Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Latest:
2026 polestar 3 review main image
Electric Cars Reviewed

2026 Polestar 3 review: Getting under the skin of updated Swedish star

Matt Allan
Hyundai Ioniq 3
News

Hyundai Ioniq 3 arrives with dramatic design and 300 miles of range

Matt Allan
MellowVans launches in UK at Commercial Vehicle Show 2026
News

MellowVans launches in UK at Commercial Vehicle Show 2026

George East
Motorist using RAW Charging bay copy
Opinion

Fuel price volatility is changing the conversation around EV charging

EV Powered

NEWS

It’s on: New Mercedes C-Class EV arrives with 473-mile range and 482bhp
News

It’s on: New Mercedes C-Class EV arrives with 473-mile range and 482bhp

George East

The Mercedes C-Class EV has debuted with up to 473 miles worth of range and a twin-motor, 482bhp powertrain as it squares up to the new, 500-mile BMW i3.

Smart Concept #2
News

Smart Concept #2 revealed ahead of Auto Beijing 2026

George East
European EV sales
News

European EV sales rocket in face of Iran war

Matt Allan
The fortune-reviving Renault 5, Alpine A290, and Renault 4 will remain part of the futuREady strategy
News

‘Another barrier falls’ as EVs now cheaper than petrol cars

Matt Allan
Solar-powered Nissan Ariya 2026 clean energy day rear view
News

Oxford PV joins Nissan solar EV study

George East

The EV Powered Interview

Dr. Andy Palmer
FeaturesThe EV Powered Interview

Dr Andy Palmer exclusive: “Chinese EVs have completely eaten our lunch”

George East

The man responsible for the Mk1 Nissan Leaf tells EV Powered about what Western carmakers can learn from China while outlining his plans for an affordable EV-driven future.

