Official Mitsubishi i-MiEV Thread

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evnow

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Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
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Location
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Before Leaf was announced, i-MiEV was at the top of my list of cars to get.

Auto Week has got hold of an i-MiEV for a 3 month test period. They will be posting articles on it regularly, I guess.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100723/CARREVIEWS/100729955

--0-60 mph: 11.9 seconds

--Quarter-mile: 18.7 seconds @ 72.6 mph

--60-0 mph: 159.6 feet

--Slalom: 38.3 mph

--Skidpad: 0.62 g

i_miev_specs.jpg


http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/electric-vehicles/charging-electric-vehicles/mitsubishi-imiev-electric-car-test-drive/

Specfications
¦Dimensions (L x W x H) = 133 x 58 x 63 (2012 USA expected to be 5? wider)
¦Vehicle Weight = 2,376 lb (2010; 2012 USA expected to add 100 to 200 lb)
¦Maximum Speed = 80 mph
¦Electric Range 80 miles
¦Charge Time
¦6 to 7 hours with J1772 (220v / 15 amp)
¦14 hours (110v / 15 amps)
¦80% in 30 min (2012 = 18 min) with Fast Charger (Level 3 200v / 50kW TEPCO)
¦Motor = 64 hp (47kW) Permanent Magnet Synchronous
¦Torque 113 lb-ft
¦Lithium Batteries = 16 kWh with 88 cells
 
It was on my list, but not very high.....that 16kwH battery is/was a real deal killer (I don't buy 100 miles range with it).

My friend Matt recently got the keys to one:

http://auto.ocregister.com/2010/07/15/look-what-showed-up-mitsubishi-i-miev-electric-vehicle/38235/

http://auto.ocregister.com/2010/07/23/review-mitsubishi-i-miev-is-an-electrifying-experience/38629/
 
I think it is cuter than the LEAF, and a better commuter car (smaller, lighter)...but they really needed to put more batteries in it...another 4 to 8 to bring it up to the LEAF...then it would still be light and small, but have a nice range of over 100 miles easy.

If they could have put 24kWh of batteries in that and got the price the same as the LEAF, well it would be a good competition between the two.

I hope they can get 24k of batteries in the Fiat 500 EV when it comes out...

Gavin
 
mwalsh said:
that 16kwH battery is was a real deal killer (I don't buy 100 miles range with it).
From the Auto Week article:
Claimed range on a full charge is 50 to 70 miles.
So, in response to mwalsh ... they are NOT claiming 100 miles (at least not according to Auto Week).

The U.S.-spec car arrives in fall 2011, or maybe a little later than that. In addition to having the steering wheel on the left, the U.S.-spec i-MiEV will be four inches wider to accommodate our side-impact standards.
Oh wow ! There's some redesign necessitated waste of resources !!!
 
Hmmm ... bigger battery ... is the time delay plus longer range also related to the redesign for side-impact-safety reasons ? Does the redesign create a heavier car further limiting the 50-70 promise ?

So ... mwalsh may be satisfied after all ? ( I personally don't like the (as Chelsea's son named it) "Mr. Bean" look. )
 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-QcZb8AWuc[/youtube]

It gets too dirty. And it's probably too heavy, too. Those batt-rees just ain't ready, you know.. :lol:



Just in case anyone here hasn't yet seen the videos, Mr Lewellyn has an i-MiEV in the UK for a year 'test drive'.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GearlessUK


And here:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtNkB8iFyI[/youtube]
LINK
 
Apologies to mwalsh ... in that second video above at about 0:45-0:55 ... shows claims of 100 mile range and 16kWh :oops:

( Of course, RL, in the voice-over says "... realistically it'll do 75 miles on a charge" ;) ... and "... but everything else they says seems to be pretty accurate." )
 
LEAFer said:
Apologies to mwalsh ... in that second video above at about 0:45-0:55 ... shows claims of 100 mile range and 16kWh :oops:

Mitsu claims 100 miles using the Japanese 10-15 cycle. A notoriously optimistic cycle. Even for LA-4 they will have to reduce their range.

So - I'm not sure what is Mitsu's value proposition compared to Leaf. Given that iMiEV is smaller, they have to ...
- Price the same as Leaf but with a larger range
- Price lower with same range
- Price significantly lower with lower range

But they seem to be going for
- Price lower with lower range

This makes them attractive to only a very small segment of EV buyers. They will also get beaten in the "smaller, cuter" car category by Think and Fiat 500. I think Mitsu seriously missed the boat by not capitalizing their early mover advantage.
 
I have a Mitsubishi i-MiEV. I've had it since last December. Its our main family car now. It comfortably seats four people and general luggage and can happily cruise at the legal speed limit (honest, officer, that was all I was doing :lol: ).

