Price as tested: $850 one-year lease
Capsule Review of the MINI E
MINI's experimental MINI E is a fun, spirited, zero-emissions buggy that takes a little getting used to but holds the potential for miles of green motoring. The bad news is, you can't have one. But if you could, would you want it? Maybe. About half of the folks who have driven prototypes for the past year have signed on for another term.
Highs:
• Zero emissions• No oil changes
• Cheap, home-based recharges
Lows:
• 100-mile range• Four hour recharge at 220 volts
• Can't purchase one
MINI E EV Review
Considering that electric cars have been around for about 170 years, and these days there are a dozen or so multi-zillion dollar car companies (all of whom can solve complex problems like how to heat, cool and illuminate cupholders) saying they'd love nothing better than to bring EVs into the mainstream... well, considering all that, it sure is tough for a guy to get a ride in one.
A supercharged 500hp sport sedan that can give you satellite guided turn-by-turn navigation around the Nurburgring? No problemo. A 6,000-pound SUV that can comfortably accommodate a six-member mule deer hunting party and allow them to view "Hunting Alaska's Coastal Giants" on DVD en route to their tree stands? Sure, grab your Winchester and hop right in. A cheap little car with an electric motor that runs on batteries? Oh, whew, uh... well, you're going to have to let us work on that one, Sport.
Finally Plugged In to an EV
OK, enough whining, because on a recent sunny spring day in New York, BMW afforded Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Boy a little access to its cute- as-a-button MINI E EV. I was able to cruise the car unsupervised in and around the roads at the lovely Bear Mountain State Park and chat with the local BMW reps about the finer and not-so-finer points of the car.
Admittedly I've arrived a little late to the party. BMW has already allowed 450 people on the East and West Coasts to drive MINI Es for the last year. These people have been forking over $850 a month for the honor too, so if the cars were electric lemons they'd most likely report it. Many of them have blogs that tell their experiences with the MINI Es in excruciating detail. They're also on Facebook and even in the media. Now that the leases are up, BMW says that half of the MINI E drivers have opted to renew at a reduced cost of $600 a month. Which is still pretty steep, so I'd say that's a ringing endorsement.
My all-too-brief brush with the MINI E was fun and educational. To get the car rolling you insert the key fob into a slot, press a starter button and watch the orange-colored digital displays come to life. In place of the MINI's steering column-mounted tach is an analog gauge telling the operator the percentage of charge remaining in the battery. The rest of the interior is standard MINI fare -- perfect for a 15-year-old girl, a little too cute for some cranky middle-aged guys.
The Electric Slide, er... Jerk
Shifting the MINI E's one-speed transmission into drive and stepping on the accelerator produces an authoritative lunge forward, with spinning front tires if you so desire. By contrast, suddenly lifting off the gas will send you and your lunch lunging forward testing the slack adjusters in your seat belt. The MINI's regenerative braking is set on kill, which is good for battery range but takes some pedal finesse to keep from lurching back and forth like a first day Driver Ed student. It also means that the brake pads could potentially outlast the car's tires, batteries, owner etc.
The car is quiet, though there is a turbine-like hum that probably won't satisfy internal combustion addicts. The noise does reassure you that something is providing forward motion while at the same time helps remind that you're not besmirching the environment with tailpipe emissions. Everything else about the car is pure MINI. Cool looks. Sophisticated handling. Unsophisticated interior design. Adequate power.
From a practical standpoint, the battery pack in the rear eats up a lot of cargo room, essentially turning the MINI E into a two-seater with a little space in the hatch. The range of these prototypes has been hampered somewhat by the fact that the batteries are air cooled -- a problem in cold weather. A BMW representative said that future EVs would most likely have a liquid-cooled battery pack. The 100-120 mile range could be a bit of issue for anyone with a commute nearing 50 miles each way. Recharging the batteries at work off of a 110-volt power supply is a possibility, but eight hours of charging at 110 volts would only add about 25 percent to the batteries. A full charge at 110 volts would take more than 30 hours. At 220 volts it takes 3-5 hours to fully recharge.
So Close But Yet...
It's hard to believe that after more than a century an electric car that can match an internal combustion powered car blow for blow hasn't been developed. The MINI E really is a fine machine. Perfect for anyone with a short commute or for urban drivers. Still it'd be nice to see a MINI E with twice the range, batteries that take up half the space and a faster recharge time. Heated, cooled and illuminated cup holders too, please? I know, I know you're working on it.