Hi guys,

No. I haven't had any range reduction from degradation that I can notice as of yet. I last month I did a blog post about this very topic. Remember, I have only had the car for 15 months, but I have put just under 40,000 miles on it and completed over 650 charging cycles so I have given it quite a workout in the short time. I have also had many deep discharge days which aren't good for the battery either, but it is still as strong as when I got it. Here's the link to the post I did on it: http://minie250.blogspot.com/2010/07...-in-range.html

 

Great write up! I am rooting for these cars. honestly the range is not what bothers me with electric cars but the charge time. If they could get the charge time down to about 30 minutes for a 120 or so mile range (highway) then I would be very pleased to own one.

I am surprised that the electric cars have not been paired with a gearbox to lessen the load on the motor and increase the range. A gearbox may also help with acceleration as well. While there are efficiency losses in a gearbox, it would be mostly used to increase the range by turning at fewer RPMs and allow for coasting.

 

ksminiman:
Tesla has done extensive research with the use of a two gear gearbox and they have concluded the single speed gear is the best way to go. BMW shares this opinion also so I figure they know what they are doing. I also wondered about multiple gears.

I'm past 40k now in a little over 15 months with the car and it's still a blast to drive and proving very reliable with zero problems in almost a year now. Here's a pic of the rear end

 

The placard in the rear window is priceless!

 

Could this be the future of activism?
aaron

 

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/02/n...f-cold-weathe/

 

MINIE250, has BMW shared anything with you about their plans after this 1-year extension. I'm curious if they're going to release these cars in the US.

Also, what happens if you need to drive 60 miles somewhere one way. You'd drive there but you wouldn't be able to drive back home another 60 miles w/o a high risk of running out of power. Would you take your charge cord and charge it at a regular outlet at destination?

 

russr: The MINI-E is a prototype test car, and BMW is using them all over the world to introduce electric drive to different markets and learn about the infrastructure challenges, public reception, government willingness to work with OEM's on EV's, etc in all these markets. Besides the US, there have been trial leases like ours in Germany, the UK, France, Spain and now Japan. When the US program ends, they will refurbish the cars and send them to other markets for similar programs, I hear Russia and China are next.

Unfortunately they do not plan to sell an electric MINI in the immediate future, But I'm sure one will come within the next 8 to 10 years. BMW is focusing on introducing electric cars through thier new "i" line. These cars do cost more than their ICE counterparts and I think BMW feels more comfortable selling BMW's in the higher price brackets. As the price for the batteries comes down I think you will hear more talk about a MINI EV.

As for long driving like you asked, there are a few answers. If I am going somewhere far but staying overnight and have access to a plug(regular 110 outlet) then I can do that. If I'm passing near one of the other MINI-E drivers homes, I can stop by for a 1/2 hour or so and hit up their 220V charger (most all of us share out EVSE's). Or of I really can't make it, I take my wife's Equinox that day and she drives the MINI-E to work, as she only drives about 15 miles from home to work.

I now have been driving the car for 21 months and have 52,000 miles on it and I have never had an instance where range prevented me from doing something that day. On average, I need to swap cars with my wife about once a month. I do 80% of our household driving and I charge the car with energy I produce with our solar array. The current rise in gas prices don't bother me a bit!

 

If anyone is interested in the long term effects of driving & charging a lot has on the batteries a wrote an article for plugincars.com about it.

I recently passed my 1,000th recharge an have been recording data from every time I drive the car. I put it all together and came up with average miles per charge based on outside temperature for the first year I had the car verses the second year to compare and see if there has been any degradation. You can read the article at this link: http://www.plugincars.com/mini-e-goi...es-107004.html

I now have 56,000 miles in slightly less than 23 months and the car is running perfectly, I haven't had a problem in over a year. It's still a blast to drive and I just keep driving past all the gas stations with a smile!

Tom Moloughney
MINI-E #250
http://minie250.blogspot.com/