Q: What vehicle do you drive?
A: A Mini E – it’s entirely electric and not in commercial production.
Q: How long have you had it?
A: Since September.
Q: How much did it cost?
A: I am leasing it for six months. It costs me just over £300 a month. But it cost Mini a lot more to produce and is heavily subsidised by the Government, so there is a bit of pressure not to crash it!
Q: What work have you done to the vehicle?
A: None, although I did run out of electricity in Oxford and had to be pushed up the hill by the police and ended up charging it at a local pub. Mini had to do a bit of repair work afterwards due to the charge going to an unusually low level. It was all covered by them and they even washed the car before returning it!
Q: Why did you get this particular vehicle?
A: It’s very cheap to run. A full charge will take you about 100 miles and costs about £1.50. It’s very environmentally friendly, which is good as I have set up a website, goCarShare.com that helps people share car journeys and driving an electric car around reinforces our green ethos.
We have driven it around the country and it’s been on a big tour of freshers’ weeks while we were promoting car sharing to students. Finding suitable charge points did prove to be a slight logistical complication though.
Q: What do you like most about it?
A: It’s fun, very fast, and I don’t feel guilty about driving.
Q: What irritates you most about it?
A: Very little, although there are definitely times when I have got ‘range anxiety’ as the electricity gauge can plummet quite quickly.
Q: Is it good value for money?
A: Err...you can’t actually buy it. But for the leasing expense that I am paying I am not complaining. I am one of only 50 people trialling at the moment and lots of people applied, so I am very lucky.
Q: Does it have a name?
A: She is called Miranda (the Mini).
Q: What is your favourite memory of the vehicle?
A: The ceremony at the Cowley plant when we got to meet all the other Mini E ‘pioneers’ was amazing. We learnt all about the heritage of Minis and had a very fun day.
Q: And your worst?
A: Either the running out of electricity, or the time when I have been very close to running out of electricity and limited to a top speed of about 20mph down a main road due to the charge being so low. To clarify, these instances have mostly related to my poor planning skills, rather than any problems with the car itself!
Q: If you could own any vehicle what would it be?
A: A Mini E (but maybe one with a slightly better battery range).
Q: What was your first car? How much did it cost and how long did you own it?
A: It was a Ford Ka – I shared it with my mum since I was learning to drive at the time. I have now had it for 12 years. I still own it although my friend Clare is renting it off me.
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