Electric cars are going to be a tough sell to car-mad Brits. We love our hot hatches far too much to be interested in reskinned milk floats. But the world’s oil supplies won’t last forever, so carmakers are looking to the future and starting to build electric-powered concepts and prototypes. So what better to persuade the driving public that a car that you plug in can actually be fun to drive than an electric Mini, one of the most popular cars on the road today. We drove the prototype Mini E that will be trialled in the UK over the next year by private and fleet users and discovered that electric cars really could be the future, if they’re as good as this.

Mini E consumer car reviews
Mini E lease prices
Mini E new and nearly new

Ownership isn’t possible with the Mini E: as a prototype, it’s only available on a lease basis to drivers who have to apply to take part in an evaluation project. These private users – 20 for the first six months, with another 20 for the second half-year – have to live in a strictly defined geographical area in the south-east of England, which is within the area where Scottish and Southern Electric (a partner in the project) supplies the power infrastructure for charging. Drivers who wish to participate in the project also have to be willing to cooperate fully with the researchers attached to the project, spending time filling out travel logs and answering questionnaires. They’ll also have to pay a lease fee of £330 a month for the privilege, but when you consider that fully charging the car using off-peak electricity (overnight, when it’s parked outside the house) will only cost £1.50 and there will be no petrol costs for six months, it seems a pretty good deal. And you also get the warm glow from knowing that you’ll be an environmental pioneer, helping to push the boundaries in the quest for emissions-free motoring. It’ll certainly be something to tell the grandkids in 50 years’ time, when everyone’s driving electric cars.

Read the full Mini E road test

RoadTestReports.co.uk provides road tests reports written by members of the Guild of Motoring Writers. These reports are complemented by car reviews submitted by the members of the public who drive the vehicles day in day out.

MINI is on the hunt for willing test drivers to drive its electric MINI cars as part of a Government-backed scheme to get electric cars on the roads.

Pioneering drivers are wanted to partake in MINI E UK research project. Interested drivers can now apply online to lease one of twenty prototype cars destined for British roads. The online application form will be hosted at www.electricMINI.co.uk from 01- 30 September 2009. Comprehensive details of the project are also available on this website.

Each MINI E will be available to lease for six months from December this year. A second round of applications will then be invited in 2010, allowing a further twenty drivers to lease an all-electric MINI for a six month period.

Accounting for current development and manufacturing costs, the monthly lease fee for a MINI E would normally be priced at £550 per month.

However, earlier this year a BMW Group-led consortium was awarded part of a £25m fund by the Technology Strategy Board, the Government-backed organisation that promotes technology innovation across the UK. This funding has meant that the monthly lease fee can be reduced to £330 per month, which includes VAT, insurance and maintenance (terms and conditions apply).

The MINI E driver also pays for the electricity used. Fully re-charging the battery using off-peak electricity at current prices will cost around £1.50. Using higher-rate daytime electricity, the cost will still be less than £4.00.

All applicants to the research trial will have to meet certain criteria to be eligible to take part. Firstly, customers must reside in South East England, within a triangular geographical area joining Andover, Oxford and West London. A full list of eligible post codes and a map of the relevant area is available on the website.

MINI E test drivers must also have a private garage, car port or parking space at their home. Not only for safety and security reasons, but primarily to ensure that a high power charging unit in the form of a wall box measuring approximately 0.6m x 0.6m can be installed by Southern Electric. This wall box will be supplied with every MINI E and also includes a 6.5m charging cable. The 240V/32 amp supply provided by the wall box can fully charge the MINI E’s lithium-ion battery pack from empty in just 4.5 hours. An adaptor for use with an ordinary 13 amp socket will also be supplied, but the lower capacity for charge means it will take around 10 hours to provide a full charge. Therefore it is only appropriate for occasional use.

Maintenance, servicing and technical assistance will be provided by dedicated BMW Group UK ‘flying doctors’. These technicians will be supported by selected MINI dealers within the MINI E research area.

