Fullerene
Member
The Mini's range is way more than I need for the small car local journeys, I can see for others it's not quite there.
Completely agree with all of the above - I don't want to be a Tesla fanboy, the bigger picture is getting the overwhelming majority of all journeys away from fossil fuels. I have no issues with classic car use in the same sense that I don't have an issue with horse riders on the roads.
This leads me to a confession; I reserved a production slot for the new electric mini when the order book opened
(Insert Massive Justification for Electric Mini here - don't let the Mrs know..)
I've always desired a Tesla and an Electric Mini since the very early electric concept ones appeared way back. The MS was out of my price range and bit too flash for my liking. I own a very shoddy Mini, it really is on it's last legs. I run it on a shoe-string, it's just passed it's MOT, no service this year, to celebrate it will get it's yearly half pint of oil, it leaks oil like crazy, filling above the minimum line just leaves oil everywhere. There's little point spending any money on it, I reckon it's worth about 500GBP at most. However it's the family pet so we can't send it off to the scrap yard.. I love the handling, it's a fun car to drive, however I'm always glad to get out of it into a more comfortable car. I've done one long journey in the Mini, not something I want to repeat. I love the tiny boot as I can't get roped into shopping..
Compared to Tesla the Mini purchase process has been very relaxing so far. The EV specialist at my local dealer called me to have a general chin wag, he was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, he said any questions just call back. Mini have said they won’t be back in touch until October, that’s when I can spec the car. The car won’t get built until March 2020 at the earliest, it’s all about setting expectations. The Cowley plant produces a Mini almost every minute, the electric mini is produced on the same production line with the chassis as the same as a regular mini. The merits in this are obvious for production.
The Electric Mini and M3 are chalk and cheese, I quite like this as I don't want the Mini to try and be a Tesla. I just want a Mini that I can power from my Solar and won't pollute. I will likely spec the Mini so it is less electric looking, wheels that don't look like a UK socket, skeuomorphic grille etc
There’s a chance I may cancel the mini, but at this time there’s an outside chance I might cancel the M3 if my job ends - there have been a lot of redundancies where I work, though cancelling would be a sad day indeed.
The fact that the Mini top speed is limited to 90 something MPH smacks of nanny state, it's not exactly a spec that is going to win the petrolheads over, quick roadtrip to the Nurburgring? Do I think I am ever going to go 150MPH in the Tesla, most unlikely, at least I have the choice if I find myself on a deserted runway.
Would VW have committed to Electrification without the upstart Tesla? Possibly not. I like supporting the UK Cowley plant as well as offering a carrot to the ICE manufacturers to encourage them to do the right thing. This also encourages Tesla to sort out a few things, paint, customer service etc.
