Woodcliff Lake, NEW JERSEY — BMW's full-electric Mini E has been undergoing international real-world testing by lessors of the cars. Now some among the U.S. group of 450, whom the company calls Motoring Pioneers, are reporting their driving range goes down at least 20 percent in cold weather.
A tester writing on the GM-Volt.com Web site who says he's leasing the Mini E for a year as part of the field test says there's a "pronounced decline in battery range in the cold weather." He gave as an example the fact that the battery meter went to zero miles/zero percent after 55 miles of driving in 23-degree (F) weather, although the Mini E is supposed to have a 100-mile range, and even though he charged the battery at 110 volts for two hours in the middle of the trip.
A Washington Post story quoted tester Robert Hooper as saying he was "shocked" to learn how much his driving range is cut when weather is cold. Timothy Gill, also quoted in the Post story, said he had to be towed once at 87.8 miles, although similar distances had not been a problem in warmer weather.
Most interestingly, the Post story quotes BMW North America Chairman and CEO Jim O'Donnell as saying, "I would argue that the case for the electric car is not proven.... We're asking consumers to pay more and get less. Our view is: Proceed with caution."
The BMW Mini E Web site says the Mini E is "an experiment of sorts.... It's important to remember that there are still some considerable hurdles to clear before a pure electric car is ready for mass production." Participants in the trial program pay $850 per month for the lease, must live in California, New York or New Jersey and must agree to provide regular feedback about their experiences.
Inside Line says: Apparently, there are still some bugs in this system that may take time to work out. Perhaps BMW is right in calling these testers "pioneers." — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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car_battery says:
12:27 AM, 08/15/2011
yeah, that's right. the life of car battery will be shortened if you don't check and maintain it on a regular basis. The temperature also affects the performance of the battery. More information from Leoch International, http://www.leoch.com
uncanny_man says:
04:20 PM, 12/30/2009
You mean to tell me that chemistry decreases with regards to temperature? I'm shocked, hear me, shocked! And you know what? I have a hunch that its relationship is an exponential one. Say, rate constant = some constant times e raised to the negative of the activation energy over the ideal gas constant times the temperature, perhaps?
chopperx says:
12:13 PM, 12/30/2009
this is what has me concerned about ANY electric hybrid or full electric
how will these behave in wintery and cold conditions. If my electric car sits out in the parking lot all day and is covered in snow, how long will my battery last before I have to charge?