Mat Watson buys a Mia C: how hard is it to fix one of the UK’s rarest cars? 

I’ve bought one of the rarest cars in the UK. The Mia C might look like a quadricycle, but it is actually classified as a car, and I’ve paid just £3,000 for it. Only 11 of these little EVs were ever registered on UK roads, and there are just five of them left.

But what on earth is the Mia C, and what’s it like living with one of the rarest cars in the country? Well I’m going to find out by driving it, getting it inspected by a professional mechanic and trying to fix a few of its issues.

Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

What on earth is the Mia C?

The Mia C is a tiny electric car built in France between 2011 and 2013. It’s actually rarer than a Ferrari F40, because just 1,000 were ever made before the company went bust. And I think I know the reason why.

The concept of the Mia C was a good one. It’s cleverly packaged with three seats and a central driving position, just like a McLaren F1. The two rear seats are set further back and off to either side of the driver, meaning there’s actually plenty of passenger space.

There’s a decent amount of boot space as well, demonstrated by assistant producer Jack when I crammed him in there, and the sliding doors make it easy to get in and out in tight spaces. It makes a lot of sense as a city runaround, but there is a problem.

It cost £25,000 when it went on sale, which is only £4,000 short of the Nissan Leaf from the time. The Leaf was more practical, better to drive and had more range, which is why Nissan shifted over 40,000 of them compared to the 1,000 Mia Cs.

What’s the Mia C like to drive?

Unlike my Citroen Ami Buggy, the Mia C is an actual car – not a quadricycle. This means you can drive it on any roads, including motorways. However, this comes with problems of its own.

Straight away I realised that this car is nowhere near as stable as a Nissan Leaf. At around 50mph the steering feels really vague and floaty, and the suspension is bouncy with very little damping.

The dashboard showed around 60 miles of range on a full charge, and I managed about 55 miles before it conked out. That’s about the same as an old Nissan Leaf will manage these days.

It’s also slow. Very slow. It has a top speed of 62mph, but on my first attempt to launch it from 0-60mph I ran out of runway space. Giving myself a bit more room I clocked a time of 57 seconds, the slowest 0-60mph sprint I’ve ever done.

During the brake test it also became apparent that the ABS wasn’t working, which was confirmed by a warning light on the dashboard. With the MOT running out in a few weeks, it was time to get it checked out by a mechanic.

How do you fix one of the world’s rarest cars?

As it happens, with great difficulty. Once we got the car up on the ramp it became apparent that it needed new shock absorbers, which would explain the wayward handling, and it may also need track rod ends, new brakes all-round and maybe even a steering rack.

When it came to sourcing these parts, we hit a massive hurdle. I started by consulting AI for an answer, and it told me that I could use parts from a Citroen Saxo to fix the car. After ordering brake drums, discs and track rod ends, only the brake discs actually fit the car.

So I started phoning around to find someone who might be able to help, and I managed to find a company which is building a new version of the Mia C. They bought all the patents from the old Mia company, and also put me in touch with a Mia specialist in Europe, who in turn pointed me towards a UK-based expert.

Going Green is a company which specialises in electric car repairs, and they also used to sell Mia Cs back in the day. I whipped my car over there, and they could get all the parts we needed. Hurrah!

And even better still, Going Green actually looked after my Mia C for its previous owner, so they knew the car better than anyone.

But the cost of the parts came as a bit of a shock. The rear suspension came to £740 before fitting, but at least Going Green discovered that I didn’t need to change the steering rack or track rod ends after all. I did need a new ABS sensor though, and the total cost of fixing this ultra-rare electric car was £1,308. Almost half of what I paid for it.

Was it worth it?

So would I recommend buying a Mia C as a cheap runaround? Well if you can find one, probably not. I only had to do some basic maintenance on my car, and it was a huge pain in the rear and cost me a fortune.

However, now that I’ve had the work done and got 12 months MOT, I’m quite smitten with the little Mia. I even treated it to a wrap, changing the colour from red to dark green. I left some of the original carbon fibre-esque bodywork exposed though, so now it looks like a Porsche with a Weissach pack. Sort of.

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