New Mini with 204 HP electric motor

It takes a lot to make this jaded hack break into a smile (600hp is usually a good starting point) but I have to admit that when I prodded the Mini E's accelerator for the first time and rolled out of BMW's press car facility in Munich in complete silence, I had a little smirk playing about my lips. This was my first time experiencing an electric car and I must confess I didn't do a very good job of maintaining my critical composure – the novelty of driving a silent, engineless, futuristic supermini is immense, although I really should have been more aware of the importance of what I was driving. The Mini E isn't some experimental one-off; 500 of these things will be driving around California, New York and New Jersey in the States (and Berlin in Germany, too, we hear) as part of a long-term feasibility study by BMW. Despite these cars being the first of their kind (i.e. proper electric cars intended to do the job of a normal car) an unruly line of guinea pigs has already formed, each willing to stump up their own cash to be part of this historic field study. These 500 carefully vetted custodians will get to lease a Mini E for a 12-month period, after which they (the cars that is) will go back to Munich to stripped down, examined and improved upon for the next generation. And yes, there will be a second-generation model. And a third. And a... well, you get the idea. The electric car's day is finally here!

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