Developed in Britain, designed for Europe: Meet the Mika Mino Cars are too big and too expensive. Our roads are too small, our pockets not deep enough. The all-electric Mika Mino is here to fix all of that. Next time you step outside, take a look at the cars around you and ask yourself: "when did I last see a properly small car?" The answer to that question - unless you’re a member of a classic car club - is most likely to be "a while ago". Autobesity - it’s a growing problem Cars have gotten bigger. Much bigger. In fact, autobesity is so endemic in the contemporary car industry, that 52% of all cars sold in the UK are now so fat, their girth exceeds the minimum-specified parking space width of 1.8 metres. And it's not just a UK-specific problem, either. Should the European Union's proposed M1e class of EV get the stamp of approval, cars within that category can still measure up to 4.2 metres long. While not exactly packing the heft of a BMW iX or a Hyundai Ioniq 9, that's still roughly the size of a Renault 5. Or a Mini Electric. Or a Kia EV3. A step in the right direction, sure, but M1e still won't address the problems that inner-city mobility faces. Sure, L7 class electric quadricycles such as the Citroen Ami and the Microlino go some way to addressing the issue, but they're not exactly... desirable. Or safe. If you are a masochist, public transport is another option of getting around but it's an oft-grim experience. To the man eating a kebab on a trolleybus in Vilnius at the height of the summer, I still see you. Even our brief-yet-unpleasant encounter now borders on a decade and a half ago. What, then, if there were another way of traversing some of Europe's most congesting cities without clogging up the roads, using public transport, or flirting with eternal rest behind the wheel of an Ami? Cue the Mika Mino Well, thanks to the Mika Mino, there is. The brainchild of car designer/composites expert Nir Kahn and automotive engineer Robin Hall, the Mino - as Kahn describes it - is an "L7 car with the amount of safety you would normally get in a £25,000 Renault 5, but for around £10,000 less". Based on Kahn's all-electric Urban Runabout concept, the Mika Mino is built on three fundamentals: Low weight, small footprint, and high driver engagement. With their decades of combined automotive expertise, both men feel they have the ingredients to cook up, well... the ultimate urban runabout. In short, the rear-wheel-drive Mika Mino car will be “a three seater, pretty much exactly the same length, height, and width as the Smart Roadster from 20 odd years ago”. For reference, the Smart measured 3.3 metres long, a minnow by today’s portly dimensions. The Mino runs on 48V architecture, and comes with a choice of two battery options - a 20kWh unit fit for around 120 miles or so, or a smaller 10kWh pack capable of 65 miles on a single charge. Given the average European city car customer travels roughly 22 miles per day, the Mika Mino offers no more, and crucially, no less than what’s required in an urban environment. It also tips the scales at around a lithe 500 kilograms. There’ll be no autobesity here. Oh, and Mika? Mika was founded by Robin Hall, who still owns and runs the company from its Warwickshire base. Like Kahn, Hall is another leading British automotive mind who honed his craft during the heady car years of the 1990s and 2000s, where budgets were non-existent and the sky was the limit. Embracing the original Mini’s ‘less is more’ philosophy While working at Rover during the decade of Cool Britannia, Hall found himself in charge of developing the front axle system for the first of the ‘new’ Minis, the R50. Ahead of the car’s 2001 launch, it was here at then-BMW-owned Longbridge that Hall mastered the dark arts of making front-wheel-drive fun. In his own words, he was at the behest of “our paymasters in Munich, who said “this has to be the best-handling front-wheel-drive car in the world”. No pressure, then.” The original Mini penned by Sir Alex Issigonis served as Hall’s muse. “I couldn’t think of anything better than an original Mini as inspiration,” he recalls. “They’re an absolute hoot to drive, because they’re light, and have a steering ratio of 15:1.” If, like me, you’re far from scientifically minded, a ratio of 15:1 means that for every 15 degrees the steering wheel is turned, the front wheels turn by one degree. This ratio requires less input and returns a go-kartesque driving experience. Think ‘fast and fun’, and you won’t be wrong. Hall continues: “Since the R50, whenever I’ve designed anything sporty, I’ve thought to myself, ‘well, let’s have a steer ratio of about 15:1’, so I’m certain the Mika Mino will feel a little bit like an original Mini in terms of its fun factor.” The Mini-inspired steering ratio isn’t the only piece of clever packaging to benefit the Mino. The battery is positioned close to the rear axle, which houses an integrated drive system (IDS). When fitted to an EV, an IDS usually comprises electric motors and inverters to save space, improve efficiency, and reduce the number of components in vehicle production. According to Hall, “this is the cheapest, lightest, possible setup, and like the original Mini, it proves that cheap and simple can work exceptionally well. “I’m certain that the Mika Mino will handle extremely well and turn out to be enormously good fun.” Turning the L7 concept on its head While driver engagement is something L7 cars very much require in the desirability stakes, safety is just as vital. Drawing on decades of experience with composites, Kahn delves into the revolutionary approach behind ensuring that the Mika Mino becomes the safest car in its class. “We’ve been working with a company that has some very interesting technology for cost-effective, lightweight composites,” he explains. “They normally use that technology to take the weight out of M1 cars. “What we've done here is used that same technology and turned it on its head. So rather than taking weight out of a heavier car, we're putting the safety into a lighter car.” The Mino will be structured around a multi-material composite safety cell, which absorbs all of the impact in the event of a collision. As for the actual materials used in the Mino’s construction, don’t ask. “I can’t say the exact materials we’re using, but they’re not 100% carbon fibre, and they’re not 100% composite,” says the designer. “But having supermini levels of safety in a car that measures 3.3-metres long is something quite unique, I would say.” What’s next for the Mika Mino? Yet all of this begs one major question. An elephant in the room, even: How are Kahn and Hall so sure of their product, when a physical Mika Mino doesn’t exist yet? “We’re working with a company that specialises in FEA, or finite element analysis, which is the dynamic simulation of composite materials in crash situations,” Kahn explains. “We've conducted a full feasibility study of the vehicle, which includes front impact and side impact simulations, showing that the vehicle will be able to achieve a five-star Euro NCAP rating. “So far, the results are showing we are on target to achieve that. The next stage, absolutely, is building real prototypes and slamming them into walls and validating the simulation.” Beyond crash testing, the next step is finding partners willing to assist with putting the car into production. “We’ve had a lot of interest and positive feedback - in fact, 90% of the components are there, and we’ve had some healthy conversations with medium and large-scale car manufacturers,” Hall wraps up. “We’re now just waiting for the right investor to come along and enable us to get to the next stage.” As to what’s beyond the prototype stage, it involves what Kahn describes as “turning the wick up”. There’s even talk of a Mika Mino-based Formula e support series. But that’s for the next time… and I say “next time” with certainty, because there will surely be a second chapter for this revolutionary little car.
FeaturesThe EV Powered Interview

Developed in Britain, designed for Europe: Meet the Mika Mino

George East
Mark Tapscott Longbow
FeaturesThe EV Powered Interview

Longbow boss: ‘The UK is probably the best place to build a lightweight electric sports car’

George East
Justin Lunny talks Everrati, luxury, and how electrified classic cars silence the critics
FeaturesThe EV Powered Interview

Justin Lunny talks Everrati, luxury, and how electrified classic cars silence the critics

George East

Opinion

mg im5 interior
Opinion

EV tech race risks leaving people behind

EV Powered

Michael Topper of creative agency forpeople, examines where modern car design is going wrong and how car makers can reengage with drivers

What does the future hold for the EV transition?
Opinion

What does the future hold for the EV transition?

