Mini range - is it really this bad?

[W12GT]

I need a little runaround that’s easy to navigate around the narrow lanes where I live. Original budget started low and somehow I’ve ended up looking at up to £20k.

So the electric mini level 3 is within budget. I’ve always loved minis - had a few over the years asa a fun runaround and it usually ends up being the car I use the most.

I’m considering one of the above, an i3 or a Cooper S. I like the look of the electric mini as it has all the options I’d want (except heated screens which apparently none of the newer cars have) but I’m concerned about the range if these numbers are true…

[Maracus]

It depends what your usage is as to whether the range is bad.

If you need 100+ miles a day and you can't charge/don't want to away from home, then it will become a pain. If your usage is lower than this and you can charge at home every night then it won't be problem.

My wife has had her Level 2 for nearly 2 years now, her journeys are predominantly down country lanes and urban. She driven around 13k miles in it and it's never been charged away from home. Her daily usage is anything between 15 and 50 miles. She looked at another petrol Cooper S, but just preferred the Mini E, instant torque, cheap electric.

As for range...100 miles in winter is ok. The best we've seen in summer would have been ~150 miles (drove something like 100 miles and had 33% battery left).

Those images show the GOM- Guessometer and are widely regarded as inaccurate on Mini forums and in reality.

HTH

Edited by Maracus on Tuesday 21st November 06:45

[kambites]

As with all EVs it really depends on how/where/when you drive it. If you insist on driving at 85mph all day in the middle of winter in northern Scotland with the heater running flat out, you're going to see about 60-70 miles of range. If you only use it to potter around at 30mph on the south coast in the summer, you'll probably get close to 200 miles.

[stevemcs]

kambites said:

As with all EVs it really depends on how/where/when you drive it. If you insist on driving at 85mph all day in the middle of winter in northern Scotland with the heater running flat out, you're going to see about 60-70 miles of range. If you only use it to potter around at 30mph on the south coast in the summer, you'll probably get close to 200 miles.

So if you want to use a car how it’s supposed to be used then there is no point buying electric? If you have to start turning the heating off so you can break 100 miles then it’s kind of pointless.

Wouldn’t a Renault Zoe make more sense or just stay with a petrol cooper

[Maracus]

stevemcs said:

So if you want to use a car how it’s supposed to be used then there is no point buying electric? If you have to start turning the heating off so you can break 100 miles then it’s kind of pointless.

Wouldn’t a Renault Zoe make more sense or just stay with a petrol cooper

You definitely don't have to turn off the heater or air con to break 100 miles.

[vladcjelli]

Even when the mini electric launched, it was behind the curve with regards to range.

Plenty of other EVs around for 20k or less that will better the range.

But as above, the range is the range. Buy one that suits your usage or it will be a pain.

[Maracus]

vladcjelli said:

Even when the mini electric launched, it was behind the curve with regards to range.

Plenty of other EVs around for 20k or less that will better the range.

But as above, the range is the range. Buy one that suits your usage or it will be a pain.

Completely agree with this. MG4, Zoe, Kona all have better range if that is the main criteria.

[kambites]

stevemcs said:

So if you want to use a car how it’s supposed to be used then there is no point buying electric? If you have to start turning the heating off so you can break 100 miles then it’s kind of pointless.

If in your world city cars are designed to be driven long distances at well above the national speed limit then there is no point in buying an electric city car.

[W12GT]

Thanks for the input folks. I’m totally undecided. I like the idea of the electric mini, but I think I will almost certainly have range anxiety and will want to plug it in every time I’ve used it. Maybe other feel the same and hence them being considerable more affordable second hand than their ICE siblings.

[Ankh87]

W12GT said:

Thanks for the input folks. I’m totally undecided. I like the idea of the electric mini, but I think I will almost certainly have range anxiety and will want to plug it in every time I’ve used it. Maybe other feel the same and hence them being considerable more affordable second hand than their ICE siblings.

The thing is that when you use extra things and drive at higher speeds, then all EVs ranges go down. You are best looking at one that has a longer range. The Mini is a city car, not a mile muncher. So unless you are doing city driving and few miles it isn't the car for you.

Yes it is stupid that the range can drop so much due to speed and use of equipment. Same sort of applies with ICE but not as drastic. So keep hold of your money and just wait for prices to drop with other EVs if you really want one.

[Maracus]

Ankh87 said:

W12GT said:

Thanks for the input folks. I’m totally undecided. I like the idea of the electric mini, but I think I will almost certainly have range anxiety and will want to plug it in every time I’ve used it. Maybe other feel the same and hence them being considerable more affordable second hand than their ICE siblings.

