Distance learning
Get used to its limits and you can learn to enjoy life with the Mini EV. By James Taylor
Six months ago I wrote my first Mini Electric report with a half-empty glass on my desk. I’m writing the report sipping a half-full one. Life with the Mini has been challenging at times but it’s been nice having it around.
It’s been liberating to pop into town without the guilt of starting a cold engine for a short journey. And it’s very easy to use: get in, go, and enjoy the drive. The Mini feels more analogue than most electric cars, like a normal car with a powerful electric motor instead of an engine. That’s exactly what it is.
Engineering 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 downside of squeezing a square (well, T-shaped) battery pack into a rounded supermini is the range. Ocially, it’ll manage up to 145 miles from a full charge. On dual carriageways, even sticking to 60mph, I struggled to crack 100 miles.
Not being able to charge at CAR’s oces during lockdown has meant three-pin-plug charging at home. Lacking the ability to charge overnight at my mid-terrace house meant I had to adapt my life to the Mini. 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.
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.
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. 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. I also needed to have an unscheduled stay overnight to get enough charge in the Mini to make it home the next day.
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). 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. 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.
Next year, Mini expects a third of three-door hatches built at its Oxford plant to be electric. Mileage aside, its appeal is undeniable. The Mini Electric’s sheer normality is its greatest strength. 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.
Count the cost
Cost new £30,900 Part exchange
£23,980 Cost per mile 5.6p
Cost per mile including depreciation £2.52