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Electric MINI revealed -- The Mini E
- Thread starter stopcrazypp
- Start date
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- Electric Vehicles
There were 3 "cost of energy" stories within half an hour on BBC Breakfast News this morning, followed by reports on Libya of course. Not once was the fact that the first UK mass-market electric family car was being delivered to its new owners today mentioned (one of whom is a long time BBC Radio DJ).
You'd think they would link the common thread between them all, but no. They are definitely running a not-too-subtle campaign to reduce the cost of fuel. Whether it's just the BBC bigwigs starting to feel the pinch when filling their Jags or something more sinister, I don't know.
You'd think they would link the common thread between them all, but no. They are definitely running a not-too-subtle campaign to reduce the cost of fuel. Whether it's just the BBC bigwigs starting to feel the pinch when filling their Jags or something more sinister, I don't know.
smorgasbord
Active Member
This part is a bit scary: 9% of the 120 people that drove a Mini E for a year said they are now less likely to purchase a BEV than they were before. Note: that's not a quote, but it's accurate from the link.
Yes, I read the 71% said they were now more likely to buy one, but still a 9% rejection rate is a bit scary. The article doesn't say why. (Limited range would be my guess).
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I'd say a 9% rejection rate is really fairly promising. 9% is nothing, especially as the vehicles improve.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
shark2k
Member
I would have to say it probably has to do with the fact that the Mini-E was not built from the ground up but a conversion so some stuff didn't work well. The air-cooling of the battery also hurt the range in the extreme weather, which was probably also a factor to that 9%. I believe the A/C was weak and the heat was dismal according to some of the Pioneers. They had to dress very warmly when driving during the winter.
-Shark2k
I guess I was in that 71%. I just turned mine in this past Saturday. It was a sad day, and it makes the wait for the Model S that much more agonizing.
"100% of respondents said BEVs are fun to drive and practical for daily use"
Yes indeed, and don't forget this one:
"99% of respondents said home charging was easy to use"
Easy, and also Fun.
GSP
Indeed, easy and fun. One other thing to consider about the 9% that said they weren't interested in another BEV: at the time we were asked, we were paying the original unusually costly monthly lease. Perhaps some people thought the question was asking if they'd be interested in another BEV similar in cost/value to the MINI E (which admittedly was pretty low on that ratio, quite separate from its fun factor). It's just a thought, though, because even then I suspect most people knew that the cost/value ratio would improve dramatically in fairly short order.
GSP: I am just opting to go without a car until the S arrives. A little crazy, perhaps, but I have enjoyed living without a car in the past and expect I'll enjoy the change of pace once again.
GSP: I am just opting to go without a car until the S arrives. A little crazy, perhaps, but I have enjoyed living without a car in the past and expect I'll enjoy the change of pace once again.
Page 13
"the preponderance of the MINI E households described the daily range of the MINI E as meeting 90 percent of their needs..."
"Despite the MINI E's limited range and cargo space, most MINI E drivers drove the MINI E as their primary vehicle, the one they liked to choose first for trips, even when roomier conventional vehicles were available."
Page 24 (remember this one!)
"The well-known limitations of range and long recharge times may be outweighed by a whole new set of activities and benefits discovered through...lifestyle exploration."
Study
"the preponderance of the MINI E households described the daily range of the MINI E as meeting 90 percent of their needs..."
"Despite the MINI E's limited range and cargo space, most MINI E drivers drove the MINI E as their primary vehicle, the one they liked to choose first for trips, even when roomier conventional vehicles were available."
Page 24 (remember this one!)
"The well-known limitations of range and long recharge times may be outweighed by a whole new set of activities and benefits discovered through...lifestyle exploration."
Study
You just cope, you adjust to suit. I had no complaints from my friends this weekend when, after picking them up at the station, I asked them to drive themselves back in the Tesla.
Though I don't understand what they mean about limited cargo space...
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JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Haha! Like you, I sometimes ignored the warning about putting anything on top of the battery stack, but that was MINI's official word. So counting the ability to put stuff on top of the batteries as valid cargo space is also a stretch.
The cargo space was indeed sparse, but as the researchers pointed out, it's easy to adapt.
Driving an electric car made me care-free about driving. As a result, making more frequent trips to the grocery store--buying one or two bags of goods at a time--was just fine. That said, I expect that once the Model S arrives and I grow comfortable with it, I'll make fewer trips to the store. The behavior with the MINI E was mostly caused by limited cargo space and not purely a love of driving.
In fact, for my part I made it fairly clear to the researchers that most/all complaints I have with the MINI E were about the nature of MINIs in general (cheap, tacky plastic interior; a busted blocked-window sensor that MINI never could fix; finicky hatchback latch) or the specific electric conversion they had done with the MINI E (removing the back seats). The characteristics that they assumed I would have trouble with (range, charge time) never caused me any problems and I have grown steadily more bored with answering that line of questions.
The cargo space was indeed sparse, but as the researchers pointed out, it's easy to adapt.
Driving an electric car made me care-free about driving. As a result, making more frequent trips to the grocery store--buying one or two bags of goods at a time--was just fine. That said, I expect that once the Model S arrives and I grow comfortable with it, I'll make fewer trips to the store. The behavior with the MINI E was mostly caused by limited cargo space and not purely a love of driving.
In fact, for my part I made it fairly clear to the researchers that most/all complaints I have with the MINI E were about the nature of MINIs in general (cheap, tacky plastic interior; a busted blocked-window sensor that MINI never could fix; finicky hatchback latch) or the specific electric conversion they had done with the MINI E (removing the back seats). The characteristics that they assumed I would have trouble with (range, charge time) never caused me any problems and I have grown steadily more bored with answering that line of questions.
Just balance it out a little, go to an ICE car meet, wander round the Porsches, Ferrari's & Lambo's and start asking the owners "So, erm, nice, car. So, erm, how far does it go on a tank then? What do you do if you run out on the track? How do you fill it up when you're at home? What do you do when you want to accelerate really quickly... a few times? What happens when the engine/intercooler on your Exige gets too hot? What do you do if you need to go on a short trip, like to drop off at school? What's that dribbling on my foot?"
Excellent. I particularly like the idea of reversing the table. "Wait, you're telling me you have to go somewhere else to recharge this thing? You can't recharge at home? What's that about? Oh it's not called recharging? Refilling you say? You just pour liquid into it?"
I guess that's where Nissan was going with their "gas-powered everything" ads. :smile:
I guess that's where Nissan was going with their "gas-powered everything" ads. :smile:
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