Following the launch of MINI E research projects in North America and Germany, the UK trial is a collaborative effort between a BMW Group UK-led consortium. Additional funding is provided by the Technology Strategy Board as part of a UK-wide programme involving trials of 340 ultra-low carbon vehicles from several manufacturers.

Southern Electric will be responsible for the electricity infrastructure in the research area and is committed to supplying ‘green energy’ to all drivers of the MINI E.* The region in which Southern Electric owns the supply network is an important reason for working with a geographical research sample in South East England.

Oxford Brookes University’s Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre will manage the collation of qualitative and quantitative research throughout the UK project. This will include analysis of driver experiences with the MINI E, as well as reviewing the technical information provided by the data-logging units fitted to every MINI E.

The consortium is strengthened by public sector organisations from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council. These organisations are working to develop high economic growth in their areas through innovation and developing high value job opportunities through projects such as this. A further 20 MINI E vehicles will be distributed among the MINI E consortium members for testing in a fleet environment. This will necessitate the establishment of a technical infrastructure in each organisation’s local area and aid a common objective to be at the forefront of sustainable transport initiatives.

With MINI already firmly established in the hearts of British motorists and the opportunity to drive a 204hp, emission-free version of the car in the UK now on offer, a similar rush of interest is expected so get your clogs on if you want to be one of the lucky guinea pigs.

The BMW MINI E is one of the most exciting and head turning electric car concepts and now it is being put to the test thanks to a partnership between BMW and the University of California at Davis.

The research will focus on user interactions with the MINI E and is expected to provide insight into real-life usage and perception of electric vehicles. It will gather in-depth information from 50 voluntary participants through online diaries, written questionnaires and a series of interviews.

Studies will be led by the UC Davis Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Centre, which is administered by the Institute of Transportation Studies and is funded by a three-year, $3million grant from the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research Programme.

Dr Tom Turrentine, the director of UC Davis’ PHEV Research Centre, described the study as “an exciting opportunity to talk with users about their daily experience of the cars”.

US field trials of the MINI E are already under way for two months, with BMW gathering data from the 450 MINI E drivers. The vehicles are now in daily operation in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles after residential charging stations were installed into the garages of MINI E drivers. The vehicle reportedly has a 100 mile range on a single charge.

The UK has been an epicentre for drivers with a green conscience for many years. Having already adjusted its road tax system to penalise the heaviest polluters and introduced congestion charges; the Government created a vehicle scrappage scheme earlier this year meant to help more motorists make green choices while boosting the automotive sector.

Now it seems that its efforts have been rewarded.

Last week, Nissan announced plans to make electric car batteries at its plant in Sunderland, creating 350 new jobs in the process (see ‘Nissan to make electric car batteries at Sunderland plant’). In total it will invest £200million over the next five years with hopes high that Nissan Sunderland will also be a strong contender to manufacture the company’s electric cars.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the news as the Government embarks on the Building Britain’s Future scheme – a plan for recovery based on low carbon, high technology industries, products and services. So is Britain really in a position to be a green car leader?

The argument for the UK…

Many of the manufacturers with bases in the UK are already investing in new technologies and focusing on the development of green cars. For example, Toyota has announced plans to manufacture the hybrid Auris in the UK (see article) at its Derbyshire factory as it bids to make more European motorists switch from increasingly clean diesel vehicles to low emission technology. Vauxhall is also considered one of the leading contenders to win the contract to produce General Motors’ new electric car the Chevrolet Volt, which has been previewed in Europe under the name of the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera (pictured).

MINI has proudly showcased its Oxford-built MINI E electric car which is being trialled in the US market; while Lotus has helped develop the new Tesla Roadster – an electric sports car that will also debut in the North American market.
In addition, the Government has shown that it is willing to offer strong backing to car manufacturers that adopt a green stance and bring jobs to the UK. It has given a £27million grant to Land Rover to help it produce a new hybrid SUV that has been code-named LRX and should help the Jaguar-Land Rover group reach a new audience.
It has also outlined targets for the National Grid to increase the amount of electricity that comes from purely renewable sources. There are tax breaks for electric cars, as well as freedom from congestion charges and even free parking in electric hotspots such as Westminster.

