Question: Did anyone catch the difference here, “The lithium-ion storage unit will have a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt hours (kWh),”… and …”The energy storage…(wallbox)… that will ship with every MINI E…A full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid.”

My math says: 34kWh≠28kWh

Does this mean the rest of the 7kWh is expected to come from the power recovery system?

Even here in the north east where electricity is at its highest, only outdone by Hawaii, charging this Mini-E is quite affordable next to gas at $.20 / Kwatt-Hr compared to $3.00 gas. To go 450 miles would cost just under $17. We know those change, but the Mini-E will probably always be more affordable.

I wish the car was lighter though! Sure the batteries are heavy. I wonder where they can save some weight on the structure tho and not impeed the car’s rigidity.

I also wonder how people in NYC or any congested city with can charge these. I envision parking lots where you can pay to park, and pay to charge. Can’t imagine curb-side chargers you can swipe your credit-card in to get some number of Kilowatt hours worth of charge tho for a long long time.

ok, that’s enough nonsequitors stringed together…

Special interests and GM’s unwillingness to further continue to develop the technology ultimately killed off the EV-1. People that leased the EV-1 loved their cars and fought tooth and nail against GM’s legal machine to buy off and keep the cars to no avail.

I sincerely hope the MINI E is not yet another repetition of the GM EV-1 story…. The little electric car that could have been but never was.

I am not here to defend Detroit but I do find it arrogant to claim that BMW/MINI are the first ones on the scene with an all electric 2 seater production car. That is a blatant lie. Second, GM already has the Chevy Volt which is a plug in hybrid, 5 seater vehicle that is a far more realistic approach to the problem of fuel consumption and emissions than an expensive, not for sale, 2 seater electric MINI with a range of 150 miles (So the press kit claims).

The Volt will retail for around $35K-$40K (Beats the heck out of a new Tesla 2 seater @ $92K) and will not use a single drop of gas for the first 40 miles.

Sorry but I think GM has a little better approach right now than MINI. The problem with the Volt is that GM will not have the car for sale for another year to year and a half.

If by one fixed gear ratio you mean automatic then yes.

Everyone else (Toyota, Honda, etc.) is still using NiMH cells… tsk tsk. Even hybridcars.com is concerned about NiMH battery disposal – they expect that “the challenge of recycling hybrid batteries is at least five years away”… that was almost three years ago! With any luck the rest of the industry will learn from Mini.

But seriously… I’m still holding out for near-zero emission internal combustion engines.

My main concern is battery production and its environmental impact when electric drive becomes mainstream. Hopefully ultra capacitors will be a viable option by then.

Imagine the possibilities of a clean slate, eco friendly startup.

The big 3 with their huge profits couldn’t even pull off a small execise like this. They really, REALLY annoy me. Now they have their hand out asking for a bailout. Let them rot.

Kudos to MINI for making this happen. Hopefully they’ll start to look into hydrogen.

I really like the MINI E and would definitely jump at the opportunity to test and evaluate one for a year……..I could almost go a week commuting to and from work (35 miles R/T)!

I think environmentally friendly cars are great (but would drop my 06 JCW for one) – but what really gets me is the “free of emissions” crap the marketing people keep coming up with!! Where do they think the electricity is coming from? Unless it is solar/wind generated, then it has produced emissions…..