Article Comments - 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV Plug-In Electric First Drive

33 messages, Last post on Jun 16, 2009 at 8:45 PM

You are in the Electric Vehicles Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer

What is this discussion about? Mitsubishi, Alternative Fuels, Future Vehicle

First Drive: 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV Plug-In Electric - First Impressions: It's quick enough to win the race at city stoplights, but what about cruising range?(more)

Outline

Messages Page 1 of 4: 1; 2; 3; 4; Prev; Next; Last

#1 of 33 Article Comments - 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV Plug-In Electric First Drive by KarenS HOST Feb 21, 2008 (10:03 am)
Listen carefully and you might hear the slight whir of its motor, the hint of wind noise and a faint thrum from the tires. Think whisper; that's how quiet this minicar is. First Drive: 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV Plug-In Electric Replies to this message: cody20 (Feb 22, 2008 2:05 am)
#2 of 33 A good start by psychogun Feb 21, 2008 (12:32 pm)
In it's current form, the iMIEV is perfect for congested cities in Europe and other parts of the world where average driving distances are not as great as in the U.S. and gas prices are high. For U.S. needs, range does need to be a full 120 miles under "normal" driving conditions. The problem with the lighter and smaller batteries is, they are expensive. Thus, the same problem remains for EV's: Range and price... I still have to applaud Mitsubishi for their efforts though. Hopefully there will be a breakthrough for them and their partners in battery R&D. Replies to this message: tpe (Mar 05, 2008 6:09 am)
#3 of 33 Re: Article Comments - 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV Plug-In Electric First Drive [KarenS] by cody20 Feb 22, 2008 (2:05 am)
Replying to: KarenS (Feb 21, 2008 10:03 am) from the videos and articles I've read, the i and the i MIEV seem like really desirable cars. The styling and size are great! Still, I sometimes cover 200 miles a day. I would be "ok" with 120 miles of range if the recharge time was very short. Even 30 minutes is to long for me. What about those American vacations of 1000 miles non stop except for gas? As the car stands now, it would be a commuter car only. a second or third car in the family. Many people can not afford a car just for commuting. Until battery tech is improved the GM volt sounds like a better answer.
#4 of 33 Will satisfy millions by sixmachine Feb 23, 2008 (8:06 pm)
Having rented an iCAR while in Japan last spring and toured the factory that it is built at Mitsubishi's sprawling Kurashiki complex, I am sure Mitsubishi has a winner with the iMIEV. I found the iCAR so easy to drive, practical and peppy. I'm not surprised that it is a best seller among the kei class cars in Japan, especially with it's uber modern, slightly smart car looks. Too bad Mitsubishi has no plans to market it here. The iMIEV is an improvement on an already good product. It offers gas free motoring to millions of Japanese, many who would find it incredible to travel 100 miles in a car, especially to commute. Highways are crowded, and toll laiden and the fast train systems get people around the country efficiently, often for less time and money than it would be to drive. Many Japanese ( if they own a car at all ) use them for short shopping trips, errands or day trips to the countryside- not long work commutes. That's why the iMIEV, even with it's real life 60 mile range is more than enough for average Japanese driver Replies to this message: chepis (Jul 25, 2008 7:39 am) gagrice (Jul 25, 2008 8:38 pm) chepis (Jul 29, 2008 7:57 am)
#5 of 33 This would be a great city car by iluvmysephia1 Feb 24, 2008 (12:20 pm)
obviously. For those of us who live in rural towns and areas, I wonder if the distance might limit them. I mean, in my case, if this was my only car, my wife and I would drive it to Tucson, which is 80 miles away. If it's range is 120 miles we'd have to look for a re-charge spot. And if that is the case, I would want the re-charge process to be a bit quicker than it is. But for those people who want to go grocery shopping in the burbs or shopping in the city, this car would work, because they're not going to need to drive 25+ miles before they shop. I'm really interested in what Mitsubishi might next develop in an all-EV. One that they would consider exporting to the U.S. I really like the idea of all-EV's and I think this is the direction we need to go. Get away from fossil fuels completely. And I am really starting to admire Mitsubishi as a competent and exciting carmaker. This little all-electric squirtplug they're making is evidence of that.
