MINI E Customers Are Generally Happy But All Have ONE Common Complaint

MINI's electric venture, one of the steps in BMW's Project i, has been receiving an intriguing response from customers who have piloted the innovative MINI for six months. Generally, they are happy with one exception.

As one would predict with an electric vehicle and an underdeveloped infrastructure, customers have what is being called "range anxiety." Basically, they feel as though they are being controlled by an "electric leash," that prohibits how far they can travel.

When I piloted the MINI E, it is an aspect about the plucky Cooper that remains in your mind after a day's worth of driving. Soon the miles start shedding off the trip meter faster than the blink of an eye and you start trying to quantify how many miles you are from the charging station.

It gets a bit nerve wracking, to say the least.

CarChat reports:

"A study commissioned by BMW and conducted by the University of California, Davis, shows that most MINI E cutomers are generally happy with their cars after six months of usage. However, as the Financial Post reports, the most common complaint is "range anxiety."

Although a fully-charged MINI E can keep the car moving for 160 kilometers, a full recharge with the included high voltage cables takes between four and eight hours. If a MINI E owner is forced to plug the car into a standard 110-volt household outlet, recharge time takes up to 23 hours..."

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rxh8me9000 - 1/28/2010 12:58:26 AM

+4 Boost

Turn gas stations into half gasoline and half charge stations.That way wherever theres a gas station...theres a charge station lol. Seriously though,these things take too long to charge. Four to 8 hours using high voltage cables and 23 hours using a house outlet. Who has time like that?People work and have things to do other than sit at charge stations or home for hours making sure they charge the car.(The regenerative braking is so strong that the brake lights do come on when you're off the throttle.)Why is this necessary? If I want to brake than I will press the brakes (unless im driving a 2008-2009 Toyota). I would hate the feeling of the car always feeling like its braking once I let off the gas. Sometimes you let off the gas for a slight bend or for a bunch of reasons and want momentum,not for the car to brake for you.

thstone - 1/28/2010 4:17:58 PM

0 Boost

If GM did this, everyone would be screaming how stupid they were to rely solely upon battery power and how could they not have anticipated that customers would respond this way. Any idiot could have foreseen this.

BMW does it and its "one exception".