You’ve already read about my i MiEV test drive, but now Mitsubishi is asking you what you think about the i MiEV. Electric cars still haven’t really hit the market, and the main obstacle is still consumer acceptance. That means that even though this kind of survey might usually be easy to blow off as unimportant, Mitsubishi will probably put a lot of consideration into what you say about the car.

So, head on over the the survey and let your voice be heard. Are you looking forward to the i MiEV coming stateside?

Thanks to ABG for the tip.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of driving Mitsubishi’s new i MiEV electric car, based on a Japanese kei car. The car, while not in its final stages of production yet are currently being field tested around the world for a rollout in Japan in 2009. Next summer Mitsubishi plans to sell 2,000 units of the car at 4 million yen (~$41,000), with production to increase sharply in 2010 and 2011.

Right now the cars are pretty much hand-built. The chassis, of course, is common for Mitsubishi, but the electric drive train and the batteries especially are still handbuilt. As I was told by the Mitsubishi representative that rode shotgun, the costs of production will go down significantly when Mitsubishi’s battery production company gets up to full steam and becomes automated.

i MiEV Test Drive

I’ve been in quite a few small, fuel efficient cars in my time (including other Japanese Kei cars), and I can honestly say this is faster than any of those. In fact, I drove a smart fortwo immediately afterwards and was shocked at the difference in pulling power. Even though the i MiEV is a small electric car, one of the characteristics of electric cars is that they deliver full torque all the way from 0 rpm.

Of course, Mitsubishi has designed the car not to do exactly that to prevent accidental burn outs, but they didn’t cripple the car’s acceleration at all. Even in ECO mode, a range extending mode that tunes down the performance of the car a small amount, the i MiEV was faster than the gasoline-powered fortwo. Besides the normal and ECO modes, there was also a regenerative braking mode that could be easily accessed to provide greater recharge when your foot was off the pedal.

Taking the car around turns was also a pleasure. Mitsubishi obviously beefed up the suspension to hold the extra weight, and because the batteries were towards the bottom of the car the center of gravity is significantly lowered compared to its gasoline-powered cousin. And all of this came without any noticeable compromise to the interior space.

Overall, the test drive was great. The car can go between 80-100 miles on a 2-4 hour charge (depending on what kind of plug you use) and the only problem was that I kept turning on the wipers when I meant to signal.

Will you be buying one when it comes to your market?

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The last time we talking about the iMiev, we were announcing the target sale price of $38,000. Now however, Mitsubishi is telling us that the will be sold for just $27,500. This is quite a price cut, but not without its caveats.

Firstly, Mitsubishi will only be releasing this car in Japan at first (though it is also testing in both Britain and the US right now). Secondly, Mitsubishi will only be producing 2,000 units of the electric car in the first year. In 2010 production will double to 4,000, with 2011 being the first year that the car hits a “full” production run.

Low-volume, but an interesting foray into fully electric cars on a much quicker timeline than we’re seeing from other manufacturers.

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It seems our favorite media darling, the Chevy Volt, will have  bit of competition when it comes time for it’s eventual release in 2010. Though we’re not sure if it will make it to the US (like the Smart Car EV), we do know that Mitsubishi’s iMiev will make it to market a year earlier than the Volt and be priced lower.

The iMiev, which we start hearing about earlier in the year, has already been slated by Mitsubishi for commercial sale in Japan in 2009, a full year before the Volt is intended to hit US shores. There are also unconfirmed rumors that the iMiev may also make it to the US after a run of a few years in Japan. However, what’s really interesting about the iMiev right now is that Mitsubishi has just released a price figure of what $37,496 US, which is about $2,500less than we often hear talked about as the price point for the Chevy Volt.

Despite the similarities in pricing and release date, the two cars are very different beasts. The iMiev is based on a current Kei-car produced by Mitsubishi for Japan, and has a 47kW electric motor powered by a 330-volt lithium ion battery pack. The car will have a top speed of 80 mph and an all electric range of about 100 miles. Charging will take place via a normal power outlet and should take about 14 hours to completely charge the battery, though there is all a 220V charge option, which only takes 7 hours.

On the other hand, the Volt will feature a sportier 120kW motor and 100+ mph top speed, but will only have an electric range of 20 or 40 miles (depending on the speculation and model selection), after which is will switch over to your standard dinosaur burning engine like in most cars these days. Chevy claims that most people never drive over 40 miles in a day, but I’m sure these Volts will be burning enough fossil fuels that calling them “electric cars” will leave a bitter taste in some peoples’ mouths. I think series hybrid or plug-in hybrid is much more appropriate.

While you’re getting hyped up for the iMiev, check out this test drive video from Popular Mechanics:

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=JkwQqU-DnRI

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