electric’s sheer normality is its greatest strength. Next year, Mini expects a third of three-door hatches built at its Oxford plant to be electric. The Honda E might be a more inventive, individual car, and it beat the Mini in our Giant Test, but it has an even titchier range. Running the Mini has confirmed my thoughts that I can’t go fully electric unless I move, adapt my existing home, or go for an EV with a bigger range. I later swapped cars for a couple of weeks with editor Ben Miller, who does have overnight charging capability (albeit also through a three-pin plug), and the Mini suited him just fine (and me, since I borrowed his Aston Martin). I also needed to have an unscheduled stay overnight to get enough charge in the Mini to make it home the next day. The Mini had more than 80 per cent charge at the time, and made it with mileage to spare had the car happened to have been half-empty or less, I wouldn’t have completed the journey. The type of worst-case scenario that makes people think twice about EVs did happen during my time with the Mini: a long-ish, urgent journey to help a family member who had fallen ill. On the move, conversely, 50kW fast-charging capability means it’s possible to refill the Mini very rapidly, provided you can find an available site.
Mini motorways cost full#
On the eve of a big motorway journey, for example, I cancelled plans to drive to meet friends because I needed the battery full of charge for the morning. Lacking the ability to charge overnight at my mid-terrace house meant I had to adapt my life to the Mini. Not being able to charge at CAR’s offices during lockdown has meant three-pin-plug charging at home.
Mini motorways cost crack#
On dual carriageways, even sticking to 60mph, I struggled to crack 100 miles. Officially, it’ll manage up to 145 miles from a full charge. The downside of squeezing a square (well, T-shaped) battery pack into a rounded supermini is the range. That’s exactly what it is.Įngineering an electric production car is no easy task, and it can’t have been simple to adapt the existing Mini to carry an EV powertrain (and to go down the same production line as the rest of the range). The Mini feels more analogue than most electric cars, like a normal car with a powerful electric motor instead of an engine. And it’s very easy to use: get in, go, and enjoy the drive. It’s been liberating to pop into town without the guilt of starting a cold engine for a short journey.
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