On show at the BMW Mini factory last week was the Mini-E, the all-electric, zero emission model which is currently being tested in field trials in the UK and overseas.

The Mini-E itself will not go into production, but the technology it uses will. For the last six months members of the public have been test driving the Mini E in real-life conditions. The results of the trials will help develop a new city car for release in 2013.

And as the first part of the Mini-E trial comes to an end, one of the test pioneers has said he
doesn’t want to give his back.

John Beesley explained: “It is a totally different experience to anything I’ve driven before and probably anything I’ll be driving in the future.”

He acknowledged that there have been one or two teething problems – notably in the sub-zero temperatures at the start of the year – but isn’t that the point of a trial?

BMW Mini says these problems will all be resolved before they begin marketing electric cars to customers.

The Mini E takes about three hours to charge fully, which costs about £3, but Mr Beesley is converted. “I cannot fault the thing, even in its present form,” he said.

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