EVs keep getting further on a full battery. At least, we thought so. There are always exceptions that confirm the rule: here the Honda E and the Mini Electric. It doesn’t make them any less interesting, by the way. These two electrical gadgets have different qualities, each in their own field. Which is the best?
With its ever-increasing range, the electric car is becoming more and more mature and as a result – although often supported by a financial incentive – an increasingly serious alternative to the car with a petrol or diesel engine. Of course there are always exceptions that confirm the rule and swim against the current, such as the Honda E and the Mini Electric. The big similarity between these compact EVs is that they have a hefty price tag – it starts just above € 35,000 – and that for that money they aren’t exactly the most practical cars you can find. But that’s not what this set of electro-gadgets is all about. They are much more lifestyle accessories packed with character. It should be noted immediately that the respective manufacturers each fill in that character in their own way.
That already starts with the design of the two cars. The Mini is basically the well-known three-door front-wheel drive, only now with an electric motor under the hood and a battery pack instead of a fuel tank under the rear seat. Honda has developed its own platform for the all-new five-door E, with the electric motor placed under the floor of the trunk that drives the rear wheels. The dimensions of the respective battery packs are relatively modest and that has a direct influence on the capacities. The battery pack in the Mini has a gross 32.6 kWh, of which 28.9 kWh net remains. That is actually quite modest compared to what Honda states: 35.5 kWh. Honda does not indicate whether this is gross or net, but based on our consumption and what we can load, we assume that it is gross. Anyway, gross or net, the size of the battery pack has a direct influence on the range, because ultimately you get further with a large battery. Equally interesting is the electricity consumption. With the Mini with its smaller battery, that is so much lower that it eventually comes just a little further than the Honda. This is the case with both the statement in the folder and in practice. If we extrapolate our registered consumption with both cars, we only get a modest 165 kilometers with the Mini on a full battery, while with the Honda it really stops after a meager 146 kilometers.