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Interesting article! My next car purchase will be electrc so this may be the one.
The article mentions 'auxiliary heat' - does anyone know what that is? Back in the 60s VW had gas fired heaters . . .
I'm under the impression the heat generated by the electric drive motor is used to reduce the amount of electric heat used to warm the interior, thereby leaving as much battery capacity as possible to maximize range.
VW's had gas fired heaters? I don't recall that. I recall on my aunt's VW you needed to open the heat levers and drive as fast as possible to get heat from the engine into the interior of the car. Maybe the gas fired heaters were an option? :-)
My next car will an an EV. I really like the Mini, but I want more range. 300+ miles is the sweet spot for me. I will admit all of my daily driving is well under 100 miles and I have a garage in which to charge each night. We have a small lake cabin that we try and visit each weekend which is 95 miles away. The EV Mini won't cut it (especially when charging to 100% reduces battery life) while a car like the Tesla Model 3 and the Kona will. I would prefer a Mini over either of those two, but the range becomes an issue. Tesla is developing batteries that will be hitting 400 mile range in the very near future and likely 600 miles going forward. A 300+mile range Mini and I'd be in for sure. Not now.
Calling a low mileage EV a city car sounds good, but many city dwellers live in apartments of row houses where @ home charging isn't available. A low mileage EV actually makes more sense for a suburban owner where a garage and nightly charging can be done. Perhaps when we see street charging (think parking meters w/ plugs) are installed throughout a city, a low mileage "city" EV would make sense IMO. As is, if I lived in a city apartment, I'd prefer a higher mileage EV so public charging would be a weekly or longer necessity.
The European EV market must be very different than the USA. As it currently stands, I will be looking at a Model 3 (unless I see some major mileage increases in others). I will also give the Kona another look before I pull the trigger. My next purchase will be in 3-4 years so I expect to see many more options opening.
I think we will see EV sales increase and ICE sales decrease in the coming years. Especially with longer range models coming to the market, Many people looking for a new car will keep the current ICE vehicle and wait for a practical and longer range EV rather than trade for another ICE. The next decade will be very interesting indeed.
Very interesting points and worthy of a standalone thread (or multiples).
"Who is the Cooper SE for?"
"What are the excuses people will find for not buying one?"
"What does our infrastructure need to look like before 100mi BEVs are considered acceptable?"
The MINI Cooper SE incorporates a heat pump that collects heat from the motor, battery, and electronics to warm the cabin. For really cold weather, however, the MINI Cooper SE also includes a range-robbing resistance heater, like all other BEVs.
Look at the amazing number of hoses surrounding the MINI Cooper SE's motor to keep the power system cool and, when appropriate, the cabin occupants warm. The front of the car is to the right.
The extensive plumbing surrounding the MINI Cooper SE's motor
Well MINI doesn't have a stellar reputation when it comes to plastic coolant fittings. That plumbing will be a problem at some point!
I couldn't agree more.
It's laudable that so many of the manufacturers and entering the EV market, most are playing "catch-up" in design and components. Building from parts bin components or 3rd party suppliers may not prove to be the best solutions. Not many other options available to those arriving late to the EV game.
Compare Tesla's to Mini's. Tesla started with the Superbottle and is improving upon that with the :Octavalve . Just onemore benefit of vertical integration when designing and building an EV
those are bmw hoses, all will leak soon and when you try to fix one the ones around it will break too
Wrong. We just turned our 2nd I3 back to the dealer. If someone had that problem on the i3 Groups and Forums we never heard about it. Everything will eventually fail. Soon? Not seeing that overly negative prediction.
04-03-2020 | 06:54 PM
