Why I love my MINI Electric, by Iola

“A really positive driving experience”

“I do a real mix of city and countryside driving around Yorkshire, and my MINI Electric is perfect for both. It really shifts when you put your foot down, thanks to the electric torque. It’s perfectly sized for town and country roads, too: not too big; not too small. And it handles really well. It’s a really positive driving experience.

“The best thing for me with electric driving is the regenerative braking – that ability to put energy back into the battery when you lift off the accelerator. It’s a different way of driving, but you get used to it so quickly. It makes you more conscious about how you’re using energy, and I think that’s great. Everyone should be aware of their energy consumption, and the MINI Electric really helps in that regard.”

Fancy getting behind the wheel of the MINI Electric? Take a 24-hour test drive

“Everything’s done via the touchscreen”

“I picked the Level 2 trim on my MINI Electric. Inside, everything’s done via the touchscreen, which is great. Connecting my phone is really easy, and the in-car electronic user manual is great. If you’re not sure how to do anything, you can find out really quickly.

“I absolutely love the separate configurations for different drivers. You can set things like the Head-Up display and the wing mirrors to your height and seating position. When you get in, just click on your name and everything moves to your settings.

“The MINI Electric smartphone app is brilliant. As well as helping you find chargers, you can lock and unlock your car, close the windows, pre-warm the interior, and set destinations – straight from your phone to the in-car sat-nav. When you get in, the route is already pre-programmed. The app also tells you about upcoming services and loads of other useful information about the car – everyone’s on their phone these days, so the app is an integral part of owning a MINI Electric.

Want to try the MINI Electric yourself? Take a 24-hour test drive

“I don’t charge every night; only when I need to”

“My MINI Electric is my first electric car, but I’ve never really had any worries about charging. I was just curious as to how it worked. The questions I had were all pretty standard: How often do I have to charge? How easy is it? Where can I charge it? How long does it take? But, as I say, I’ve never had any issues.

“I do most of my charging at home via our Pod Point wallbox, but it’s easy to go further afield, too. The MINI Electric smartphone app makes charging easy. When I’m at home, I can use the app to set the car to charge at certain times of day. I can see how much a charge will cost me, and how much range the car currently has. Then, when I’m out and about, it’s really easy to use the app to find chargers.

“I definitely don’t charge every night; only when I have to. People would be surprised to find that most journeys are actually quite short, and don’t require a full battery. For people worried about range and charging, I’d say: make sure you plan journeys before you go, use the Green driving modes to help preserve range, don’t carry unnecessary luggage, and only get the charge you need.

“If I’m popping to the supermarket, I might grab 15 mins on a rapid charger here and there. Or, if I’m going out for a meal, I’ll use a slower destination charger to get a few more miles. If you’ve never run out of petrol, there’s no reason you’ll ever run out of charge! There are chargers everywhere these days.