EV Powered
EX60 production will ramp up at Volvo's Torslanda factory
Opinion

Third time’s a charm: The Volvo EX60 is a welcome return to normalcy

George East
Mixed messages and missed opportunities in Reeves’ Budget
NewsOpinion

Mixed messages and missed opportunities in Reeves’ Budget

Matt Allan

Electric Cars Reviewed

byd atto 3 evo review main image
Electric Cars ReviewedNews

BYD Atto 3 Evo review: Bigger battery, bigger motor – better car?

Matt Allan

We find out if major changes beneath the skin can help turn the BYD Atto 3 Evo from a family SUV also-ran to class-leader

volvo es90 review main image
Electric Cars Reviewed

Volvo ES90 review: Seeking the electric saloon Swede spot

Matt Allan
Peugeot E-208 review
Electric Cars ReviewedFeatures

Peugeot E-208 review: Confusing, flawed, but ultimately likeable

George East
2026 Toyota Rav4 PHEV review main image
Electric Cars Reviewed

Toyota Rav4 review: Landmark SUV plugs in to new technology

Matt Allan
DS No4 E-Tense review main image
Electric Cars Reviewed

DS No4 E-Tense review: French premium brand is shooting for the stars

Matt Allan

E Bikes

Richard Alvin reviews, the lightweight Mokwheel Flint Pro which is an ideal no-nonsense city electric bike
Electric bikes Reviewed

Mokwheel Flint Pro review: ultra‑light, quiet, no‑nonsense city e‑bike

Richard Alvin

There’s something quietly radical about an e‑bike that feels more like a regular, well‑sorted bicycle with a gentle helping hand. The Mokwheel Flint Pro is exactly that: a lightweight, tidy city commuter that avoids the usual flood of gadgets and power, yet somehow ends up feeling far more refined than many bikes costing a lot more.

When I first saw the spec sheet for the Engwe P275 SE — torque‑sensor motor, hydraulic brakes, integrated lights, mudguards and a sturdy rear rack — all for just a whisker over £1,000 — I admit I was sceptical.
Electric bikes Reviewed

Engwe P275 SE review: affordable, refined, and ready for the daily commute

Richard Alvin
It’s not often I get to test an electric bike that’s truly British-built. In a market dominated by German engineering, Chinese motors and Dutch design, the ARCC Rosemont Electric stands out as a genuine product of Cambridgeshire craftsmanship — and one that’s refreshingly different in both concept and execution.
Electric bikes Reviewed

ARCC Rosemont Electric review: British‑made elegance meets urban e‑bike simplicity

Richard Alvin
As someone who spends more time than most testing the latest in electric mobility, I’ve developed a bit of a radar for overhyped e-bikes. However the new ADO Air 20 Pro really surprised me.
Electric bikes Reviewed

ADO Air 20 Pro review: sleek, smart and seriously smooth city e-bike

Richard Alvin
When I unfolded the Heybike Mars 3.0 for the first time, I could tell this wasn’t your average commuter folder. This bike means business.
Electric bikes Reviewed

Review: Heybike Mars 3.0, more like a mini electric moped than a folding e-bike

Richard Alvin

Everything EV

Joby Aviation has announced a landmark collaboration with NVIDIA, becoming the chipmaker’s exclusive aviation launch partner for its new IGX Thor platform — a high-performance computing system built to power next-generation physical AI applications.
Everything EV

Joby and NVIDIA join forces to accelerate next era of autonomous flight

Richard Alvin

Joby Aviation partners with NVIDIA as the exclusive aviation launch partner for its IGX Thor platform, advancing Superpilot™ autonomous flight technology across military and civil applications.

There was a time when the idea of an electric boat sounded like a luxury daydream – a romantic notion for the distant future. But that future is now firmly anchored in the present. From lake cruisers to 70-knot superboats, the new wave of electric vessels is making quiet but powerful ripples across the marine world.
Everything EV

Smooth sailing: why electric boats are riding a new wave

Richard Alvin
AEHRA, a new global ultra-premium electric automotive brand, has revealed exclusive preview images of its SUV model ahead of unveiling the final vehicle design and name.
Everything EV

Hazim Nada: The man behind Italy’s new premium electric vehicle brand AEHRA

EV Powered
Thinking of investing in an electric bike? Hubert Day, Content Producer and Researcher, breaks down the pros and cons of e-bikes to help you decide whether to make the switch or not.
Everything EV

Thinking of investing in an electric bike? How do they work and would they be right for you?

EV Powered
Call for residents of new builds benefiting from mandatory EV chargers to share them
Everything EV

Call for residents of new builds benefiting from mandatory EV chargers to share them

EV Powered

For readers looking to future-proof their EV setup, Halfords offers 20% off home charger installation with code EVPOWERED2026 — one of the few providers with proper smart-tariff integration for 2026. Valid throughout 2026.