MiEV Mitsubishi i Electric vehicle
 

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?
:rolleyes:

Mitsubishi i / Electric Vehicle Tour / Mitsubishi Motors

http://i.mitsubishicars.com/cmn/img/...-iMiev-Big.png

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 :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?
:confused:

there is always room for more ammo and batteries :)

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 !

http://archive.greenpeace.org/climat...s/smiletex.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j5...ay/detail4.jpg

part of the problem is the short length.

Hilarious. And if they lengthened it in an aerodynamic manner it would have more cargo-space... more room for batteries... And I cant imagine much added weight done right since said space would be nonpassanger.

I suppose the only downside is it making it harder to park. Lol.

I'm concerned that this might fit in too narrow of a niche for Mitsubishi to see any real success. The 65 mile range is too limiting for most Americans (partly because of the way they drive), but this would be a perfect car for someone in, say, San Francisco. Also, I think the poor Cd might have more to do with the purpose of the car. It seems to me that Mitsubishi made an NEV that *can* go on the freeway if necessary.

As long as you stick to city driving, the Cd won't be as much of an issue, and I'm guessing the listed 65 mile range is probably conservative. I'm sure most of the hypermilers on this board would be able to hit close to 100 miles in stock trim.

Target market.
 

vvv.auto-bleue.org

In south of France the car is just the perfect size. The Americans have their Chevy Volt.

The 65 mile range is optimistic - its based on an open road (no traffic) and no AC use.

Add both and it drops to around 45.

Man in a hat does a video test driver here.

Peugeot iON Road Test | Road Tests | Honest John

Test drove one a few months ago.
Felt like it had no suspension and the rest of the car felt "built down to a price" as well. Rock hard ride and a lot or road noise from the tyres.
Cheap plastic interior and "tinny" feeling to just about every thing inside.
Dull and unresponsive controls. The brakes and steering felt like they were not connected to the rest of the car.
Basic and fairly plain instruments but clear and easily read.
Heater / vents / air conditioner are good but then so they are in most cars these days.
Seats are about as comfortable as a concrete block.

I think Mitsubishi should go with the standard petrol version which claims a CD of 0.24 instead.

Totally quiet and reasonably agile through traffic. A bit unerving for some pedestrians though who seemed to be totally unaware of the car until they were about to walk into it!

Would not even think about buying one no matter how economical it is.

Peter.

The American version is called the Mitsubishi 'i':

2012 Mitsubishi 'i' Electric Car: Woody Trim And Surfboards Too! (Video)

The same power train in the Sport Air would be a little more aero on the highway.

It looks like it is begging for some kind of combined range extender and partial boat tail that can be hung of the back. You could have it off for your daily commute, and then hang it on for that occasional long trip.

The iMev and its relatives are really begging for a tiny (2-3 cyl) hybrid powertrain, and now Toyota is Hybridising its smaller cars (Yaris) maybe a compact style unit could be made to fit small cars like this in the future. Maybe.