The $850 monthly lease goes to maintenance, parts replacement and other technical services needed.
After a year the vehicles get sent back to BMW-MINI for comparative testing.
It seems though that BMW won’t have to wait an entire year.
Already unforeseen problems are starting to crop up.
The first major issue was with the charging cable.
Apparently in many areas where the vehicles are being distributed, there is a local building code/s that states that all electrical hardware must be Underwriters Laboratories approved.
One of the requirements when applying for the lease was that there must be a socket/service inside the garage that supplies 220V.
Ooops. not too many of those in the US.
It has been a few months now. Check with your MINI dealer to find out the latest.

A pilot project of MINI wherein actual consumers will lease the all electric, zero emission vehicle for $850 a month and use them as their main mode of daily commute.

Full scale production and sales is expected to start in 2012 in the US.

At the Los Angeles Auto show last fall where the MINI e was formally introduced, I noticed that on the outside, there were no apparent drastic design changes made to the body.

On the inside the first thing that will surely catch your eye is this big dark gray box right where the rear passenger seats are supposed to be.

That actually is the storage unit of for the high performance 572lb rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that powers the 150 KW (204hp) electric motor.

(Might be a problem if they decide to make a convertible.)

The batteries are made up of 5088 cells grouped into 48 modules which are then further grouped into 3 battery units inside the storage unit.

The unit itself has a maximum capacity of 35Kwh but a full recharge draws only 28Kwh.

Recharging can be done from any standard wall power outlet but the length of time to charge the batteries depends on the voltage and amperage available.

A wallbox provided by MINI with every lease allows for higher amperage thus shortening charging times.

Next your eyes will be drawn to the interior style cues that are all in yellow.

The MINI e’s gauges all seem to be in the same places as in its’ gas powered siblings except on closer inspection we see that instead of a rev counter we see a battery meter and the center console-the one that looks like a clock is still there, so are the rest of the all too familiar appointments.

To get even more up to date information then keep checking back here and as always, be sure to contact your Dallas area MINI car Dealership.

The MINI e will be run by a 150 KW (204hp) electric motor which in turn is powered by high performance 572lb rechargeable lithium-ion batteries stowed where the rear seats would be in a “regular” MINI.

With a range of 150 miles and top speed regulated to just 95mph, it will give the likes of Smart’s BRBUS ED and Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV a run (pun intended) for their money.

The BRABUS ED has a top speed of 75mph and range of 70mph while the i-MiEV’s top speed is 81mph and has a range of 100 miles.

During the launch, the MINI brass also let it out that a pilot project involving 450 units of the MINI e will start in January.

For one year, 450 lucky MINI fans will be able to lease a MINI e for $850 a month plus taxes and insurance.

The project’s goal is to test the units under actual road conditions and daily use. After the year’s lease the units go back to BMW for comparative testing.

Actual sales are supposed to start sometime in January 2012.

At the auto show, changes to the body appeared to be minimal as compared to the regular MINIs though you can’t help but notice the newly designed logo in the form of an interchange yellow power plug.

It was applied on the roof and smaller versions of it on the front, back, the door jamb (with the MINI logo) and charger port lid.

The color of the side mirror housings, seat seams, interior style cues and roof edges are all in the same color as the logo.

On the inside where the centrally located rev counter on the gas MINIs should be now sits the central gauge and battery level indicator which has yellow lettering against a dark gray background.

The battery level is shown in percentages. A LED display in the central gauge indicates battery consumption displayed in red while power recuperation is shown in green.

Go by and pic up some details at the Dallas MINI Dealer.

Well, not to be outdone, that cute little pug of a car that people either love or hate is also jumping into the fray.

So enter stage left the MINI e.

Introduced last fall at the Los Angeles Auto show, the100% emission free MINI e is run by a 204hp (150 KW) electric motor which in turn is powered by high performance rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

The battery packs themselves are stowed behind the driver and front passenger in place of rear seats (sadly only two people at a time can have fun).

On a single charge, the MINI e has a range of approximately 150 miles and to fully recharge the batteries takes two and a half hours via a wallbox that comes with every MINI e and installed in the customer’s garage.

The drive train of the MINI e produces a peak torque of 220nm thus guaranteeing flawless acceleration from 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds.

Top speed is a regulated 95mph as compared to the Smart fortwo BRABUS ED which has a top speed of 75mph and a maximum range of only 70 miles on a single charge.

With a curb weight of 3230lbs, the MINI e is outfitted with a suspension system that’s been tuned to fit its weight distribution thus ensuring safe handling at all times.

The DSC or Dynamic Stability Control system has also been adapted to this model’s specific wheel loads.

In a few weeks, a pilot program involving 450 fans in California, New Jersey and New York will begin.

They’ll be shelling out $850 a month for the right to drive the first highway legal electric cars since the Tesla roadster and the Toyota Rav4 EV.

It was February and it was cold.

Like 2 degrees above freezing cold.

This is rather significant as we were out and supposed to test a CONVERTIBLE.

So down goes the top and just like the first generation convertible, this new one has a “sunroof”.

