At the recent MINI United event at Silverstone it was very hard to pin down specifics on plans for the MINI E to hit the streets of London for field trials in its home market. Apparently legislation, infrastructure and government co-operation are the main sticking points holding back any UK release.
Meanwhile the MINI E has been arriving with trialists in the USA over the past few weeks and initial reports in the media have been a real mixed bag with a handful going so far as suggesting that the all electric MINI is not ready for mainstream motoring at all. Perhaps forgetting this is indeed still very much a trial process.
The first unarguable hang up has been an apparent lack of readiness or preparation on behalf of BMW with regards the high voltage charging stations required to get the most from the MINI E. Reports early last month suggested that the delivery of the first MINI Es to their eager new keepers was being held up while the company awaited Underwriters Laboratories approval and certification. This certification is required in many cases before would be MINI E owners can have their Clipper Creek charging stations installed. It seems now that MINI are motoring ahead with their rollout of the car in absence of UL approval even though many customers wont be able to charge their MINI Es in ideal circumstances.
Open Road broke the news of the charger “foul up”, revealing that MINI USA have offered to suspend trialists’ $850 monthly lease payments until the issue is resolved which a spokesperson says will be in a “matter of weeks”.
With the charging units in place a fully discharged MINI E can be totally re-juiced in a mere four hours. Without it that impressive charge time increases dramatically to 23 hours for a complete recharge, threatening to make every other day a “Let’s Not Motor Day” for those with a long trek to the office.
The other criticism which seems to have exploded over the online motoring world was a particularly negative review of the MINI E first published by Green Car Reports which concludes that the car is “Not ready for primetime”. The first draft also said the car was rear wheel drive and you could spin the inside rear wheel exiting corners despite the lack of instantaneous power, which could go someway towards undermining the author’s other driving impressions. In the report concerns were also raised about the harshness of the regenerative braking technology hauling the car to a stop when you release the accelerator pedal and the in your face nature of the charge meter.
This is only one opinion though, and we fear some will jump on it both for and against to support their arguments concerning the future of electric vehicles. What we’re really interested in is the reports coming in from various trialists’ blogs and twitter accounts where you will perhaps gain a more balanced and in depth insight from those who have put their money where their belief is and are giving the MINI E a real life workout at their own expense. Here’s a few to get you going if you’re interested in how a few fortunate souls are finding life with an electric MINI:
- Our 100% Electric MINI E
- Plugged-In with Peter’s MINI E
- My NJ MINI E Blog
- EV Nation
- Edju’s MINI E Journey
- Life with a Solar-Charged MINI E
- Electric MINI
- My MINI E
- Robert’s MINI E Field Trial
- My weekend with the Electric MINI
Although it is almost as clear the MINI E is not ready or intended for the masses as it is unclear when it will arrive in numbers in the UK, this is a special little MINI we’re very interested in following the progress of, warts and all. We can’t wait to get our hands on one at the soonest possible opportunity.
Tags: alternative fuels, bmw, electric mini, EV, EVs, green cars, mini e, MINI E field trials
good article