[grahamcheese]

Electic Minis now going down production line at Cowley (or Plant Oxford as they call it). I have a Countryman PHEV now but will defo swap it for one of these full EVs. Oh, and isn't it great this is being made in UK, so now we have both Mini and Leaf, and iPace. Not bad, any other European country (bar Germany) home to so many plants?

Re Tesla, I think Musk has missed the boat now in the UK. Model 3 sales are going to be impacted by Mini, and Mini has all the dealer and servicing network behind it, plus big brand money. They will be priced below Model 3 and the design is more appealing. Model 3 will still sell, but I reckon maybe 1/3 of their potential volume here has been lost by the delays in getting the RHD model out.

 

[Todor]

I think you are mistaken about ipace....

Electic Minis now going down production line at Cowley (or Plant Oxford as they call it). I have a Countryman PHEV now but will defo swap it for one of these full EVs. Oh, and isn't it great this is being made in UK, so now we have both Mini and Leaf, and iPace. Not bad, any other European country (bar Germany) home to so many plants?

 

[BornAgainEcoWarrior]

Hopefully they're making a significant quantity and selling at a reasonable price.

I did ask in my local dealer at the start of the year. I got zero information and zero enthusiasm from them.

 

[grahamcheese]

oh yes, they build them at Magna in Austria. Same factory as the Mini Countryman PHEV. I guess it makes sense to put risky, low volume marketing-driven vehicles into third party factories.

I think you are mistaken about ipace....

 

[First Draft]

It's a MINI, so it will be a nice place to sit in, have pretendy go kart handling, come with a confusing plethora of options and a premium mark up.

 

[Plug Life]

So they shoehorned batteries into an ICE platform again. At least the i3 was/is innovative.

 

[grahamcheese]

Thats true. The arm rest was an option on my fully loaded PHEV! Even then, no electric seats.

It's a MINI, so it will be a nice place to sit in, have pretendy go kart handling, come with a confusing plethora of options and a premium mark up.

 

[Siraff]

So they shoehorned batteries into an ICE platform again. At least the i3 was/is innovative.

The i3 was also well north of £30k. Our ones were closer to £40k. If the Mini E is around £20k I can't see the problem with reusing an ice platform unless it's got a joke of a battery which seems unlikely given the i3 has over 40kWh in a pretty small package.

 

[donald]

So they shoehorned batteries into an ICE platform again. At least the i3 was/is innovative.

I can't speak for this particular model of mini, but I think chassis are being designed to be multi-powered now rather than 'ICE adaptions'. I think the first was the 2009 Renault C platform (Megane/Fluence) which, by the written accounts I have read, was configured to allow for a subsequent BEV format.

 

[GrahamS]

The i3 was also well north of £30k. Our ones were closer to £40k. If the Mini E is around £20k I can't see the problem with reusing an ice platform unless it's got a joke of a battery which seems unlikely given the i3 has over 40kWh in a pretty small package.

Apparently it's a 42kWh pack at launch, 200 miles approx of WLTP. Can't see it at 20k though.

 

[Siraff]

Apparently it's a 42kWh pack at launch, 200 miles approx of WLTP. Can't see it at 20k though.

I'm probably asking a lot at that but to be competitive it's only got to be better than it's rivals. Mini has a strong brand and a reputation for solid build, good chassis behaviour and being cute. If it's 8kWh less than the Peugeot/Vauxhall when launched it can probably still gert away with being a little more pricey. I think in reality the early ones are likely to be fairly loaded so the price will be high but it's fairly easy to get a Mini to £30k already. If it's around that for an all bells and whistles one and not a great deal over £20 for the base version later on I think it will still do well. There has certainly been a lot of interest over it in the Mini community so it will be interesting to see how many put their money where their mouth is.

 

[GrahamS]

Yes agreed. It's on my list as a contender. We'll be buying a new car for my wife in mid-late 2020 so looking like plenty of options starting to emerge.

 

[proddick]

Mini EV is small 3 door car. Not clear why it would impact Tesla Model 3. Zoe and Peugeot e208 maybe, but it will have a premium price over those models.

If it has i3 size battery, anyone thinking it will be around £20K is in fantasy land. Be over £25K (after PICG) and even more if you add options.

 

[JeffG]

Yet another vehicle where the specs don't show the charging model. I'm assuming it will be CCS.

 

[proddick]

Range won't be 200 either...

"But there’s no question it will fall significantly below the 146-158 miles offered by the most comparable 94Ah BMW i3, which is 105kg lighter"

See Mini Cooper SE review: we drive the electric prototype | CAR Magazine

 

[proddick]

Yet another vehicle where the specs don't show the charging model. I'm assuming it will be CCS.

Yes, and I am fairly sure we won't see another BEVs released without CCS now.

 

[Mr_G]

Yet another vehicle where the specs don't show the charging model. I'm assuming it will be CCS.

The photo of the charging port covers looks like CCS to me. Almost identical to the i3 in shape.

Video at #1 shows a CCS connector being plugged in.

 

[grahamcheese]

Mini EV is small 3 door car. Not clear why it would impact Tesla Model 3. Zoe and Peugeot e208 maybe, but it will have a premium price over those models.

If it has i3 size battery, anyone thinking it will be around £20K is in fantasy land. Be over £25K (after PICG) and even more if you add options.

The Countryman PHEV is around £32k, so I would expect around 28k for MINI BEV.

 

[Mr_G]

The Countryman PHEV is around £32k, so I would expect around 28k for MINI BEV.

Yep Car Mag articles says ca. £29k.

So for fashion and main stream front wheel drive the Mini EV and for technology, stand out looks, more range and rear wheel drive the i3.

Clear that the Mini EV and the i3 are positioned so they do not compete with each other.

 

[grahamcheese]

Mini EV is small 3 door car. Not clear why it would impact Tesla Model 3. Zoe and Peugeot e208 maybe, but it will have a premium price over those models.

If it has i3 size battery, anyone thinking it will be around £20K is in fantasy land. Be over £25K (after PICG) and even more if you add options.

You can get 4 door Minis. A mini isn’t very mini any more, bigger than a Zoe but with much more fashion appeal. For my wife’s next car, 6 months ago I would have said Model 3 (although a bit on the large side) but now I would say Mini. My badly-made point is that 6 months ago Model 3 had less competition so someone like us looking for smaller BEV would consider Model 3; but if a new car better matching our needs is launched then bye-bye M3