Official Mitsubishi i-MiEV Thread

[MikeBoxwell]

Mitsubishi have just announced the UK price for the i-MiEV: at £28,990 it is exactly the same price as the Nissan LEAF.

Starting January 1st, next year, UK buyers will be able to get a £5,000 off the price of both cars under the UK Government subsidy scheme. This will bring both cars down to £23,990, which is comparable to a top of the range Golf or Toyota Prius.

Because the price is identical to the LEAF, the two cars will undoubtedly be compared side by side. This is a shame as they are actually very different cars. If you want a small, funky city car, you'll probably like the i-MiEV over the LEAF, but the LEAF is bigger, faster, more comfortable, has better handling, has more 'toys' and is generally in a different league to the i-MiEV.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

This car is bad news... it furthers the perception that EV's are golf carts that only appeal to tree-hugging losers.

 

[jkirkebo]

This car is bad news... it furthers the perception that EV's are golf carts that only appeal to tree-hugging losers.

I think it's pretty nice. Given more reasonable pricing, it would make a good number two car for us (after the Model S if we'd ever need one.

Except for it's main drawback; it's RWD. That's a deal-breaker for us. I have absolutely no idea why they didn't make it FWD, like nearly all other small cars.

 

[evnow]

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100826/GREEN/100829906#ixzz0y1ao65kU

The sound reading at idle was a hilarious 31.9 db, which is so quiet it makes your ears ring. When I stopped holding my breath and breathed normally, the measure went up to 33.5 db. So I did that measurement holding my breath. Try getting those numbers with a rumbly V8.

At full acceleration, the i-MiEV made 62.6 db of noise. At a steady 60 mph, the sound meter read 67.0 db. It seemed like it was mostly wind and road noise, though the electric motor did its share of humming.

For comparison, the Suzuki Kizashi we added to the AW long-term fleet a few months ago recorded 38 db at idle, 73 at full throttle and 62 at 60 mph.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Anyone know what kind of RPMs these motors are turning at 60mph, on the Leaf or other EVs for that matter?

 

[MikeBoxwell]

This car is bad news... it furthers the perception that EV's are golf carts that only appeal to tree-hugging losers.

Totally disagree with you on this one. OK, I accept for the American market, the i-MiEV is very small. In Europe, we regard cars this size as cars, whilst I understand you measure them as a shoe-size. :lol:

I've used an i-MiEV as my daily car since last December. Drive an i-MiEV and a LEAF one after another as I have and you'll be surprised how remarkably similar the two cars are. Amongst the i-MiEV owners in the UK, there are a fair number of well known celebrities and high profile people. Certainly not tree-huggers, and definitely not losers.

I've done a lot of comparative tests between the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and other small city cars such as the Ford KA, Toyota Aygo and Fiat Panda (none of which you have probably ever seen before, but go and have a look on Google Images if you want to see what they look like). The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is more spacious than any of those cars, with better performance and with more luggage space. It drives better, it has better visibility and comparable interior fit and finish.

For the US market, the car will be different to the European or Japanese model. It is being re-engineered so that it is wider and capable of seating five adults rather than four. Which means that you American's will have to recategorise the shoe size as an extra-wide fitting. :lol:

 

[Xenalmorph]

I sorta liked this version of the i-Miev but not sure what "generation" it was (concept??).

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.piculous.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/6-mitsubishi-imiev.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.piculous.com/amazing-top-11-concept-cars-of-the-2009-geneva-motor-show/&usg=__fgLfsa5XIFzh163MYiv1zjqPKMo=&h=536&w=804&sz=153&hl=en&start=0&sig2=e6YCute0Xli_Ed-RmdI04w&zoom=1&tbnid=VyUp5s3Y9VRHTM:&tbnh=152&tbnw=201&ei=GaSWTMThJ8O88gb-jo2NDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dimiev%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1680%26bih%3D940%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=354&vpy=256&dur=1899&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=99&ty=91&oei=GaSWTMThJ8O88gb-jo2NDA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0

Glad to see they are redesigning it to compete with the Leaf. I get the feeling it will not be be the last EV that needs to aim a little higher.

 

[mwalsh]

The Mitsubisihi I EV could be a Wheego killer. It may even be a SMART EV killer. But it won't be a LEAF or Focus EV killer, even in larger American market form. It's just pushing the "small" envelope too far for most American buyers.

 

[Rokeby]

I sorta liked this version of the i-Miev but not sure what "generation" it was (concept??).

That's the i-MiEV Sport, formrely the Sport Air. It is bumping around the show circuit,
still just a concept.
But my, oh, my! An intriguing, all-up-in-your-face, which-way-is-it-going one at that.

 

[Boomer23]

I sorta liked this version of the i-Miev but not sure what "generation" it was (concept??).

I could handle this one, I think. I drove the existing iMiev about six weeks ago at the San Diego CCSE workshop. Really a fun, zippy little runabout with strong regen. Pretty bare bones appointments, though. It'd have to be priced low compared with the LEAF to have any chance in the market.

