MINI CHARGES AHEAD
AT A GLANCE
MINI ELECTRIC FIRST EDITION PRICE $59,900 drive away
MOTOR 135kW electric /32.6kWh battery WARRANTY/SERVICING 3-year/u’ltd km, $800 for 5 years
SAFETY Not yet ANCAP tested, 6 airbags, low-speed AEB, forward collision alert, head up display, speed sign recognition
RANGE 233km (claimed)
CARGO 211L
SPARE None; runflats
It feels quicker. Rolling acceleration is similarly strong and the Mini overtakes effortlessly from any speed.
Range is effectively maximised by a twosetting regenerative braking function. Select “high energy recovery” and the electric motor generates serious retardation (and charge) when you lift your right foot. It’s pretty abrupt, but once you get used to it you rarely need to use the left pedal at all.
I picked up the Electric with the instruments showing 140km of range remaining, and the battery at 94 per cent charge. After a 104km drive around Melbourne, including about 25km of freeway, I returned the car with a claimed 46 per cent of battery and 78km of range remaining. The regenerative braking function had actually added extra charge and range.
So around town you should have no problem getting 200km-plus from a fully-charged battery. As with any EV, though, highway driving will suck volts at a rapid rate and, based on other EV tests, you can expect a safe maximum open road range of about 150km in the Mini. Road trips will be highly problematic. Don’t wander too far from home.
Mini Australia’s allocation of Electrics is sold out for 2020 and it’s now taking online orders for 2021. Sixty big ones is ridiculous, but who am I to argue with an obviously eager bunch of buyers? We should be thankful to those philanthropists who drop big bucks on today’s EVs, because ultimately it’s their money that will keep the car companies investing in high voltage motoring so that, further down the road, it will become affordable and viable for the rest of us.
VERDICT
The price doesn’t compute, and range anxiety will be your constant companion on the open road, but the Mini Electric really works in town, and unlike most EV appliances there’s joy in the way it drives.