Driving the MINI E - First Drive Impressions
 

Got the chance to test-drive the Mini E at Irvine Mini today. My first impressions were in line with many we've seen (ie. quiet, smooth and FAST), but a couple of observations:

- torque steer - VERY noticeable when you punch it - if you don't compensate by steering slightly to the right, you WILL change lanes. I'm sure we'll all learn to auto-compensate, but it is very apparent when accelerating briskly. In normal/polite-company acceleration, it's not noticeable.

- I was dreading the regenerative braking a little, but I was very pleasantly surprised. First, while it is strong, it doesn't kick in for maybe half a second, then takes another half-second or so to actually . . .grip. This gives you plenty of time to feather the accelerator a little to adjust if you are braking too quickly. By the third turn, I had it down. If you've driven a standard, it feels a lot like downshifting. I happen to love the feel of downshifting and do it all the time even in my automatic X5 (I switch to semi-automatic when about to brake or go around a corner) so this is very natural for me. Think of it as "auto-downshift-assist" and it's actually a FEATURE. Others have noted that you adjust to it quickly - I would go further to say it's not just a weird thing you have to adjust to - to me it adds to the appeal of the car by giving it a sporty pseudo-manual feel, especially around corners.

- I couldn't tell just how quiet it is because it was 82 degrees in Irvine and we had the windows open, but it didn't seem all that different from a gas car. The Mini is small enough and has such a good connection to the road that you get tire/road noise (and wind of course!). And there is a little electric-motor whine. I consider all of these generally good things, as they are a little quieter than a gas car but still give you good feedback so you don't go into speed-zombie mode. No "cone of silence" here which I think is good.

- having said that, from standing outside the car watching it pull away, it IS eerily quiet.

Couple of updates on the installs from Nadine who was there:

- they're now approaching 200 installed chargers on the West Coast - nearly there!

- the cable issue seems to be resolved - they are starting to deliver them. Apparently they don't quite have the UL certification but somehow are able to proceed anyway.

Test drove today at Mini Westchester (NY metro area). Pretty much in line with Steve'[s experience. However, I applied some "German" driving which meant that on the 2 mile course the salesman let me take I pulled the battery down from 61% to 56%. Sure there were a couple of full accelerations in it, and then I also had to pass a broken down car on a single lane street with traffic approaching fast, but that surprised me a bit. Because one thing is for sure, this car ain't for cruising. It is for accelleration that's where the fun (and the traffic ticket) is.
Also had the chance to talk to the program coordinator Hugo vander something but he did not budge on the lease rate, says they did not a corporate sponsor to subsidize this, that's why the lease rate is so high. Also Mini Germany said they can not go lower.
At the test drive there were I'd say 30 test drivers, so in my mind they will fill those spots (that's just one of probably 5 dealerships in the Metro area that distribute the Mini E and not every participant does the test drive). Also, the people I spoke to (some very pretty much old 68 hippies if I may say so) were all enthusiastic and did not have a problem with the lease rate. So looks like for most of them it is a go.