The Mini Electric will appeal both to current Mini owners and those that aspire to become Mini owners.

As the world inevitably moves towards electrified transport, this 2020 electric Mini allows you to take part in that journey. You can now drive a Mini and treat the environment well at the same time.

Certainly this Mini is well suited to the town and city. It’s relatively small, easy to park, and the electric powertrain makes it nippy when required.

Pollution regulations are only going to get tighter in cities. It already costs an arm and a leg to drive a fossil fuel vehicle into central London. Soon many built-up areas will ban diesels completely and later on petrol cars, too. A zero emissions Mini Electric, on the other hand, allows you the freedom of the city. No charges, no restrictions.

As the name suggests, the Mini is not a large car. It’s a 4-seater, with 3 doors, and a small boot (211 litres). It’s unlikely to be your main family car.

However, if you’re single, or a married couple without children, the Mini is ideal. In the front seats, the electric Mini is perfect. Plenty of space, great looks, comfortable seats, quirky design, nice digital and sat nav functionality.

If you do need to transport bigger items, just fold down the back seats and you get a decent 731 litres of space. It’s not quite a Tardis, but it is surprising how much stuff you can cram into a 3-door Mini hatch when push comes to shove.

The Mini Electric also makes sense as a non-polluting, second car for your family. Especially if your first car is a big, heavy, 4×4 diesel. If you go down this route, you will probably find yourself not wanting to drive the clunky diesel anymore. Electric cars are addictive.

Part of that addiction comes from regenerative braking or ‘regen’. When you lift your foot off the accelerator of an electric car, the car starts to brake at once. It’s not the brake pads slowing the vehicle down, but rather the electric motor going into reverse and acting as a generator. This charges the battery.

So, slowing down in the Mini = increasing range. It’s also known as ‘one pedal’ driving. Basically, you rarely need to put your foot on the actual brake pedal. Just press or lift off the accelerator to accelerate or slow down. You only need the brake pedal for emergency stops or if the car doesn’t stop quickly enough at traffic lights, etc.

In the front centre console there is a lever controlling how strong the regen effect is. Two levels. Pick the one you feel most at home with.

There is also a lever for the four driving modes: Sport, Mid, Green, and Green+.

Sport mode gives you full access to the 135 kW (184 bhp) electric motor. Acceleration from 0 to 62 mph in 7.3 seconds.

Green mode softens the immediacy of the accelerator pedal. You can still nip round, but the car is not as responsive as when in Sport mode.

Mid – naturally – is somewhere in between Sport and Green.

Green+ is basically an ultra energy saving feature. Put that on when you are very low on charge. It will reduce certain settings on the car, like air-con, to save power and help get you home.

The rule of thumb for the driving modes is: keep it in Green mode if you want maximum range on a single charge. Choose Sport mode if you fancy yourself as a Formula 1 driver, but range will suffer.

As with many EVs, the Mini Electric comes with a smartphone app: Mini Connected. This allows you to:

Heat or cool the interior remotely

Start charging your car remotely and check charging status

Look for rapid DC charging stations

Check out efficiency stats

It’s also worth mentioning the £3,500 government grant for EVs won’t be around forever. Carry out a proper search now to select the electric car best for you and then strike while the iron’s hot.