Electric cars? There's more than a few mini drawbacks

CAR manufacturers are understandably keen to publicise their latest technological advances.

But I can’t help thinking that MINI’s latest attempt to publicise the virtues of electric power with help from the BBC has back-fired.

A journey from London to Edinburgh taking five days was never going to work as an endorsement of the MINI E concept's abilities or those of the electric powered car in general.

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I’ve driven the MINI E and, despite its sizeable battery packs gobbling up the rear quarters, it's a sharp-handling and nippy little hatchback...but last time it took five days to cover 400 miles man had yet to evolve to a point where he had limbs.

The protracted journey was always going to be persistently stalled by the MINI E concept car’s limited range and the lengthy charges needed to keep its Lithium Ion batteries topped-up—problems shared by all cars that rely solely on electric power.

Further set-backs came in the form of reporter Brian Milligan’s attempts to extend the MINI’s range, which is estimated to be between 80 and 100 miles, by turning off the heater.

The sight of him sat at the wheel clad in a lumberjack’s hat and thick thermal gloves didn’t say much for the comfort and convenience offered by electric motoring.

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Despite the test’s shortcomings as a PR tool for MINI and electric cars in general, however, I find myself applauding it as an expose of the new technology’s shortcomings.

A limited range and the fact that even the smallest plug-in electric vehicles still cost well above £20,000 with government subsidies mean that electric power is not yet the answer to our over-dependence on oil-based fuels.

For most of us electric cars remain an impractical luxury.

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