The argument against the UK…

One of the major problems the UK faces is that, as an already developed economy, it needs to produce results now rather than later as it slumps into it deepest recession since the Depression.

Electric cars remain something of a gamble. Though they appear to be favoured over hydrogen fuel cells and even algae-based biofuels; range, practicality and power remain three key stumbling blocks. At present, the most popular electric car in the UK is the G-Wiz and it has a questionable safety reputation, not to mention the fact that there are cheaper alternatives on the market that don’t face the same limitations.

There is also the matter of a shortage of recharging points with little investment outside London, and as the UK is so heavily populated, it relies on flats and apartment blocks – living in such an environment makes recharging all the more difficult.

What’s more is that Britain’s car industry has a reputation for producing “gas guzzlers”. The likes of Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar and Land Rover all have bases in the UK and they are less likely to fall prey to low-cost competition in developing countries such as China, India and Korea.

So the question remains as to whether the Government should really be focusing its cash in this direction and, even if it does, it can surely be out-spent by other more interventionist countries. Worryingly, as the bulk of the major car companies are foreign, the UK is always subject to their whims.

Our verdict…

Electric cars in existing forms undoubtedly have their limitations, but these are being addressed and the car industry seems intent on making this form of alternative vehicle the focus for the future of motoring. It seems every major car maker has an electric car in the works, and Nissan in particular is piling millions into their development.

To ignore these advancements would be short-sighted and so it makes sense for the UK to try and grab some of action. With significant investment behind it and such a well-established reputation in motoring there’s no reason why Britain shouldn’t position itself as one of the leaders of the green car pack.

Faye Sunderland

Mini has chosen a good time to launch the latest member of its model range, the One Clubman. The new entry-level estate enters the market just as the iconic little city car celebrates its 50th birthday, but it’s also a good time to launch a car that returns 52.3mpg and emits just 130g/km as we all worry about the effects of the recession and climate change. The Mini One Clubman therefore seems ideally placed to offer a useful alternative for young families who spend much of their time in and around town, but who also take the occasional longer trip.

Mini One lease prices
Mini One new and nearly new car prices

The Mini One Clubman’s 1.4-litre engine means that it’s relatively cheap to run. The official fuel economy is 52.3mpg on the combined cycle, with carbon dioxide emissions of 130g/km, placing the car in Band D for road tax, costing £120 per year. The One Clubman comes fitted with al kinds of fuel- and emissions-saving technology, collectively called Minimalism, which includes auto stop/start that cuts the engine when idling in heavy traffic or at the lights. However, as we mentioned earlier, the official fuel economy is likely to suffer in the real world due to the need to keep the engine revs up to maintain power. The One Clubman falls under insurance group 6, so policies shouldn’t be too expensive to maintain. Minis have always retained their value well and we don’t see why the Clubman should be any different, with residuals around the 50% mark after three years.

Read the full Mini One Clubman road test

RoadTestReports.co.uk provides road tests reports written by members of the Guild of Motoring Writers. These reports are complemented by car reviews submitted by the members of the public who drive the vehicles day in day out.

A leasing program of 450 Mini E model cars is set to begin in the US.

Over the next few weeks a select number of customers in New Jersey, New York and California will take delivery of a fully electric version of the Mini Coupe as part of a trial program.

According to the LA Times, the lucky few will pay $850 a month to lease the new electric car, which due to the size of its battery, is only a two-seater vehicle.

The cost of the lease may be high, but that doesn’t seem to deter one of the first to try the new electric car, Nick Howell who told the publication: “I’m just excited to get a real car that is only powered by electricity.”

With a driving range of around 150 miles, the Mini E’s lithium ion batteries achieve
62 mph in 8.5 seconds to an electronically-limited top speed of 95 mph.  At a high voltage 240v charge, the Mini E takes just 4.4 hours to charge.
A trail here in the UK is also planned. Production of 40 cars for the UK trial will take place shortly at the company’s Oxford and Munich sites and is scheduled for completion before October 2009.