By pressing the switch the roof retracts to its first position, which exposes the front seats.

If you continue to hold down the switch (for 15 secs), the roof will completely retract.

One thing we noticed is that the roof doesn’t completely retract/store itself behind the rear seats.

A good portion of it lies stacked at the rear which blocks some of the visibility.

To set the roof back up, simply press and hold the switch for another 15 seconds.

On the outside, the front is a bit higher and rounder and aside from this nothing else seems to have been radically redesigned.

This little cutie gets standard 16-inch wheels with run-flat tires, but for a more aggressive look optional 17-inch Black Star Bullet alloys are available.

On the inside, the dash looks like just any other MINI dash except for one new gadget: The Openometer.

Located left of the tachometer, it tracks the amount of time you drive with the top down.

More on the Openometer and the Convertible later.

Just like the other MINIs, the convertible comes in 3 flavors, the Base, S and John Cooper Works.

All are powered by a 1.6 liter four cylinder engine but naturally producing different horsepower.

The base is at 118, the turbocharged S punches out 172hp and of course the direct injection JCW cranking out 208hp.

The base hits 60mph in a decent 8.9 seconds and the turbocharged S cuts it down to 7 seconds.

It’s cute, a cool ride and you can’t really expect anything more.

So you thought.

Then they go and come out with the 2009 MINI Convertible.

At the Detroit auto show the “oohs” and “ahhs” started all over again.

With the top down, the first thing you notice is that gone are the double hoops which actually was a safety feature designed to protect passengers during a rollover.

What MINI did in the 09 convertible is this: If and when the standard stability controls’ inertial sensors detect an imminent rollover, a pyrotechnic charge deploys a bar and a ratchet mechanism keeps it in its extended position.

Bad thing is in order to secure/reset it again to its standby position, you’ll need to bring it back to a service center.

No DIY here.

On the outside, we noticed the redesigned 16 inch wheels (there’s an optional 17 incher available) and were told by the MINI people that the new convertible comes with a tuned suspension that’s supposed to be comfortable for any type of passenger.

Standard are Cornering Brake control, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, ABS, Dynamic Stability Control and Hill Start-Off Assistance. Optional is Dynamic Traction Control with Electronic Differential Lock Control which is a front wheel limited slip differential system.

In Detroit we were also shown the MINIs flexible storage system by way of the rear seats capable of being folded down completely.

At the left of the tachometer sits the “Openometer”, a gadget unique to the convertible.

What this does is that it tracks the amount of time that the car is driven with the top down.

The needle moves clockwise for each minute up to 60 minutes thereafter LEDs light up for each hour.

The chassis computer tracks the overall/total topdown time for the cars’ entire lifespan.

It serves no useful purpose.

It doesn’t improve the mileage or performance or anything like that.

It’s just a cute little widget.

You should probably take a stop by your Dallas Mini Dealer to find out more.

Being a Mini fan I would say definitely! But this would be a biased opinion since I do own a JCW. Seriously, considering the Total Cost to Own or the TCO, this would be a very relative question. This would really all depend on how much you like/love the Mini. But from a practical, logical point of view I would choose the Clubman S for several reasons which I will lay out in a future post.

Concentrating on the TCO, the S is cheaper by $7000; depreciation is lower by $2500 as well as all the rest of the taxes, fees and insurance costs. You mentioned horsepower. The JCW and The S are powered by 16 valve 4cyl engines but the S has an inline and the JCW a transverse aluminum block. The JCW has 208hp and the S 172 hp for a difference 36 horses. The S can accelerate from 0-60 in a decent 6.7 seconds while the JCW can do it in 6.5 seconds. So again is the extra 36 hp and .2 seconds worth the extra clams? Again, this is a relative question only you can answer. Personally my Mini JCW is a fun ride and I love it.

All we can really go by are the few concept and spy photos that come out. The Crossman appears to have a higher ride height as compared to a Clubman. Overall length is 4 meters or just about. If the other photos are to be believed, and I hope it’s true, the Crossman will have a rather unique or odd (depends on who sees it I guess) door configuration. The right rear passenger door has the “standard” setup i.e. opens outward and forward. The left rear door is the unique one. Instead of opening outward, it has a slide mechanism similar to what you’d see on a van but naturally on a smaller door. Another photo shows the rear of the Crossman sporting a 2 wiper configuration and roof rails are clearly visible on top. Engine wise, we’re all still guessing. I’ll snoop around and see if I can get more info.

Frankly there’s a lot of speculation going around still. Some say that it will come with the same 1.6 liter, 16 valve engine of the base Minis. Other proponents give it the super charged, 1752hp engine of the S. and then there are still other that insist that the Crossmans’ heart will be based on the 208 hp John Cooper Works engine. Looking at some of the spy photos, the Crossman looks like a Clubman on steroids. Bigger, wider front, larger tires, a skid plate and roof rails.

The only 3 points that all agree on is that it will come with a new all/four wheel drive system and the Crossman will be built in Austria by Magna Steyr, the same company that built BMWs’ X3. The third is that based on the other Mini variants, this is going to be another fun drive.