While we might not be car experts, the Get It girls certainly do a lot of driving around the North Coast! So, when we were invited to test-drive the new all-electric MINI we couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
Stylish, dynamic and good for the planet, the all-new electric MINI seemed like the perfect fit for busy toddler mom and our sales representative, Lauren Dickerson. She shares her experience with us.
“I have to admit, I was both nervous and curious about test-driving an electric car. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to drive something that I’ve only ever seen in the movies and which is sure to become our future driving experience.
When I collected the car at SMG MINI Rocks Umhlanga it was all charged and ready to go! The sales rep assured me that fifty percent battery power would get me 75km and, after showing me the ropes, sent me on my way.
It was so quiet. There was no engine start noise and I actually didn’t know the car was even on at first. I put my foot on the peddle and ‘weeeee’… off I went. I say ‘weeeee’, because that’s the best way I can describe the sound the car makes – there is no heavy chugging sounds, only the sound of the tyres on the road. There are no exhaust fumes and, the best part, no need to worry about the ever-increasing price of petrol or diesel. The only thing to think about is where you’ll charge your car when you start losing battery power.
In my opinion, this little car is powerful, iconic and fun. It has no lag, no gear shift interruptions and immediate torque when you need it. It’s zippy and nifty to get through the traffic and, as promised, it “glides along like an exhilarating go-kart experience fused with distinctive design and emissions-free driving.”
The car converts braking energy into electricity by using its motor as a generator and puts some power back into your battery every time you decelerate.
As I drove back to Ballito along the highway, my nerves settled and I started to enjoy the quiet, gliding experience. I did keep checking the battery life, worried that I wouldn’t be able to pop into the nearest gas station to fill up. You need a 3-pin plug point to charge the car.
Highway driving is about low recovery braking, which makes the car glide more, whereas town driving is about the fun high recovery breaking, which is easier to use in traffic, at robots and over bumps.
I felt like I was in the movie “Back to the Future”, driving a fast golf cart rather than a motor vehicle! Once home, I parked the electric MINI in the garage and plugged it in to charge overnight. It’s just like plugging in your phone to charge – only now we can plug in our cars! I checked back 12 hours later and the car was one hundred percent charged with 175km on the clock.
There’s no worry about the battery running out and not being able to charge because the charger is always in the car and ready to use at any place with a three-pin plug point. There is also a super charger, which can be used at special gas stations, that will charge the car in 36 minutes. We are so used to watching our petrol gage, that there really is no difference – we just watch the battery and make sure to be home or within range of a plug point when the battery is on the last bar and only has 20km to go.
It took some getting used to but, in the end, I loved my ‘Back to the Future’ MINI driving experience. The quietness was calming, the power was fun and, once I changed my mindset around the battery power charging and realised it was nothing to worry about, it became the norm. I also realised I didn’t need to charge the car every night (I don’t put petrol or diesel in my car every day either after all) and all I needed to do was watch the kilometres, the same way I do a normal car.”
Details: www.smg.co.za/branch/smg-rocks, 031 561 3569