Read the LA Times article

Ian Robertson, Sales and Marketing Director of BMW Group AG, today joined Business Secretary Peter Mandelson and Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon in Scotland as they launched the Government’s vision for ultra-low carbon transport in the UK.

Both ministers drove a MINI E electric car at the event as they announced plans to support motorists by providing help worth £2000-£5000 towards buying their first electric or plug-in hybrid car when they hit the showrooms.

BMW Group has announced that MINI E will go on a twelve-month field trial in Germany and the USA this year, to evaluate the technical and social aspects of living with an all-electric vehicle in a real world environment and plans to include the UK in this programme.

Ian Robertson said, “We believe the MINI E is an excellent vehicle for trialling this alternative form of sustainable mobility. And what better time to do this than in the year we celebrate the 50th birthday of MINI. We look forward to extending our German and American trials to the UK.”

“Such a trial cannot be conducted by any single organisation on its own,” he added, “as it goes far beyond the simple test of a prototype electric MINI. To make electric mobility a reality, organisations in both the private and public sectors will need to think differently and act together.”

BMW Group recently applied to the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board in response to a funding competition announced in December 2008. Proposals were invited for innovative, industry-led collaborative research projects involving ultra-low carbon vehicles.

The UK trial would bring together central and regional government departments, regional development organisations, energy infrastructure providers and academic partners. The common objective is to develop ultra-low carbon vehicles that customers want to buy – and bring them to market as rapidly as possible.

BMW has already established a number of key proposed partners for the UK trial.

Scottish and Southern Energy is the UK’s leading generator of energy from renewable sources and will be installing the private and public charging points required for the MINI E test vehicles.

Academic support will come from the Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre at Oxford Brookes University to carry out the data analysis and reporting the findings.

The MINI E research project supports the BMW Group goal of achieving emission-free driving and underlines its commitment to reducing CO2 emissions without compromising the driving experience. The company aims to begin series production of all-electric vehicles in the medium term as part of the company’s Strategy Number ONE. Know-how gained from the MINI E pilot projects around the world will play an important part in informing future strategic and technological decisions.

At the end of the one-year trial a comprehensive report documenting the main findings of the MINI E research project will be published. This will help inform those organisations seeking to create the political, technical and commercial framework necessary to enable sustainable mobility in a low carbon future to become reality.

The BMW Group is the most sustainable car company in the world – as the latest Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) recently confirmed for the fourth year in succession. The company already offers the most efficient cars in the premium segment, thanks to Efficient Dynamics technologies. The BMW 118d was named World Green Car of the Year 2008 and the Hydrogen7 has already made CO2-free driving a reality.

MINI E specification and performance

The MINI E’s electric drive train produces a peak torque of 220 Nm, and power is delivered to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox. This unique engine and transmission arrangement powers the MINI E seamlessly to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 95 mph.

Based on the current MINI Hatch, the car is available as a two-seater. The space normally inhabited by rear passengers is reserved for a lithium-ion battery.

When in use in the zero-emissions MINI E, the battery unit combines high output with ample storage capacity and remarkable power output. The lithium-ion storage unit will have a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt hours (kWh) and transmit energy to the electric motor as direct current at a nominal 380 volts. The rechargeable battery is made up of 5,088 cells grouped into 48 modules. These modules are packaged into three battery elements that are compactly arranged inside the MINI E.

The energy storage unit’s components are based on technologies proven in power supply units for mobile phones and portable computers. The MINI E’s lithium-ion battery can be plugged into all standard power outlets. Its charge time is strongly dependent on the voltage and amperage of the electricity flowing through the grid. As with existing research projects in the USA and Berlin, users can recharge a battery that has been completely drained within a very short period of time using a wallbox that will be supplied as standard with every MINI E. With 240V/32A, charging time for the car will be around four hours. There is also an intention to establish a network of public charging stations.