#6 of 33 Re: A good start [psychogun] by tpe Mar 05, 2008 (6:09 am)
Replying to: psychogun (Feb 21, 2008 12:32 pm) The iMIEV would not be suitable for most people as their only vehicle. So what? I look around and see a lot of two-seat roadsters. These aren't suitable for an only vehicle yet there is definitely a market for them. I suspect that if the typical US driver with a full sized car or SUV bought one of these as a second vehicle he would find himself putting at least as many miles on the iMIEV as on his larger vehicle. The reason being is that most of our driving does not involve long trips or a need to haul or tow something. More often than not the iMIEV would be the best tool for the job. When vehicles like the iMIEV get dismissed as "niche" vehicles I don't quite understand it. In my case the iMIEV would better satisfy my transportation needs 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time it would be inadequate. So I'd have 2 vehicles, like a lot of people. It's no different than people that have a Camry for their day-to-day driving and a truck for when they need to make a run to Home Depot or tow a boat.
#7 of 33 After re-reading the article on this little by iluvmysephia1 Mar 07, 2008 (3:52 pm)
squirtplug, I see that Mitsubishi has built a "quick-recharge" that you can plug in and it replenishes battery charge to 80% of full after only 30 minutes. So it's 120-mile range in "Eco" mode could be extended with the Mitsubishi-built recharger. My only question is this: Would I have to pull in to a Mitsubishi dealership and ask to use their plug-ins? Or would a nice Standard Chevron man let me pull in to his station and re-charge for a nominal fee? None of this seems to have quite been figured out yet. However, that doesn't diminish my enthusiasm for cars like Mitsubishi's iMIEV much at all. Replies to this message: nornet (Mar 08, 2008 5:32 am)
#8 of 33 Re: After re-reading the article on this little [iluvmysephia1] by nornet Mar 08, 2008 (5:32 am)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Mar 07, 2008 3:52 pm) From a review: "Given that the infrastructure supporting electric cars is still in its infancy in Japan, Mitsubishi offers a three-way charging system. There's plug-in recharging using the Japanese grid, which takes 14 hours for a full charge on a 100-volt domestic outlet or half that time on a 200-volt industrial outlet. There's also a Mitsubishi-built quick-charge system that replenishes 80 percent of the battery charge in just 30 minutes."
#9 of 33 That is in the article but... by iluvmysephia1 Mar 08, 2008 (7:53 am)
it doesn't quite answer my question as to taking a trip somewhere and needing to get home. Say my wife and I take a drive from our little SE Arizona cowtown to Tucson, about 80 miles to our NW. OK, I'm safely in Tucson, but my battery guage on my dash shows I only have 15% of my batteries power left. So, imagine I've already bought the Mitsubishi-built re-charger for the iMIEV. I need to re-charge, so, do I... 1) Pull in to a Mitsubishi dealer and borrow their electrical outlet 2) Pull in to a gas station and ask to borrow their electrical outlet Or, if it's after hours for the Mitsubishi dealer to be open, I just slyly pull up to a Circle K and find on outside outlet and pop my iMIEV's Mitsubishi-built quick re-charger in. "No problem, it only takes 30 minutes to re-charge," I tell the startled clerk from the Circle K. See where I'm going with this here? Just some simple but very important logistics that still need to be worked out. As for the car and how it drives, I think it would suit me fine. Range is still a question mark...battery issues need to be refined still before I would consider purchasing one of these futuristic-looking all-electrical cars from Mitsubishi. I will be watching from the cheap seats over here in Arizona to see this all play out, rest assured!
#10 of 33 There are some electric cars on the market already. by dreamerdave Mar 21, 2008 (6:09 am)
Like the Zap Zebra. It's the best selling electric vehicle so far according to the New York Times. Replies to this message: hwyhobo (Mar 22, 2008 4:42 pm) gagrice (Mar 22, 2008 7:30 pm) tpe (Mar 24, 2008 10:55 am)