Golf’s hot hatches get a hybrid tune-up
more eco-friendly.
The electric motor will accelerate the Mini Electric from 0-62mph in 7.3sec but a more relevant number is 0-30mph in 3.9sec, which is more than brisk enough for town driving.
To fit the batteries into the Mini the car has been lifted by 18mm but this is offset by a centre of gravity that’s lower by 30mm. This means that the Mini’s famously nippy and tidy handling hasn’t been sacrificed.
The ride comfort is not quite as good as that on conventional Minis but not unpleasantly so.With a kerb weight of 1,365kg the Mini Electric is hefty for a compact city car and that loses some of its nimbleness.
While the BMW i3 hasn’t been a huge sales success I was staggered to see how many of them are parked on Central London’s streets.
I expect that this new Mini Electric is going to be a similarly, if not more common, sight in the capital where it is probably going to be owned by people who own another car.
This car shows that you don’t have to come up with anything radically new to create an appealing small EV, simply electrifying what you have does the job.
The Mini Electric alongside the Honda E are the two most appealing city EVs that I’ve driven so far in the EV revolution.The Honda is more creative and futuristic and has four doors; the Mini is more traditional.
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‘With strong resale values, the monthly payments are likely to be attractive’
and, for the first time ever, a hybrid version called the GTE.
The GTI is fitted with a 245PS petrol engine and a new DSG gearbox.
Styling includes a honeycomb grille and rear diffuser with twin exhaust tailpipes.
The GTE features a plug-in hybrid powertrain that uses the same GTI engine but with a 13kWh battery and an EV range of a maximum 36 miles.