Mini E drivers report reduced range in low temperatures

By Matt Brogan | December 30th, 2009

It’s a well known fact that batteries of any kind don’t perform as well in cold conditions, a fact some Mini E drivers in the US are now experiencing first hand.

In the cold north-west winter Mini E’s claimed range of 160 kilometres has been reduced by between 20 and 50 per cent, with one driver reporting a return of just 88 kilometres – which included a two-hour top up charge between commutes.

Although a 50 per cent drop in battery performance is rather extreme, it’s well recognised that overall EV range is easily effected by colder temperatures, an inherent flaw that does not bode well for the perceived limitations of all-electric driving.

The same kind of drawbacks have also been reported from hybrid vehicles with many failing to reach their claimed fuel economy averages when driven in colder climates.

While the issue may dissuade buyers in such environments for now, future battery technology will likely improve range fade meaning future models won’t suffer the same fate.

Baddass

Well, this news may put off buyers and send rival car makers into fits of laughter, but lets face it: electric cars just were introduced into the market too soon (to satisfy the government and market obsession with greener cars), before troubles like this could be properly shot down. If it wasn’t Mini, it would have been someone else.

EconeticFan

Something to remember about the MINI E is that it’s not a production car, but a collection of Electric Vehicle technologies that BMW are field testing in real world conditions across several countries in order to gain information and feedback for use in a future product.

It’s been said elsewhere that the MINI E currently lacks a battery heater or it isn’t functioning correctly at the moment during the very cold weather, so it’s likely to be the cause of the reduced range thats being reported. This is just the latest in a number of issues the MINI E has had, and it’s likely that more will occur over the next 6 or so months of being tested by the public.

So to say that all EVs have problems like the MINI E is untrue, as each manufacturer is using an overall design that is unique, and the battery technology is simply one factor in the whole of the design.

Valet Dabess

hahaha that’s funny, if i was in my gas powered car i’d drive past them and taunt them. i don’t think i’m ever gonna buy an electric car for years
lazybones

The performance drop was also a result of the car cabin needing heating, which drains the battery. Its kind of suprising that Tesla has found solutions for all these problems but BMW haven’t. Then again the Mini-E is just a prototype you can’t actually buy it yet. I’d have faith that BMW will have these problems licked.

Tesla have a separate heating/cooling system to keep the batteries at optimum temperature to avoid the above problems and also a better cabin heating and cooling system to draw less energy from the batteries.