Letter from Europe.

By Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief
The Auto Channel
London UK

I have been having quite an adventurous time in MINI's new EV version. It didn’t start off too well. For the first time in 50 years of testing cars and SUVs I’ve never hit a curb. Until now.

I was heading to Barnes & Noble and somehow-in the smallest car I’ve tested I’ ve managed to get a puncture. On the sidewall ! Luckily Mini of Marin were just across the road.

As always they were mega helpfuil. Boss man Alex is an old friend from the days when he was in charge of the Maserati dealership. They didn’t have the right tire but promised it for the following day. Upon closer inspection it turned out that the tire was made in Hungary.

I’ve sent a note to the PR lady-in Hungarian- and after receiving her reply it turned out that the Hankook plant in Hungary is absolutely massive, producing millions of tires. In fairness to them the Hankook tires fitted to the EV were Hankook’s best and most expensive. I phoned up their US press office and they directed me to the nearest Hankook dealer in San Rafael, North of San Francisco.

Chris, the man in charge commented that with relatively heavy cars such as the Mini EV, sidewalls are more vulnerable than the bits in contact with the road . I did take some pictures of the tires which I will send to the factory and will let you know the answers.

In the meantime I also ran into a challenge with charging which has to be the Mini’s weakest point. The charge was going down at a rate of knots and as I live in a block of flats there were no charging facilities. I had a dinner engagement 20 miles away and I didn’t dare take the Mini.

So knowing that there were charging stations outside Whole Foods in Mill Valley I went there.

Getting the charger to charge was a bit of of a problem but a kind man who was charging his Chevrolet Bolt on the adjacent charging station came to my rescue kindly treating me by using his EVGO card.

There seems to be a welcome camaraderie between EV people. While I was there someone walked over asking my opinion on the Mini EV. He has a Clubman and took great interest.

I told him in all honesty that if he has a garage and his office in not more than 4o miles away he should be OK without range anxiety. And of course there are companies who already offer charging facilities.

The problem for people like me is that if all three EV chargers are taken at WH then I have problems. There are two charging facilities in Belvedere but one was being used and the other was out of order.

This illustrates the problem we will have with new EVs arriving by the millions. Ford are switching, GM are switching as are VW and Porsche.

Even Lamborgini are going all EV..so much for those wonderful mechanical symphonies emanating from V12 engines we’ ve enjoyed over the years.

Coming back to the Mini EV the question is-would I buy one. The answer has to be no because of my circumstances. And not just my circumstances. Right now all of the folks seem to be in the Sierras. There is absolutely no way to do the journey in the Mini EV. So for most people who go skiing or fishing or have an away game-be it tennis, lacrosse or baseball it is Mum’ trusted SUV which will come to the rescue.

After the Mini I tested the other extreme-Land Rover’s Defender. Clearly in leafy Belvedere it was seriously over qualified. On the other hand off-road anywhere it would have been just the ticket. Earlier versions had some quality problems but I am pleased to say the one I tested was just fine.

No rattles of any kind, no dramas whatsoever. Clearly it isn’t a sportcar so ride and handling are on the rough side but than sportscar don’t climb mountains like the Defender.

The standard powerplant is a surprisingly gutsy turbocharged 2.0 liter engine producing 296 Horsepower but you can always opt for the more muscular 3 liter V6 which delivers nearly 400 horsepower.. I was testing the Defender when gas was at 6 dollars a gallon so I felt that prudence was called for. I’ve always been known for delivering amazing fuel figures by simply slowing down before the red lights instead of braking at the very last minute.

I didn’t have time to go to the Sierras but have no doubt whatsoever that the Defender could cope with whatever you threw at it. I should point out that this Defender is a far cry from Defenders of yesteryear, the comfort was as good as it was in the Jaguar I’ve tested a few weeks ago.

Excellent instrumentation, excellent sound system and comfortable seats. Rugged does not mean uncomfortable seats and a malfunctioning heater any more. And let us not forget that over the years Land Rover have built over two million Defenders. Prices go from 52 thousand for the smaller version to nearly 80 thousand for the bigger one with all the extras and the bigger engine.

So if you are looking for one to take little Johnny to school even when the roads of Marin county are flooded the smaller one will be just one. If you are an adventurer than the bigger Defender is for you.

Well that's if for this month, hopefully we can report from Europe next Month.