MINI Cooper Working on Electric Vehicle
Though electric cars have been available for over a century, engineering issues cause them to often remain unsuitable for daily drives. Hopefully, that will soon change. For MINI Cooper fans that really care about the environment, MINI has recently designed an electric car, also known as the MINI E. The mother company of MINI, BMW, has decided to combine the popular design of the compact MINI Cooper line with the electric capabilities of a fully electric car.
Much excitement has already emerged when talking about the MINI E, which is still in testing. The field tests, which are testing how well the MINI E handles real roads, are currently being held in the US, in the states of New York, New Jersey, and California. Customers who are currently testing them have to pay $850 to cover maintenance, insurance, as well as other aspects of the MINI E. Much like the other field tests for electric cars, they will not be able to buy the MINI E after their lease runs out.
Frankly, since the testing has been going on since 2009, and was supposed to last 1 year it does make you wonder what is going on.
What are the Field Test Results for the MINI E?
The MINI E is currently in the middle of its field tests according to the official MINI website (see comment above), which will tell whether or not the car is ready to be sold en masse. Currently, several major problems have been reported with the MINI E which would likely cause them to be unpopular with the majority of car buyers and lessees.
- The brakes on the MINI E are very, very grippy. The word “excessive” is often used when describing them.
- The huge battery of the MINI E takes up a lot of space.
- Lastly, for a car the size of a MINI Cooper, the E is extremely heavy at a jawdropping 3,000 pounds.
However, many pluses have been mentioned about the MINI E as well.
- So far, out of all of the electric cars that were designed, the MINI E has the one of the best-rated driving performance.
- It still has the much beloved style of a MINI Cooper.
- No gas stops!
- It can be fully charged relatively quickly.
- Electric cars are still novel, and are a major selling point for people who want the most cutting-edge technology.
Is the MINI E street-ready? No one is quite sure yet. There are still tests to be run, and there are still many things which can be improved. Will the concept of an electric car catch on? Only time will tell.
<soapbox> Personally? I hope they catch on quickly. While I don't consider myself a 'tree hugger', I just see so many cool technologies being produced which will increase electricity production in wind, rain, water and sun that I have to believe it is a way 'out' of being too dependent on foreign oil. </soapbox>
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
I need to write more - No related posts.
If you are interested in joining our mailing list, please submit your email below. 