 

[mwalsh]

Pretty bare bones appointments, though. It'd have to be priced low compared with the LEAF to have any chance in the market.

Oh, the new one would be much better than that. How did you do with the JDM RHD spec...did the wiper switch catch you by surprise?

 

[Boomer23]

Pretty bare bones appointments, though. It'd have to be priced low compared with the LEAF to have any chance in the market.

Oh, the new one would be much better than that. How did you do with the JDM RHD spec...did the wiper switch catch you by surprise?

Caught you too, did it? Or maybe when you drove the Focus in Europe. Yeah, I made all kinds of errors, and that was probably the big one. Funny, you catch yourself the first time you do it and promise yourself you won't do it again, and then 1.5 minutes later, your reflexes make you do it again before you can think about it.

 

[mwalsh]

Caught you too, did it? Or maybe when you drove the Focus in Europe.

Yes, but I should know better. The Focus in Europe....no. RHD cars in the UK used to be the same as JDM cars, but they switched the stalks to the same side as mainland Europe (and therefore the US too) in the early '90s to conform with European regulations.

 

[redLEAF]

More up to date info, now 'officially' the Mitsubishi i (watch the video) -- interview at L.A. show with Mitsu PR; this car does indeed look a lot bigger (note 4-lug wheels for instance) but still looks like a 5-door smart to me. Target to come in at $30K before incentives ... the writer says Nov 2011, but Mitsu says next fall, these dates always change anyway but encouraging that we get to see the real thing; also for us folks out in colder regions if you listed carefully an option offered will be HEATED SEATS ! ; of course these could simply be the simple on/off variety and not multi-stage (like VW's which have some of the best heated seats; 5-levels in most) but at least they mention it.

http://americajr.com/news/LA/mitsubishiI1126.html


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GeRLK9LpWo[/youtube]

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I'd expect "a product specialist at Mitsubishi Motors" (Laura Arbios) to use the correct units..

Ours has a 16 kilowatt battery as supposed to the Nissan's, which is 24 kilowatts.

I thought it was a transcription error, but nope.. that's exactly what she said.

I didn't know they had a DC Fast Charger at LAAS. I missed that. Anyone get a chance to check it out?

 

[Kataphn]

I'd expect "a product specialist at Mitsubishi Motors" (Laura Arbios) to use the correct units..

Ours has a 16 kilowatt battery as supposed to the Nissan's, which is 24 kilowatts.

I thought it was a transcription error, but nope.. that's exactly what she said.

I didn't know they had a DC Fast Charger at LAAS. I missed that. Anyone get a chance to check it out?

Yes, I looked at that fast charger at the auto show and posted on it under the auto show thread. My impression of the "nozzle" was that it was huge and heavy. I did lift it several times and examined it. It had a U shaped lever onthe top of it, sort of like the kind of thing you see in movies when they throw on electrical switch....except a little smaller! This would be used to lock the nozzle in once it is plugged in. It will definitely take me 2 hands to plug the nozzle in. The QC and the L2 there were both made by Eaton (I think I have that right. See original posting).

 

[Rokeby]

Just the Facts:
* Central Illinois will be the first U.S. location to test a fleet of Mitsubishi's i MiEV electric car.
* Mitsubishi has committed to supplying 1,000 i MiEVs to the Bloomington-Normal communities by
2014.
* Charging station maker Eaton Corp. is working with officials in Normal to develop a citywide charging
network to be installed this year.

NORMAL, Illinois — Mitsubishi is expanding its operations in the central Illinois town of Normal, and
the area's movers and shakers are responding by giving the automaker a place in the heartland to sell
its upcoming i MiEV electric city car.

San Francisco, New York and Chicago might seem like better places in the U.S. for the little four-
seater designed with narrow, parking-restricted Japanese streets in mind, but the Bloomington-
Normal metro region just southeast of Peoria is first to climb onboard the i MiEV bandwagon.

Read more.

 

[kmp647]

2014 ????


these guys really move fast eh?

 

[LeafinThePark]

Checked on the MiEV at the Twin Cities auto show this weekend. Whoever said it looks like a 5-door smart is spot on. At least two different people walked up to it saying "oh, this must be the new smart car" while I was checking it out.

No reps were anywhere near the car to talk to, but there was a sign saying pre-orders will start end of March for Delivery in mid/late 2012. Listed price was something like 31k before tax break. Wish I would have taken a quick picture for reference.

 

[adric22]

No reps were anywhere near the car to talk to, but there was a sign saying pre-orders will start end of March for Delivery in mid/late 2012. Listed price was something like 31k before tax break. Wish I would have taken a quick picture for reference.

I don't think Mitsubishi is very serious with the i-Miev. First of all, it is half of the car that the Leaf is. I've sat in one. The inside is very low-tech. There is only like a small LCD about the size you'd expect to see on a calculator that shows the speed and odometer. otherwise it is very sparse. Which is fine, if you are selling the car at a rock-bottom price. But they are asking a price that is in the same ballpark as the Leaf or higher.