Quick Spin: 2010 Mini E
Electric cars are nothing new. Once the horseless chariots of upper class society women, they are now back en vogue thanks to a renewed interest in achieving zero-emissions, minimal-compromise driving. Enter the 2010 Mini E, an electrified Mini Cooper that will go on limited lease availability to select customers early next year.
First things first, the Mini E is not a mass-market electric car. Five hundred applicants mostly in Southern California and the greater New York City area – get your name in now – will be selected to lease Mini Es at $850 a month for a year. That fee includes all maintenance and an in-home charging system , as well as all the gasoline required to fuel the Mini E for the year (just checking to see if you are paying attention).
Under the Mini E’s hood is a 150kW (a little over 200 horsepower) electric motor that is “fueled” by a back seat-mounted rechargeable lithium-ion battery. A single-stage helical gearbox transfers the power to the front wheels. The Mini E’s suspension has been modified to compensate for the revised weight distribution – those batteries out back add a few pounds, but a careful diet cut the overall curb weight increase to around 100 lbs.
Aside from badging and stickers, there isn’t much outside to hint to drivers that your motoring is not consuming any gasoline. The fuel filler door is still there, except on this Mini it’s where you plug in a cable from the in-home charging system. Like any electric car, the Mini E emits only a high-pitched whine when it is running, so be careful sneaking up on your fellow shoppers in the Kroger parking lot.
Inside, the changes are more obvious. Your friends who argued over who got shoved in the back seat will now have to drive themselves since the Mini E’s huge battery packs take up the rear accommodations and most of the cargo area. There’s just enough room for a bag or two of groceries but nothing else in this minimized Mini. Don’t expect to take a cross country trip unless you can pack lightly and want to stop often for charges.
Speaking of charging, the Mini E goes up to 150 miles between charges, which take about two hours to complete. A full recharge takes about 28 kilowatt hours of electricity – about 5.4 miles per kWh.
Related Keywords for this posts:
car insurance quote, budget car, insurance enterprise, avis low cost car.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.