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First Drive

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Mini E

Test date 17 November 2008  Price as tested  TBA

What is it?

This is Mini’s much-anticipated entry into the small, but increasingly significant, electric vehicle segment – the Mini E.

Only 500 examples of the Mini E will be produced, with cars leased to drivers in two American cities. The latest and greenest addition to the Mini line-up retains the look of the petrol and diesel cars, and keeps their front-wheel-drive architecture.

But under the surface the Mini E adopts the very latest in electric vehicle technology, including – crucially – rapid recharging.

The Mini E is the product of BMW’s highly secretive ‘Project I’ city-car initiative, and is regarded as the first tentative step on the way to a full-scale production electric Mini.

If the leasing pilot scheme proves successful, expect a very similar car to join the Mini line-up permanently.

What’s it like?

The big difference between the Mini E and standard Minis lurks beneath the bonnet, where a brushless electric motor replaces the familiar four-cylinder internal combustion engines.

This drives the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox, is rated at 150kw and kicks out a rather gutsy 162lb ft of torque from zero rpm.

Power for the electric motor is supply by a bulky lithium-ion battery pack mounted in the space usually reserved for the Mini’s rear seat - a move that effectively turns the Mini E into a snug two-seater and limits its everyday practicality.

The batteries come from US supplier AC propulsion – the same company used by Tesla for its Roadster and who played an integral role in the new car’s development. They are claimed to possess a nominal recharge time of just two hours, while their aggregate capacity is put at 35kWh.

A specially designed socket located in the place traditionally taken up by the fuel filler pipe is used to plug the car into the electricity grid.

The interior is livened up with new instrument graphics, an altered LED readout displaying just how much charge is left in the battery and a power meter where the fuel readout is sited in other Mini models.

Despite hauling an added 200kg over the Cooper S, the Mini E is every bit as fun to drive as its conventionally engined siblings in an urban environment.

Indeed, the go-kart analogy that BMW cultivates for the Mini is even more fitting for the Mini E, because of the stepless drive of the electric motor. Squeezing the throttle at standstill unleashes wonderfully linear acceleration.

Mini claims 0-62mph in 8.5sec, but in the hustle and bustle of city traffic the Mini E feels livelier than this figure suggests. Indeed, with all that shove being unleashed at once, the Mini E has a tendency towards torque steer from a standstill.

Another disappointment is the lack of any meaningful sound to accompany the Mini E’s spirited character. All you hear is a hushed turbine-like whirr emanating up from the footwells.

A further peculiarity in the Mini E’s on-road manner is the sudden drop-off in forward motion when you step off the throttle, and the electric motor is used to regenerate electricity to recharge the battery.

Should I buy one?

Sadly, you can’t. The initial fleet of Mini Es will be leased to carefully selected customers living in Los Angeles and New York for 12 months.

That said, it’s no secret that BMW is looking to establish a similar scheme in Europe, with London and Munich likely to be among the cities chosen to take part, and with the programme likely to lead to a dedicated electric-only Mini.

Greg Kable

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