As you know, the Mini E lease project has been a fact-finding mission for BMW. The company recently polled 57 of the 450 Mini E users and collected data from their online logbooks. We're about halfway through our time with electric Mini #116 and our findings are pretty much the same.
Here are the results of the project as BMW sees it.
A full charge usually results in a range of 70-100 miles and this is sufficient for most driver's needs on a daily basis. Charging at home usually provides enough energy for a driver's daily needs. Most people prefer to have an additional charging station outside their homes with their place of work being the most practical as they spend most of their hours there. Shopping centers and stadiums were also mentioned as places they would like to recharge when not at home.
People like driving the Mini E. They get used to the regenerative braking and enjoy developing driving techniques that give them added range. The Mini E is a fun car to drive and people don't feel they sacrifice any "real car" feel by driving an electric vehicle.
On the complaint list was what you would expect. Lack of storage space and the inability to carry four passengers has been as issue. This is usually the reason people leave the Mini E at home and choose to drive another car, rather than a fear of not having enough range.
There was no mention in this poll that many of the East Coast drivers experienced a significant drop in range and some could not even start their vehicles in the cold, snowy weather. But BMW did say its next field trial will be the BMW ActiveE. It will have a more compact lithium-ion battery pack and will feature a liquid heating and cooling system to help provide a more consistent driving range. It is also developing a smartphone app that drivers can use to check the range of their battery and even start heating or cooling the interior of the car, which will allow the battery to function within an optimal temperature range. The test BMW ActiveE will be available in 2011.
Our Mini E has been in service now over a week and I find that I miss it. It suits my driving needs about 75% of the time. I also like that I don't have to go to the gas station. I can plug it in at home and work. I enjoy driving it. It's like a fun little go-cart. And I also enjoy nuancing the accelerator pedal to gain extra range.
As you can see from the participants who comment on this blog, when their Mini Es are away at the shop, they miss them, too.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
tomm250 says:
01:29 PM, 01/26/10
Hi Donna,
I'm surprised that the data they got ranged from 70 to 100 miles. I regularly communicate with about 20 other MINI-E drivers and I don't know anyone that doesn't get over 90 miles per charge. Now I'm talking in the warmer weather, not now on the East Coast. I was averaging 110-120mi per charge when it was above 70 degrees and now that's it's in the 20's and 30's I'm down to about 85 so maybe that was the reason for the bug difference. Most of the people I communicate with on the West Coast are recording around 95 mi average. There are some that drive conservatively that average in the 120's. How you drive and what type of driving (highway vs. city) does make a big difference so I suppose that could also be a reason for the wide range differences. Anyway, keep up the great work on the blog. I hope you get yours back soon. BTW, I got a refund check for this months lease payment from MINI because it was in for service for three weeks.
Tom M
MINI-E #250 @ 19,600 miles
http://minie250.blogspot.com/
dderosa says:
01:48 PM, 01/26/10
We generally see 85-90 on the range meter. And, of course, that's just an estimate. I'm glad to hear you got a refund. We're getting our Mini back soon. I heard that it's ready. It's just a matter of getting it back now. -- Donna
tomm250 says:
08:30 PM, 01/26/10
The range meter is really an estimate, and a rough one at that. The good thing is that it is almost always wrong on the conservative side, meaning that you can go further than indicated. Plus, the car is good for at least 15 to 20 miles after it hits zero. You really should do a post on driving it until the battery is completely discharged. Perhaps you could drive the first 90 miles or so on the road and then finish up on a track so you don't shut down on a roadway. You'll get to see how it drives in the final "reduced power" mode and you can see just how far it will take you on a charge. I think once you see how much further you can go once it hits zero then you'll feel better about taking it to zero if necessary. I've had mine below zero at least twenty times and now I don't feel worried when I get low on charge because I know it will go much further. I know one guy in CA that drove his 141 miles once on a single charge. My best is 128 but I'm pretty sure I could have done at least another 5 miles. It's all how you drive. Go 30 to 40 mph on flat terrain and you can do 120 no problem, but take out on the freeway and go 75mph and you'll probably only get 75 miles or so. The MINI-E has a distinct trade off; you can go fast or you can go far, but you cannot do both. I think running it till it stops would make a fun post.
Tom
cpreinfalk says:
12:26 PM, 01/27/10
I'd be interested to see what average cost per mile you get. Did you ever check how many amp hours you put in on a charge and how much you pay for the kWh? Maybe you gave that information in a different blog entry ...
tomm250 says:
01:32 PM, 01/28/10
There is a gauge that monitors your amp hours per 100 miles driven. It can vary greatly depending on how you drive. I have had days where it is as low as 50ah/100mls and as high as 104ah/100mls. My average is about 65ah/100mls. I can tell you that when I was charging only at home, my electric bill was $85 to $115 per month higher than the same month of the previous year and I didn't make any other changes to my home that would have effected the electric use. I am driving the car about $3,000 miles a month so it's costing me about $.03 per mile which is along the same line as I am hearing from the others in the group.
Now that I charge about 60% at home and 40% at work, my bill seems to be about $50 more per month. Hope that gives you a clearer picture.
Tom
MINI-E #250 @ 19,900 miles
http://minie250.blogspot.com/