IT'S ONE of the big questions for any forward-thinking business car manager - are electric cars really worth considering for your company? Well, this week I've been trying to answer that by spending a few days living with the MINI E, writes Sam Hardy, our road test editor in a special blog report.

Essentially a regular MINI, but with a 204bhp electric motor in place of the engine and a whopping great set of batteries where the rear seats should be, the E is a motoring test bed.

Don't be too bothered, then by the fact it's a two-seater with a boot barely big enough for a rucksack - the E is never going on sale. It's merely preparing the way ahead for BMW's upcoming range of electric cars, due in around 2015.

So far 20 specially selected UK drivers, along with hundreds in the US and Europe, have been trialling the machine, at a cost of £330 per month. Now that the first phase of the test is coming to an end, they've given the last car in the line-up - number 612 - to the press.

The good news is that it's a doddle to use. Put the key in the slot, push start, select Drive and off you go. There are a few whirs, but apart from that it's pretty much silent.

And it's quick. Really quick. Especially between zero and 40mph. Driving home from Auto Express's central London offices, I regularly blew away courier bikes at the lights, all without making a sound. And while the acceleration tails off the faster you go, the E can still do 0-60mph in 8.5 seconds. Top speed is around 95mph.

Deceleration is a different matter. The regenerative braking system is so severe that just lifting off the throttle will have you (and your passenger) almost headbutting the windscreen, as the energy from slowing down is reclaimed and used to re-charge the batteries. However, after a few miles you get used to the fact that you hardly ever have to touch the brake pedal at all.

Harder to get used to is the lack of automatic-style 'creep', which makes reverse parking on any sort of incline a jerky affair.

What about range? Well, the E arrived at my office 75% charged, which according to the on-board computer meant I could go 65 miles before running out of juice. However, after driving home (six miles), popping to the supermarket (another thee miles) and driving back into the office (a total of 15 miles) the trip computer said I only had 33 miles of range left. Granted, I enjoyed more than a few full throttle bursts, but I would have expected better. It was enough to have me investigating a space next to the plugged-in G-Wizzes in our NCP car park.

After some scrabbling around, I managed to find a cable that fitted. About four-and-a-half hours later the E was fully charged. Be warned, though, from a regular 13-amp plug it would take 10 hours.

So what's the verdict? Well, it's a tentative thumbs up. The E is great fun to drive - just like a 'normal' MINI in fact - and for someone who lives very close to central London and mainly does short trips, the E makes a lot of sense.

Provided you've got somewhere to plug it in overnight and ideally during the day too, there should be no problems with running out of charge. For longer journeys, we might have to wait for battery technology and infrastructure to improve. But with 9% company car tax, exemption from congestion charging and an almost complete lack of servicing and running costs, there's no doubt that electric cars certainly have a part to play in future for company cars.

MINI is inviting application for the second phase of the E trial. For details, go to www.electricmini.co.uk

Sam Hardy is deputy motoring editor and digital editor of Auto Express.

TAGS: Sam Hardy, electric vehicles, MINI