Electric MINI revealed -- The Mini E

[JRP3]

Tesla has the right performance approach with much of the battery weight resting on the driven wheels.

As has been mentioned before the ultimate battery placement will be under the entire floor. This will give a lower center of gravity, good front to back ratio, and most usable room. The Mini is just a test bed, far from an ideal conversion, and isn't trying to be a high performance vehicle.

 

[EVnut]

Ahhh! Doug, can you edit your super-wide image up there in post 50? Scrolling to find the links is a bugger.

 

[dpeilow]

First Drive: Mini E Electric Vehicle Is Far From Ready For Primetime - Green Car Reports

The instruments comprise the characteristic Mini huge central speedometer, along with a battery-charge gauge directly in front of the driver and visible through the steering wheel.

This has the unintended effect of focusing attention on every percent of charge that's lost. We think Tesla struck the right balance; the state-of-charge bar gauge is visible, but it's above the driver's left knee, so it's not front and center.

heh...

And that goes double for the only production electric vehicle currently sold in the US, the 2009 Tesla Roadster. We were lucky enough to road-test that car, and it's a rolling sales pitch for the virtues of electric drive. The Mini E may be its polar opposite.

 

[doug]

From Chelsea:

CNBC Mini-mizes its journalism skills… « evchels

The piece starts with a condescending thump on the Mini E as a “toy poodle” of a car; true, it’s no SUV, but a good chunk of my generation grew up in vehicles no bigger than a Mini- and, electrification aside, the market is trending again toward smaller vehicles. Then we get the usual “if you try really hard, can you go fast enough to get a speeding ticket?” And on to the super-imaginative, “so you had to drive 20 miles to get to this interview- will you be able to get home without charging?” He finishes by informing Peter that his car runs on dirty coal, suggesting he’s not actually achieving any environmental benefit- a statement that’s long been proven false, especially in California, where Peter lives. Not that Dennis lets Peter answer-

Video - CNBC.com

 

[Tdave]

From Chelsea:

CNBC Mini-mizes its journalism skills… « evchels



Video - CNBC.com

OMG, that was absolutely horrible and irresponsible. Dennis Kneale of CNBC should have his journalism credentials revoked for that piece.

 

[dpeilow]

Someone should tell Kneale that his employer plans to invest hundreds of millions in EV tech...

 

[stopcrazypp]

Most of the complaints in the green car report piece is on the regen and acceleration, though they checked back and said that it's because the car is behind in the software updates.

On the video, I believe it was also CNBC that did a snarky piece on the Volt.

 

[TEG]

MINI E Mix Up, 220 Volt Charging Cable Still Needs UL Approval, MINI Says Cable Will Be Available By End of July - AllCarsElectric.com

 

[vfx]

MINI E Mix Up, 220 Volt Charging Cable Still Needs UL Approval, MINI Says Cable Will Be Available By End of July - AllCarsElectric.com

To rectify the problem, MINI has announced that customers will not have to pay the monthly lease fee of $850 until the 220 volt cable arrives.

If only...

 

[dpeilow]

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept gets a steal of a deal on MINI E lease

 

[dpeilow]

1,000 Miles in an Electric Mini: So Far, So Good | Autopia | Wired.com

Our friend Lyle Dennis is the world’s No. 1 Chevrolet Volt fanboy, but he’s taken to driving a Mini E electric car until General Motors gets its range-extended EV on the road. He’s just watched the odometer on the electric two-seater roll over the 1,000-mile mark and so far he’s ecstatic about the car.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Edmunds does a long term test of the MINI-E. Should be interesting.
2009 Mini E Long-Term Road Test on Inside Line
[youtube]uxSYTr0Ss60[/youtube]

 

[vfx]

Word is that BMW has messed up this program seven ways to Sunday.

 

[vfx]

Word on the street is that BMW has messed up this program seven ways till Sunday.

 

[dpeilow]

Is it on the street or just in general?

 

[Tdave]

Is it on the street or just in general?

Either way, they did it twice! Both times till Sunday.

 

[malcolm]

Bugs with the lease models:

Tales of woe from the electric car frontier, MINI E edition — Autoblog Green

Still, the issues that some early adopters are dealing with with these EVs are pretty dramatic: the car going into neutral when you step on the accelerator is a big one, as is paying an extra $1,500 for a home wiring upgrade. Also, the MINI E sends out a warning that the batteries are too hot when the ambient temperature is high.

 

[vfx]

Lot's of problems with the car.Even more with the program.

Could hurt EVs but since BMW is not working in a vacuum, they will probably end up looking bad themselves.

 

[JRP3]

Jack Rickard, who previously did a very nice Porsche conversion, is documenting his Mini Clubman conversion which will probably end up being nicer than the BMW version.

 

[EV-Nation.org]

I am actually one of the car testers. I have some definite reasons why I think it was a good idea to join the program. You can read all about it on my blog EV Nation Articles if you like.

I also think that there have been some problems with the program and the rollout in particular. However, I have personally spoken with more that 100 of the program participants (out of 450 or so) and out of that only know of 2 who aren't happy with the car and the program overall. Both of the issues revolve around the price which I don't really understand since that was pretty clear from day one. You either did the math and decided it was worth it for you or didn't. But I digress. Again read more about the politics as I have started to learn it on my blog.

There are minor issues with the car also but mainly it was unexpected problems with the rollout of the charging systems that were the biggest issue. I think personally, Mini dealt with it in the right way by eating the cost of the cars while those issues were settled.

If you want to see how people actually feel about the cars, instead of just reading a few repeated articles on websites that seem to have some political agendas, check out all the blogs from the people actually driving the cars. There are dozens of them. And they really like them.

I think almost all are like me. They are loving the experience and will be EV buyers when the program is over. Which I think will be great for companies like Tesla. If BMW doesn't have a production EV by then, they may miss out.

/Rant off