The Wuling Hongguang MINI EV Is Revolutionary

What is it?

Looking to spend 100,000 USD on an EV? There’s plenty of options to choose from. Only have USD 50,00 to spend? No problem! 25,000 USD? That’s a bit tougher, but I’m sure you can find something. 5,000 USD?

Ha! Good luck!

At least that used to be the case, but there’s a whole new crop of EVs that’s trying to address that very market. Chief among them is the topic of this review, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, China’s bestselling electric vehicle in 2021. It costs about as much as a motorcycle, but offers fully-electric transportation for four, with a roof.

Kei car cute

The exterior styling of the MINI EV takes a lot of inspiration from kei cars, that wonderfully quirky class of micro car from Japan. It has the same upright, box on wheels look as microvans like the Honda Acty and Suzuki Every. Remarkably, however, it is even smaller than most kei cars, measuring in at less than 3 meters in length (115 inches).

A great deal of its charm is derived from those stubby proportions, with the whole package coming together to look something like a pug on wheels. Its genuinely hard not to smile when you see this car, and the 12-inch wheels on 145/70 section tires set the look off perfectly.

Nothing much to see here

There are absolutely no frills to be found in the interior of the Mini EV, though that doesn’t mean it’s a depressing place to spend time. There are little splashes of color throughout that liven things up, but once you start to touch things, you are reminded why this is car that tops out at less than USD 5,500. The quality of its interior plastics can best be described as being somewhere between an entry-level economy car and a public bathroom.

In addition to the screen that serves as an instrument cluster, you also get a rudimentary display for your sound system that would look more at home in a car from the mid-1980s. Seat adjustment is manual, but you get power windows! Those used to be optional on cars that cost way more than this, my how the times have changed.

Back seats are just as hard and uncomfortable as the ones up front, and space is obviously at a premium. No matter, though, as you’ll need to fold it down if you plan to go grocery shopping anyway.

You get what you pay for

The MINI EV is powered by a single, rear mounted electric motor putting just 17.5 HP and 85 Nm of torque through a single-speed transmission. This monster of a motor gets its juice from either a 9.3 or 13.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, delivering 120 and 170 kilometers of range, respectively.

There will be no fast charging for this little guy, so it will take you anywhere from 6.5-9 hours to charge your MINI EV on a 220v outlet. Interestingly, the MINI EV comes equipped with an energy recovery system, so one-pedal driving is both possible and easy.

Physics being what it is, even weighing in at a bonkers 665kg, the MINI EV is not quick. It wouldn’t even be accurate to describe it as “spirited”, with acceleration over 20km/h being very mild. Wuling doesn’t provide a 0-100 time, and that’s likely for two reasons: the first is that the official top speed is 100 km/h, and the other is that there probably aren’t very many people who are brave enough to actually drive it that fast.

That’s because the Wuling MINI EV, much like the Wuling Hongguang Plus, has a conspicuous lack of safety equipment. We’re not talking about the type of stuff that’s now standard across the industry, like lane keep assist and blind spot monitoring. No, we mean that this thing has nothing apart from ABS and seat belts. No airbags, no electronic stability control, nothing. It doesn’t even have a seat belt reminder for passengers, just the driver.

The rudimentary interior is a good match for the suspension, which is McPherson struts up front and multilink, non-independent in the rear. The ride is not good, and going over any kind of bumps is an adventure, as you never know if you’re going to slam your head forward or backwards.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun in the MINI EV. Its narrow body and very short wheelbase make it ideal for darting in and out of tight spaces in traffic. Those attributes also mean that it can be parked more or less anywhere, a huge asset in cities like Shanghai.

Takeaway

The Mini EV was China’s bestselling electric vehicle in 2021, and while its low purchase price was a major factor, another contributor was China’s license plate system.

For those who live in major cities, it can cost around $15,000 just to get a license plate for an ICE vehicle, and that’s assuming you get chosen in the license plate lottery. That means you can easily double the cost of a new ICE vehicle when you factor in the license plate. As an electric vehicle, the MINI EV’s green license plate is free. At least it was, until cities like Shanghai changed their policies late last year specifically to exclude vehicles like the Mini EV.

That’s not an issue for buyers in rural areas, but the MINI EV still offers an appealing alternative to an electric scooter or motorcycles. It’s also a vast improvement over the even smaller electric cars favored by older Chinese consumers (and Jason Torchinsky over at Jalopnik). Overall, it’s a simple and efficient solution for many buyers here in China.