Seat has announced UK pricing for the Mii Electric, its first zero-emissions model, will begin at £19,300, making it one of the cheapest mainstream electric cars available in the UK.  Seat is also offering the first 300 buyers fitment of a wall-mounted home charger, a three-pin home charging cable, three years servicing and roadside assistance free of charge. The supermini’s sub-£20,000 price tag is lower than that of its Vauxhall Corsa-e, Peugeot e-208, Mini Electric and Honda e rivals. The new Renault Zoe is available from £18,670 under the firm’s battery leasing scheme, but monthly costs have yet to be revealed.  As part of Seat’s ‘easyMOVE’ range simplification strategy, only one trim is available from launch.  Standard equipment includes metallic paint, lane assist, fast charging capabilities, 16in alloy wheels, air conditioning and automatic windscreen wipers.  Owners can also make use of an associated smartphone app, which allows the climate control, lights and locks to be activated remotely, and gives information on journey times and the car’s location.  The Mii Electric shares its drivetrain with the recently revealed Skoda Citigo-e iV and replaces the petrol-engined Mii, which went out of production in July.  With an 82bhp electric motor mated to a single-speed transmission, the Mii Electric produces 156lb ft torque, enabling it to accelerate from 0-31mph in 3.9sec and onto a limited top speed of 81mph.  A 36.8kWh battery pack gives a WLTP-certified range of 162 miles. That’s 2 miles less than the 164 miles offered by the Citigo-e iV but 79 more than the ageing Volkswagen e-Up.  Styling changes over the outgoing Mii are subtle, limited to 16in alloy wheels and the addition of illuminated badging to the back and sides. Unlike the Citigo-e iV, the Mii retains the mesh grille fitted to the petrol car.  Inside, the Mii Electric sports a redesigned dashboard, heated, ‘performance-inspired’ seats and a leather steering wheel, handbrake and gear selector. Boot space is unchanged, at 251 litres.  The Mii Electric is aimed squarely at “those who spend the majority of their time traversing metropolitan and suburban streets”, says Seat. It can be charged in around four hours to 80% capacity from a 7.2kW home wallbox or one hour from a 40kW public fast charger.  Seat said the Mii’s shift to electric power will help prepare its dealerships for the arrival of the el-Born in 2020.  Company president Luca de Meo said: “In Europe, the electric vehicle market grew by 46% in the first four months of the year. Moving forward, we expect electrified vehicles to play an important role within our range. “The Mii Electric is the start of that journey and at the same time brings to the market an affordable electric car.” The Mii Electric is the production version of the 2017 e-Mii concept, of which five examples have been used in a car-sharing trial scheme in Barcelona, Spain as part of the new car’s development programme.  Production of the Mii Electric will begin at Skoda’s plant in Bratislava, Slovakia later this year, with customer deliveries scheduled to begin in early 2020.  The launch of the Mii electric comes as Seat gears up to introduce the el-Born EV, a plug-in hybrid variant of the next Leon and the plug-in hybrid Cupra Formentor sports
Origin: New Seat Mii electric priced from £19,300 in UK