Electric MINI

[gene]

I had a repeated stop light to stop light race with this new electric mini today on a rural road. Smoked it every time, and I drive the slowest Tesla there is! . I will say, this car was all black without all that yellow crap all over it. It looks MUCH better in life than in the pictures. I had plenty of opportunity to take more pictures, I simply forgot to, oooops!

 

[drtimhill]

My thoughts, exactly. But, odd picture... Why no tire tracks in the snow? Is it really that cold that it's on ice?

Looks very photoshopped. No shadow under the car.

 

[drtimhill]

Looks definitely like a sure i3 killer!

Isn't it just the guts of an i3 stuffed inside a Mini body? What could possibly go wrong?

 

[woof]

Isn't it just the guts of an i3 stuffed inside a Mini body? What could possibly go wrong?

The i3 is the guts of the ActiveE.
The ActiveE (Modified 1 series with batteries stuffed under the back seat and in the trunk) was the guts of the e-mini.
The e-mini was a modified mini with batteries stuffed in the back seat.

So it’s come full circle, from mini to ActiveE to i3 to mini again.
BTW, the e-mini was a blast to drive, as was the ActiveE.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Looks very photoshopped. No shadow under the car.

Because it's taken with an on camera flash.

 

[Crutonius]

Had a chance to test drive this. I have to say I'm a little... disappointed.

Here's what the reviews seem to downplay or omit, this car is very sluggish off the line. It almost feels like turbo lag. I'm assuming this is because if they didn't limit the power at low speeds then the would be constantly spinning the tires.

It sort of negates the performance appeal of an electric car which is a flat power curve.

 

[polyphonic54]

Did you try it in Sport mode? That will give you lots of torque early in the pedal mapping. I actually prefer the standard mid setting. The power delivery in mid is really nice.

 

[Crutonius]

I did not. I wasn't aware of it. Does it fix the early torque problem? That would be great I'd it did but it makes me wonder why they didn't just enable it default.

 

[polyphonic54]

i3 cars had a torque issue that was causing their (plastic) motor mounts to snap, so they used software to change the curve. Is that what you mean?

There's a little toggle button that can move the car from mid (default), up to sport, or down to 'green.' Green is fine for normal driving or with a passenger, very smooth. You can save maybe 5-10% with that, depending on how heavy your foot is.

I like Mid because it just delivers power exactly how I want it. It's not a flat curve, but I find it to be very enjoyable if that makes sense. Sport will jolt you around, similar to the instant torque feeling Teslas are known for. I think it's been clocked only at 6 seconds to 60, but the 0-30 is the impressive part. I'll say that when driving it, it feels like having your own personal rollercoaster. There is more power on tap than I need or want, most of the time

Oh man, If Tesla ever made a hot hatch....