15 May 2011

Lots of cargo

This might not mean much to you if you have never driven a Mini E, which has no back seat.  But here is a photo of five suitcases in the back of the Think City EV.  Most of these suitcases are very large.

Our Think EV does not have a back seat either but it does have a lot of room, unlike the Mini E.  Here is another view with the suitcases outside the car.
For those unfamiliar, the Mini E is a prototype car for research.  The entire back seat is taken up by batteries.  When we took the Mini E on long trips, we had to add a roof rack.  Pictures are here.  The storage space in the Mini E is perhaps comparable to the Smart ED, although nothing much else is comparable. 
(We had to give the Mini E back when we moved to NC. It is not supported here.)

The Think City EV was designed from the ground up as an EV, with the batteries under the seats.  So there is about a cubic yard of cargo space in the back of this two seater.

And the seats in our fifth generation Think EV can lean all the way back when the back is not completely full of suitcases.

Now that I mention it, the best part is that they cannot take the Think EV away from us if we move!  We own it, unlike the Mini E which was only leased.  (You cannot get it in the US anymore.)
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 16, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    Hey Jim, that looks great! Love that cargo space!
    So is that 142 miles on the gauge above from the Mini-E? Ho much do you think you'll get out of the Think EV?

    Great to hear you're still doing the EV thing. I'm looking forward to the time when I can get one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 16, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    I just can't get past how ugly the Think is!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jim McLMay 16, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    Hi Ted, yes the 142 mile reading was estimated range on the Mini E. Maybe I will update the heading one of these days since we do not have the Mini E anymore.

    I doubt the Th!nk will get much over 110 miles best case. The battery capacity is a bit smaller than the Mini E.

    PA has about $4500 better incentives than NC does, have you checked out thinkev-usa.com?

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  4. Jim McLMay 16, 2011 at 6:48 PM

    Ian, OPEC agrees with you. They think the Th!nk is ugly too. Ugly news for their high prices.

    Have you ever noticed how ugly gasoline cars smell? Especially when the engine is cold?

    Ian, what do you drive? I pay the equivalent of about 50 cents per gallon. What do you pay for fuel? Hmm?

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  5. Ian C.May 18, 2011 at 6:33 AM

    Jim,
    I agree with you on fuel costs - but still by now it should be possible to make something efficient and good looking. MINI E at least looked good.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jim McLMay 18, 2011 at 7:22 AM

    Ian, I still say you are jealous. Like when the other guy gets the girl and you have to say "Oh, she was ugly anyway".

    Let me guess, you like mean looking cars? With the frowning grill?

    That is not what this is about!

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  7. David WassmannJune 4, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jim McLSeptember 19, 2011 at 10:03 PM

    And a lot of people want EVs to look like gas cars, even though the flexible packaging available with an all electric drive train can give you a MUCH more practical car in less space. Such as with the great visibility around corners in urban areas that you get with the very short nose on the Th!nk (while retaining great crash performance). Or a large trunk in the front which Telsa is putting the in model S.

    But in the short term, many people want their EV to look like an old gas car, just like early cars were made to look like horse drawn carriages.

    ReplyDelete

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