My wife has been doing a blog on it - at http://www.theElectricCarGuide.com.

We're currently doing a second series of range tests with the car to give people a clear indication of what sort of range you can get in different conditions - freeway, around town, urban cycle and so on - showing the range, the amount of electricity used and the carbon footprint for each journey.

Compared to the Nissan LEAF it is a much smaller and significantly lighter car. The LEAF has a much bigger interior and luggage area. Real world range is 80 miles on urban cycle driving carefully. If you drive the car much as you would a regular gasoline car at 70mph on the freeway, you'll get closer to 50.

Performance is very good indeed. The official 0-62mph takes 13 seconds, but it feels much faster simply because of the power delivery. At almost any speed, the kick-down acceleration is instant and impressive, even with four adults in the car. Handling is okay... but it is no sports car. The car comes with narrow wheels to minimize drag, which means its got a very low rolling resistance, but does hamper high performance handling. On the edge, the car tends to understeer and despite the batteries being fitted under the floor to reduce the center of gravity, the car does roll a little more than is comfortable.

As a small family car, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a perfectly good little car. It's fun and enjoyable to drive and has become our regular family car for every journey, except where we need to travel very long distances - which happens about four or five times each year. If you're after a small electric car and you don't want a LEAF, a Mitsubishi i-MiEV would make a very good choice. It looks distinctive and cute and is a lot more practical than a car like the TH!NK or a Fiat 500.

Whilst the official figures show the Mitsubishi range to be lower than the Nissan, range isn't everything. I'm told there will be a longer range version of the car available in due course, but quite frankly for pretty much everything we do, the range is perfectly acceptable. If there was a network of high speed charging points on Britain's freeway network, we could use it as a full time alternative to a gasoline car.

The alternatives to the Mitsubishi i-MiEV are the TH!NK City and the REVA NXR. Like the i-MiEV, these cars will be on general release next year. The REVA NXR has better handling and a significantly longer range than the i-MiEV, although the performance is no way near as good. It's a two door hatchback rather than a four door hatchback, although the REVA NXR has better front room for the driver and passenger. The TH!NK City is a much smaller car with seating for two adults and two children. Performance is similar to the REVA NXR although ride and handling is not quite so good.
 
evnow said:
I think Mitsu seriously missed the boat by not capitalizing their early mover advantage.

Totally! This debuted as a concept in, what, 2005? And they've been in (pre)production since 2007! And it's not like they've changed up much of anything since then. A real wasted opportunity to sell a boat load before anything else was even on the horizon.
 
mwalsh said:
evnow said:
I think Mitsu seriously missed the boat by not capitalizing their early mover advantage.
Totally! This debuted as a concept in, what, 2005? And they've been in (pre)production since 2007! And it's not like they've changed up much of anything since then. A real wasted opportunity to sell a boat load before anything else was even on the horizon.

Was able to drive a production i-MiEV. While not as spry as the MINI E, the i-MiEV had competent acceleration with twice as many people on board, and twice the storage space, in a smaller footprint. Light weight and a low center of gravity add to agile handling. Magically bigger inside than it appears from outside. Comfortable seating position with nice headroom front and back for 6’2”. Excellent visibility. Fold flat back seats. Nicely engineered form-follows-function design felt very solid.

The delay in US introduction is to widen the US version by ~10cm (because of how US calculates rollover numbers), and bumper changes for NHTSA compliance. This standard does not take into account the lower center of gravity in most EV design. NHTSA owns this delay, not Mitsubishi. For me, it’s still in contention.
 
I still like the iMIEV....if it was coming at the same time as the LEAF, I might actually get a Mitsubishi over the Nissan. I like small and funky.

Chelsea would be a good person to ask the pros and cons...she has driven both.

If only the Fiat 500ev was coming in early to mid 2011...that is the car I would push down nice little old ladies and would steal candy from babies to own.

:)

Gavin
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-parker/driving-mitsubishis-imiev_b_682125.html

Because Nissan and GM have literally beaten Mitsubishi to the punch with their Leaf and Volt, Mitsubishi thought it a good idea to put as many press evaluation vehicles on the road as possible. The cars we auto journos drove were garishly painted, so much so that I asked a Mitsubishi PR person how much they were paying me for advertising their car in trendy West Los Angeles. I didn't get an answer to that one...
 
http://www.king5.com/on-tv/driving-nw/DRIVING-NORTHWEST-The-Mitsubishi-i-MiEV-101096964.html

For the record, this car draws stares like Snooky attracts police officers. Whether it’s right hand drive, the pouncing egg shape or the oh-so-subtle promotional decals, it’s nearly impossible to go anywhere without a blizzard of questions. Where can I buy one? What’s the range? Is it fast? Is it slow? Do you feel safe? Have you run out of juice? Boxers or briefs? Read on for the answers.
 
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