Mia electric vehicle in the test

K Do you see this blissful glow in children's eyes? Exactly - that delightful glow that settles in the little faces around Christmas. Here it is again. Not because of Christmas. Because of Mia. The micro-electric bus of French origin, which at first glance looks like it has got rid of its carousel anchorage. It is just 2.9 meters long, 1.7 meters wide and 1.5 meters high. You, because according to her makers, Mia is female. Why, remains unexplored with us and does not matter.

So we speak frankly of her weight: Mia weighs 829 kilograms and can even shoulder 366 kilograms. In the floor of the car she carries lithium iron phosphate batteries that store an energy content of twelve kWh (optional). It is driven by a 58 Nm electric motor, which acts on the rear wheels and delivers a maximum of 18 kW.

The Mia electric car just keeps up in city traffic

Mia takes it on accordingly piano. The little one purrs to 50 km /h in 8.3 seconds. Just enough to swim with the dominant reciprocating competition in the city bustle. A maximum of 100 things would theoretically be possible, 33.3 seconds at 80 km /h correspond to the somewhat sluggish reality.

So we prefer to stick to the core of the matter, the practical use for shopping, fast delivery or that Transport to kindergarten and back. For this, Mia has dressed up considerably, even if it moves away from the basic price (19,500 euros) towards 28,000 euros. It adorns itself with fine leather on the dashboard, seats and door panels as well as with an acceptable trunk, which after all offers a capacity of 260 liters. The low loading sill is just as little an obstacle as the glass tailgate swinging far upwards, under which even 1.90-meter giants don't get a horn.

A push on the white Mia blossom and the sliding doors unlock: please thread on three individual seats through a surprisingly large hatch that extends from the roof to the floor. The captain takes an elitist seat in the middle position, well supported on the sides and comfortably bedded. He still enjoys a touch of headroom and a great overview, looks at a non-capricious cockpit, which also shows power consumption, recuperation in push mode and of course the charge level of the battery.

No servo, no ABS, no ESP

No servo, no ABS, no ESP? That can be cheerful. How true ... Because the required steering forces are possible absolutely in order. Mia can be circled loosely and with her left hand in parking spaces, turning on the spot with the measly turning circle. In addition, the steering responds pleasantly directly to elicit a cheerful dynamic from the bus gnome. Also the response of the brake is subjectively okay. In fact, 12.8 meters are needed to come to a standstill from 50 km /h (Smart Fortwo: under ten meters).

To stick with the micro comparison: Mia is not a whisper . At city speed, the interior sound pressure is similar to that of the Smart. The engine hums at the rear, and outside and wind noises push in through the simple plastic body with a cool aluminum look. Every now and then the rear axle stumbles over the manhole cover complain, w would do her wrong. It bounces and dampens quite charmingly, bends in the front of the spring when changing direction quickly, in extreme cases briefly lifts the wheel at the back, but by no means gets out of hand.

Heating power from Mia is only enough for the driver

A trip with Mia has the potential to be fun - unless the cell phone or odds and ends slip off the simple plastic tray on the two shelves or one of the two rear passengers complains about the cool temperatures. He should rather be happy about the fact that he can almost stretch his legs. The heating power is just enough for the handlebars. Also for blowing free the windscreen, which however reduces the maximum range. So it happens that Mia shows only 15 percent of the load capacity after 77 kilometers with the windshield wipers waving from time to time, the blower running every now and then and safety-relevant light on our range lap.

At 94 kilometer she warns to stop and immediately Charging process. It then takes at least five hours and sucks 14.3 kWh from the grid. If you use 23 cents for the kilowatt hour, the affordable round with Mia costs just over three euros. The glowing children's eyes at the sight of the admittedly somewhat strange but lovable little ones, on the other hand, are priceless.