SEAT Mii electric priced from £19,300

The SEAT Mii electric is on sale now, with prices starting from £19,300 after the government's £3,500 plug-in discount has been applied.

The first deliveries are expected to take place in spring 2020, with the first 300 customers who place an order before 31 December set to receive a wallbox charger, a three-pin charging cable and three years of servicing and roadside assistance for free.

The Mii electric is also being offered on a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) deal, with a deposit of £4,399 followed by repayments of £199 per month. The interest rate is set at 6.9% APR.

Featuring a 36.8kWh battery, the Mii electric will deliver 161 miles of range according to WLTP tests; just shy of the 165-mile mark expected from the Skoda Citigoᵉ iV but exactly the same as the second-generation Volkswagen e-up!, both of which are built on the same platform.

The Mii's electric motor produces a modest 82bhp, resulting 0-31mph figure of 3.9 seconds and 0-62mph in 12.3 seconds. The top speed is 81mph. SEAT says the car will charge from flat to 80% full in an hour from a 40kW fast charger, with a 7.2kW home wallbox providing the same amount of charge in under four hours. A full charge from a typical three-pin socket will take between 13 and 16 hours.

Only minor changes have been made to the exterior of the Mii electric to differentiate it from the petrol version: ‘electric’ lettering features on the rear, with stickers inside highlighting the car’s electric credentials. The car rides on 16-inch alloy wheels in matte Cosmo Grey.

Inside, changes are more obvious, with a new dashboard, ambient lighting, heated sport seats and black leather trim on the steering wheel and elsewhere. LED headlights, cruise control and rear parking sensors are all standard, with lane keep assist and traffic sign recognition systems included too. The boot measures 251 litres, rising to 923 litres with the rear seats folded down.

The Mii electric also becomes the first model to feature the company’s SEAT CONNECT system, which allows drivers to view the car’s parking position and turn on the air-conditioning via a smartphone app.

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Five exterior colours will be offered when production starts later this year: Deep Black, Candy White, Tornado Red, Chester Blue and Tungsten Silver. Those who choose Deep Black can also opt for a contrasting roof for free. There are only two cost options: a Type 2 charging cable (£160) and an 'easy flex' specification with a double floor boot, glovebox hook and a height-adjustable passenger seat (£50).

The Mii electric comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard, although buyers can extend that cover to four years/75,000 miles or five years/90,000 for £138 and £255 respectively. Meanwhile, the battery is covered by a separate warranty, guaranteeing at least 70% of the original capacity for eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

The first cars are expected to be delivered early in 2020. The Mii electric was launched this summer in Oslo; a popular location for manufacturers to launch electric models, due to Norway's extensive adoption of electric cars in recent years. Our first drive of the Mercedes EQC took place there, too.

The car embarked on a European 'roadshow' thereafter, stopping in Liverpool in June and in Paris after September's Frankfurt Motor Show, with Milan to follow in November. Alongside the Mii electric, SEAT has been showcasing its Minimo urban mobility concept, el-Born electric car and the Formentor plug-in hybrid SUV coupe concept from its performance spin-off brand Cupra.