Lloyd MINI Local Influencers: Marketing agency Allies Group lead the EV trend

Allies Group are a North East based marketing agency who live and breathe content, digital marketing, web builds and enlightening training. They know all about marketing trends and now, as a Lloyd MINI Local Influencer, they’re leading the EV trend. The local influencers series sees local companies' experience and share with us what making the switch to electric driving is really like.
 
When asked what Sophie Harrold, Account Manager for the group, would choose as her dream car, she answers every time that it would be a MINI. So, it only felt right that Sophie put the MINI Electric through it's paces as one of our local influencers.
 
Utilising the MINI Electric to visit clients across Northumberland, Sophie gave us her feedback on the car and how she found her electric experience below.

How did you find the range of the MINI Electric?

The range for the MINI Electric was perfect for city driving and I was able to drive from Gateshead to Ellingham and back comfortably, with full use of the car's accessories such as the heated seats and Apple CarPlay. The range was excellent for day-to-day driving but also making trips out of Newcastle to visit clients. 

What did you think of driving the MINI Electric? 

The MINI Electric was such a fun drive! From switching to sport mode whilst flying up the A1, to city driving using the 'Green' feature, the car certainly provided a number of different functions. The inside interior was both comfortable and chic, and the Apple CarPlay was an excellent addition when trying to juggle making calls, listening to music and navigation. 
 
The regenerative braking system was easy to get used to after 10 minutes in the car, and made the ride much more enjoyable and comfortable. The speed down country roads was exciting and felt easy to control! As someone who has only ever driven a manual 1lr car, I was nervous to hit the roads in the MINI Electric, but was soon put to ease with the simple functions and excitement of power and speed. 

How easy did you find charging the MINI Electric? 

As I live in a block of flats with private parking there is currently nowhere to charge the car at the parking lot. However, this was not an issue as I found that many superstores and large car parks in town had charging points which were super quick at charging the car to full.

The charging was easy to use once a user has registered to the available charging points. As a new electric car user, I did find that setting up the charging apps took a lot of time as I had to download different apps depending on the charging points. However, once these are set-up a returning user simply needs to plug in the car and press start on their phone! 

Do you think you’ll be making the switch for your next car? 

It has certainly made me consider the option of either an electric or hybrid car for my next car. Particularly with city driving it is perfect with the range available and the impact on the environment. 

Find out more about making the switch with the MINI Electric by clicking here and keep an eye out for our #LloydMINILocalInfluencers series on social media.