The wallbox will be installed in the customer’s garage, enable higher amperage, and thus ensure extremely short charging times. Wallboxes fully recharge batteries in just two-and-a-half hours. Only lockable garages or similar buildings will qualify as suitable power stations for the MINI E.Driven by electricity: zero emissions at minimal costA full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid. Based on the car’s range, a kilowatt hour translates into 5.4 miles. Besides the benefit of zero-emissions driving, the MINI E thus offers significant economic advantages over a vehicle powered by a conventional internal combustion engine. Fully re-charging the battery using off-peak electricity at current prices will cost around £1.50. Using higher-rate daytime electricity, the cost will still be less than £4.00.The heavy-duty battery delivers its power to an electric motor, which is mounted transversely under the MINI E’s bonnet. This power unit is able to unleash its full thrust from a dead standstill and is complemented by its dynamic deceleration potential, which is directly coupled to the accelerator pedal.As soon as the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator. This results in braking force and the power recovered from the kinetic energy is fed back to the battery. This ensures a comfortable and smooth driving experience. In city traffic, some 75 per cent of all deceleration can be done without the brakes. Making substantial use of this energy regeneration feature extends the car’s range by up to 20 per cent.The MINI E’s brake system comes with a newly developed electric pump. Its Electrical Power Assisted Steering (EPS) is the same as the one used in series-produced MINIs.The MINI E’s 1,465 kilograms is evenly distributed across the car. Modifications to the suspension system and the car’s Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), adapted to the car’s specific wheel loads, ensure safe and dynamic handling, typical of MINI.Unique styling to mark out the new MINI EEvery MINI E produced for this pilot project will have the same paintwork and bear a serial number on the front bumper.The MINI E’s coachwork is painted metallic Dark Silver on all panels but the roof, which is coloured Pure Silver. A special MINI E logo depicting a stylized yellow power plug in the shape of an “E” set against a silver background appears on the roof, front and rear wings and the charge point cover. The dashboard trim, and the door jamb, feature the same logo in slightly modified form. The colour of the roof edges, door mirrors, interior styling accents and seat seams will match the yellow of the “E” logo.Inside, the central gauge and battery level indicator behind the wheel of the MINI E – which replaces the MINI’s rev counter – feature yellow lettering against a dark grey background. The battery level is displayed in percentage figures. The central gauge includes an LED display indicating power consumption in red and power recuperation in green.Production in Oxford and MunichThe MINI E has already gone through the major phases of product development for series-produced vehicles and passed numerous crash tests on the way. The MINI E’s energy storage unit emerged completely unscathed from all of the crash tests mandated by European standards.Production of the 40 cars for the UK trial will take place shortly at the company’s Oxford and Munich sites and is scheduled for completion before October 2009. MINI’s Plant Oxford will be responsible for manufacturing the entire vehicle on the standard production line, with the exception of the drive components and the lithium-ion battery. The vehicles will then be transferred to a specially equipped manufacturing facility situated on BMW plant premises in Munich where the electric motor, battery units, performance electronics and transmission will be integrated.

An estate is broadly the same as a saloon but with an extended rear cargo area. This means that in addition to being good executive cars they are also popular with families. Now this versatility has extended to green cars with a host of green car estates to choose from. Here are our top five picks:

• MINI Clubman 1.6 Cooper is our greenest recommendation. As a style icon, the MINI Cooper is as head-turning now as when its predecessor first burst on to the market in 1959. It is also one of the front-runners in the green car revolution thanks to incredibly low CO2 emissions of 109g/km and 68.9mpg combined. The MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper D are both classified in the lowest car insurance band.
• Skoda Fabia Estate 1.4 TDi PD 80 GreenLine 5dr is next in line with 109g/km C02 and 68.9mpg combined.
• Ford Focus Estate 1.6 TDCi Econetic 5dr with 114g/km CO2 and 65.6mpg combined.
• Ford Fusion Estate 1.4 TDCi 1 5dr with 116g/km CO2 and 64.2mpg combined.
• Peugeot 206 SW Estate 1.4 HDi S 5dr with 117g/km C02 and 64.2mpg combined.