The new electric-powered MINI E has the same shape, size and style of a regular MINI. In other words, the MINI E is small. This creates a dilemma: lithium-ion batteries that are large enough to power a car are big. BMW has tackled this problem as only a team of engineers could: by removing virtually every square centimeter of usable space from the vehicle. It’s fortunate if you have no friends or children, because the back seat has been replaced by a rather prominent, sizable hump. Cargo space in the hatch area is adequate– as long as your shopping needs are limited to the occasional six-pack and baguette. Then again, who cares? The Mini E is a limited production evaluation vehicle available to just 500 early adopters, whose enthusiasm will burnish the brand but good. In case any ultimate drivers are interested, BMW claims a 150-mile range, 2.5-hour recharge time, and a 0 – 60 time of 8.5 seconds from its 204hp motor, with a top-speed limited to 95 mph (to avoid range claims in the double digits).
11 Comments on “MINI E Has More Trunk Space Than a Tesla Roadster. Just....”
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Estimated price? If it’s under $30K I would buy one.
If you have to ask. . . I think the plan is to give free leases to high profile individuals.
…as long as your shopping needs are limited to the occasional six-pack and baguette.
And hey, why would you need anything more? I made it through most of France that way, replacing the six-pack with a wine bottle.
People like to disparage the Prius as a fashionmobile, but forget that it, like the Saab 900 or Mazda6 Sport before it, is a well-packaged design. You’ve got high hip points, lots of passenger space and a huge trunk opening. It’s fun to have a toy car, but it’s also nice to be able to take, say, a Christmas tree home without stress.
Cargo space in the hatch area is adequate– as long as your shopping needs are limited to the occasional six-pack and baguette.
Is that really accurate? Are there any sort of actual figures on the amount of storage space in this thing? I mean, I appreciate such comical analogies as the next guy, but am I really to believe that this vehicle has only one cubic foot of cargo capacity?
If you look at the “Fact Sheet” on the MINI E, it says the cargo space is 60 liters which is 2.1 cu. ft.
For Comparison
Ford Taurus — 21.2 cu. ft.
Ford Fusion — 15.8 cu. ft.
Ford Focus — 13.5 cu. ft.
Porsche Boxter — 10 cu. ft.
Ferrari F430 — 9 cu. ft.
MINI Cooper — 5.4 cu. ft.
2.1 is small
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I don’t understand the obsession with having tons of space in a vehicle. 90% of the time I’m driving I’m not hauling anything other than myself. The other 10% of the time my wife & drive a compact car. The other 0.1% of the time we are moving or getting lumber or whatever, we rent a truck for an hour or two.
By myself I can carry probably a weeks worth of jeans & t-shirts/clothes with 2 pairs of shoes on my sportbike with one bag cabled down to the back seat. I wear a backpack with the rest of my crap & I’m good to go.
Edit: I have even done light grocery shopping on my bike. The gallon of milk & 1/2 gallon of orange juice do take a toll on your shoulders after riding 30-40 minutes…
The use of the passenger seat as cargo space is vastly underrated.
…BMW claims a 150-mile range, 2.5-hour recharge time…,
Heh! The Volt team from Chevrolet called…they want to talk about those numbers.
JT :
As noted in a previous post, that recharge time depends on installing a special high-voltage box in your home or office garage. It’s more like eight hours, otherwise.