MiEV Mitsubishi i Electric vehicle

[TXwaterdog]

So this new All electric vehicle starts around 22k and will get 65miles out of a full charge with a 112mpg equivalent. It "Should be hitting the dealers soon." It looks like a fun car with plenty of room. It's cheap enough for a second vehicle but the 65mile range is too small for me. I need a 150 mile range to make a purchase/ replace the second vehicle. what are your thoughts on this shiny new toy from Mitsubishi?


Mitsubishi i / Electric Vehicle Tour / Mitsubishi Motors

[Weather Spotter]

it needs a boat tail, side mirror delete, smooth wheel covers and then you can get 100 miles. add your own booster battery and you can get the 150 you need

[Daox]

I like it and I'd drive one if I had that kinda cash to spend on a car. 65 miles is more than enough for 90% of my driving.

[Weather Spotter]

65 miles would do all I need but trips to see family. round trip o work is 44 miles so with some modding and lots of coasting I might make 2 days.

[capnbass91]

The shape is going to take some getting used to, like a Prius. The range is perfect for most people's everday commute, but they could easily add more to it as mentioned before. Smooth underside, and solar panels for when it's sitting in the sun while you're at work for 8 hours would be good ideas.

[bennelson]

So, far, I have test driven the Leaf, Volt, original RAV4 EV, and ridden as a passenger in the Tesla Roadster and the Mitsubishi I.

The Mitsubishi is a cute little car. I think of it's shape as "jellybean".

The interior is pretty basic. I was told that the one that I rode in was not what the final "American" version would be. The instrumentation was very plain.

It seems like the biggest selling point of the car was that it was the cheapest. I saw the Mitsubishi the same weekend I saw the Leaf for the first time.

Right away, the Leaf impressed me with its nicely designed interior, comfy seats, longer range, and plenty of passenger space.

There's nothing wrong, per se, with the Mitsubishi, but I don't know how well it will do in the American market.

Add more cup-holders and a colorful dashboard display, and I think it would interest more people.

It does drive "zippy" as many EVs do.

[TXwaterdog]

Originally Posted by Weather Spotter

it needs a boat tail, side mirror delete, smooth wheel covers and then you can get 100 miles. add your own booster battery and you can get the 150 you need

Agreed, one look and I wonder how much wind tunnel time was used tweaking the car. I also wonder if it's tweaked for aero drag at 35mph and not highway speeds. I immediately thought what about adding a second battery bank? Do I really need a 4-5 seater+ cargo?

[Weather Spotter]

there is always room for more ammo and batteries

[Cd]

Yet another electric car with a horrible drag coefficient.

This particular car gets a miserable .35 which is nearly the same a Ford Lightning F-150 pickup at .37

With almost no need for cooling and no exhaust, why can't these cars do better ??

The only good thing about the horrible drag on these cars is that I see a lot of free miles just waiting to break loose with a few aero mods.

The GreenPeace SMile car has basically the same overall size as this car, yet achieves .25 !

[Weather Spotter]

part of the problem is the short length.