The thing is that when you use extra things and drive at higher speeds, then all EVs ranges go down. You are best looking at one that has a longer range. The Mini is a city car, not a mile muncher. So unless you are doing city driving and few miles it isn't the car for you.

Yes it is stupid that the range can drop so much due to speed and use of equipment. Same sort of applies with ICE but not as drastic. So keep hold of your money and just wait for prices to drop with other EVs if you really want one.

It all depends if you need the range of 100+ miles. If you don't and you can charge at home then it is not an issue. As said above, if you need more range, then buy a larger battery EV.

It's like buying a transit van when all you are going to transport is some small boxes when really you may only need a corsa van. It's nice to have the extra space if needed, but in reality you'll never need it.

[Mark-ri571]

We have Level 2 Mini SE that I bought new in July 22. We use it for all our local journeys and anything up to 140 miles return. Around town the GOM ( guessometer) will normally show an estimate of 1% per mile but once the battery has warmed up the estimated range will increase. Since 2010 I have owned a 987.1 Boxster S , a 987.2 Cayman, a 981 Boxster, 4 x Macans and a 718 Boxster T and have to say that as much as I enjoyed the Porsche cars I don’t really miss them as I thought I would. I just plug the Mini into a decent quality 3 pin plug and on the 6 hours Intelligent Octopus tariff (7.5p per kWh) it’s cheap to charge. Would like to have the level 3 though as would love the sunroof.

[Nomme de Plum]

W12GT said:

Thanks for the input folks. I’m totally undecided. I like the idea of the electric mini, but I think I will almost certainly have range anxiety and will want to plug it in every time I’ve used it. Maybe other feel the same and hence them being considerable more affordable second hand than their ICE siblings.

If you have off street charging adjacent your house it's easy to leave the car plugged in. I use Octopus Energy with an overnight tariff of 7.5p but they sometimes charge during the day at the same rate. It is really handy.

[Olivera]

Ankh87 said:

You are best looking at one that has a longer range. The Mini is a city car, not a mile muncher. So unless you are doing city driving and few miles it isn't the car for you.

The current Mini E (cobbled together on an ICE platform) is just about to be replaced by a comprehensive from the ground up new Mini Electric design. Range for the new one is 182 to 249 miles.

[rfn]

Personally I'd choose an i3, maybe even an "S". We've got a 120Ah (42Kwh) i3S with ~65k miles. I'm seeing a range of 130-140 at the moment.

[The_Nugget]

I wanted one, but I couldn’t stomach the range even though most of my daily driving it would be fine for.
Ended up with a Zoe instead and a real world 200mile range. Not that I love it, but it makes a lot of sense.
It’s just some occasions, for instance I had to go to Birmingham to collect something - 150ish mile round trip, Zoe, no problem, would have been a faff in the mini.

[robscot]

rfn said:

Personally I'd choose an i3, maybe even an "S". We've got a 120Ah (42Kwh) i3S with ~65k miles. I'm seeing a range of 130-140 at the moment.

Mini Electric has gubbins from i3 so in a way is a sort of new version of that.

Cracking cars, range is fine.

Get one! You wont regret it.

[samoht]

The usable battery capacity of the Mini is 28.9 kWh. An averagely efficient EV might get 3-4 miles per kWh in out-of-town driving depending on speed and conditions (temperature, wind etc), which would translate to about 85-115 miles of range.

If you want to go further between charges than that, then you should buy a car with a longer range, which is almost anything including the other option you mention, the i3 (42 kWh from 2019 onwards).

W12GT said:

Thanks for the input folks. I’m totally undecided. I like the idea of the electric mini, but I think I will almost certainly have range anxiety and will want to plug it in every time I’ve used it.

Assuming you can charge at home, does it matter if you plug it in after every use? It's hardly any hassle and it means you're making the most of a cheaper, lighter EV rather than paying for another ~200kg of lithium that you don't actually need. However if you need more range from your local runaround, then definitely buy something else.

[jamies30]

I live in Aberdeenshire, it’s not always warm here. I get somewhere over 130 in the summer with 10 or 15% charge left, more like 90 in the depths of winter. The indicated range is always pessimistic, and you can get a decent amount of regen depending on your journey.

[Harleyboy]

I don’t know how you folks are getting well over 100 miles. Ours rarely suggests anything over 100 even with pre conditioning. My wife uses it locally so it doesn’t really matter but I used it for an 80 mile trip the other day and on the way back (after a charge) if indicated 115 miles but that was driving at 68 in green mode with no A/C.

It’s a fun car and we love it but I’m glad I’m not taking the risk on residuals. It’s on a PCP and was cheaper than a Cooper when we bought it.