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MINI E goes on trial
MINI has launched a six-month field trial of an experimental electric car, and West Berkshire is in the heart of the test area.
The German-owned car builder, part of BMW, is part of a consortium which includes Southern Electric, and so a fleet of cars is on trial throughout the Southern Electric area.
I drove one of the prototypes, known as the MINI E, at this week's press launch in Farnborough. BMW was keen to point out that we are unlikely to see any electric car on sale in its showrooms until 2015. The company is, however, keen to develop alternative, sustainable zero-emission vehicles as part of its ‘Efficient Dynamics’ strategy.
At first glance, the MINI E looks pretty similar to a conventional MINI, apart from a few discreet 'E' logos, and a power socket instead of a fuel filler. Only when you look inside to the differences become obvious. That’s because the area normally occupied by the boot and the rear seats is taken up with a whacking great lithium-ion battery weighing 260kg. Think about that for a second – that’s a mobile phone battery that weighs the same as a large touring motorcycle. Or four 10-stone adults. So luggage capacity is virtually non-existent.
In front, the engine bay is taken up with a huge electric motor, capable of churning out 200 horsepower and 220NM torque. Those are pretty impressive figures – more than the petrol-driven Cooper S model, for example.
Charging the car is via a 32-amp wall box supplied by MINI, which will take about four or five hours to fully charge the battery, and give the car a range of 155 miles under ‘ideal’ conditions; (MINI's figures were derived from testing in California). If you find yourself away from home, a conventional 13-amp cable is also provided, but you are looking at a 10-hour wait to fully charge the battery, assuming you can find somewhere to plug it in.
Southern Electric hopes that users will charge their cars overnight, when Economy 7 electricity is cheaper and there is less demand on the grid for power. On that basis, a charge will cost about £2, so the cost savings in the trial vehicles are obvious, (although those taking part are paying a hefty £330 lease fee for the six months of the trial).
Settling in to the driver's seat, (the MINI E has only been built in left-hand-drive), it is very much business as usual. The big central retro-style speedo is there. Where the rev-counter would sit atop the steering column is an indicator showing how much battery life is left.
There is no gearbox – the controls look very much like an automatic, with a shift to select, drive, park reverse and neutral.
Where the car differs from the driver’s perspective, however, is in the use of the accelerator. Like other hybrid or electric vehicles, the MINI E makes use of ‘regenerative’ power, that is, energy which is created during the braking process. (Quick science lesson: when your brakes get hot, that’s energy being turned into heat and wasted. With regeneration, that energy is taken and used to re-charge the battery). There is an indicator showing whether the car is using energy or creating it, depending on your driving style.Because taking your foot off the accelerator acts as a brake (it feels alarming at first but you get used to it), it is possible, with forward planning, to adapt your driving style to render the conventional footbrake almost redundant. When the car is under regenerative braking, the brake lights still illuminate, warning other drivers that you are slowing down.
If, like me, the only electric vehicles you have ever driving have been sluggish golf carts or mobility scooters, then the MINI E is a revelation in terms of what electric cars can do. There is no torque curve, as such, just an instant hit when you put your foot down. The 0-62mph figure is 8.5 seconds, and the top speed on these prototype cars has been limited to 95mph. As a result, it is a car which really is massive fun to drive.
You would expect an electric car to be completely silent. From the outside, it probably is, (which no doubt will raise all sorts of safety concerns about pedestrians not being able to hear it coming. That is a debate for another day). Inside the car, however, it sounds like a subtle mixture of supercharger and jet engine, which, though faint, is rather pleasing to the ear. The stereo would not have to be very loud to blot it out, however.
MINI worked out a clever route around the Farnborough-Aldershot area which included lots of roundabouts, which showed what a capable little city car the MINI E really is.
The suspension on the MINI is quite stiff, like its petrol and diesel stablemates, but with that great lump of battery in the back it has to be.
We started our 32-mile drive on 91 per cent battery power. An hour later, it was down to less than 50 per cent. That highlights the limitations of electric vehicles – the practicalities of charging and range will continue to limit their use and render them ‘second cars’ in most households until those issues have been overcome. But it is important to remember that the MINI E is very much a testbed for the new technology. We will follow its progress with interest, as, the evidence of this test drive, it is very much a viable option.
14/10/2009 11:01:00
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