Customer deliveries of MINI’s all electric zero emission MINI E have recently begun. So, with the MINI E out on the streets we can cut through the PR hype and see just how good this car really is. Will the E earn an A+ report card, or will it be a dismal F and back to the drawing board for BMW and MINI?
According to GreenCarReports.com it looks like a a case of being a MINI F. They were quite savage about the car declaring, “Ten days ago, we had a chance to drive a Mini E. Rarely have we been in a car less ready for primetime than this electric conversion of that fun, peppy, cheerful rollerskate, the 2009 Mini Cooper S.”
Their main problem is with the regenerative braking system that cuts in as soon as the driver’s foot lifts off the accelerator. And, that’s the problem, apparently, it really does cut in, “on lift-off, it (regenerative braking) took half a second to kick in—and then came on so strong it threw us forward in our seatbelts.”
Hmm, that’s not such a great report from the field for the MINI E. But what do real world end users think? Unsurprisingly there are a few blogs out there run by MINI E “owners”. Here’s a couple of sample comments:
Robert’s MINI E Field Trial: “The ride home went well, the regenerative brakes were fun, especially going down hill, I did have to us the regular brakes a few times, as I pulled out of the dealership, it accellerated faster then I’d planned, and later at a cross walk I had to stop quickly.”
Me and the Mini-e: “…this thing moves. It isn’t so much its 0-60 (officially 8.6 seconds) or its top speed (officially 95 mph), but that no matter how fast you’re going on any hill, if you give it gas, it instantly accelerates.”
From the same blog: “The decrease in speed when you take your foot off the gas is so dramatic, in fact, that the brake lights come on as you start to slow down even though you’re not using the brake.
In regular driving, you will rarely use the brakes except for coming to a complete stop or a really quick stop… It is certainly something that you have to get used to, but not something you can’t get used to.”
While it is clear the MINI E is not without fault, and it does have some unique idiosyncrasies, generally speaking, end-user feedback has been positive (including Jay Leno). This, despite the initial findings from GreenCarReports. It is worth noting that the dramatic lurching from the regenerative braking on their test car could be explained by an older software version running the ECU.
A long term test vehicle has been secured by Edumuds.com and it will be interesting to read their reports in the future.