Gaggle of iMievs

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Forum

Help Support Mitsubishi i-MiEV Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

centex

Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
23
I was in Austin, Tx on Friday. Beasley Mitsuibishi has 5, 2016's iMievs. Four were the standard and one had the touchscreen. I got the impression this is the first time they have had EV's. The manager seemed eager to learn about ev's. We had a good discussion and provided my impressions of the "i" after the test drive.

Nice car, bigger on the inside than what you expect. Surprised that it felt very aggressive going into the turns, more so than a Leaf or Soul EV. I could really feel the tires had an impact. I kept thinking what does that remind me of? Then I remembered, it was like driving a VW Beetle with bias ply tires at high pressure. I was thinking the iMiev could really be fun with some radials, especially if one did not suffer the range penalty. It was like driving a gokart compared to the Leaf and Soul.

With the 60 mile range it would be suited for areas with a lot of charge points. Austin is such a location. I live outside San Antonio and we do not have the infrastructure that Austin has in place. The iMiev would not be ideal for the San Antonio areas if you are going from one side of town to the other. The car is not the problem, it is the weak infrastructure. In addition no super chargers in the area, just a mix of level 1 and 2 chargers. None are in the areas of San Antonio where we hang out on the weekends. When we go into San Antonio it is 25 miles each way, not counting for any mileage around town. Cutting it too close. If there was Supercharger or a lever 2 charger where we hang out, then there would not an issue since we would have a short wait for additional range.

Now the other 6 days out of the week the iMiev would be ideal for the small city we live it. No range problems in this situation. In our town, only 1 charger, Ford dealer. It is hidden and I don't know how they would feel about other brands using their connection. Most of the time it is blocked with new cars.

I really liked the car. For my situation I wish the iMiev had 20 miles more range.

The price after credits and rebates is very compelling. According to the Mitsu manager, Texas has a clunker program that will pay $3500 to turn in an old worn out 10 year old car for an EV. If true then $3500 for the clunker program, $2500 for the Texas EV rebate and the $7500 federal tax credit could be used toward the cost. That would get an iMiev down to $11k after TTL. Really compelling.

I will think about it and check on the Texas clunker program to see if it is still in effect.

I envy those of you that have plenty of charge stations when you are out and about. Allows you to make the longer trips.

I liked the simple nature of the car. In the Soul EV I felt like I was in the latest space ship NASA had built. There would be a lot to learn on the Soul as compared to the "i" with all the buttons and features on the touch screen of the Soul.
 
The Texas Clunker program is the "Drive A Clean Machine" program. Only effect in certain areas of the state, i.e. Houston-Galvaston, North-Central Texas(Dallas-Ft.Worth area), Austin(Travis County) and Williamson County. The vehicle has to be registered in the appropriate county.
 
centex, nice to see that you are considering the i-MiEV. Be sure to evaluate all its features from the perspective of a daily workhorse vehicle and not some gussied-up showhorse.

Yes, it does have radial-ply tires - they are special Low Rolling Resistance tires.

I don't know how much experience you've had with BEVs, but once you start driving an EV, "Range" becomes a non-issue as you quickly become tuned-in to how far you can or cannot comfortably go. In your example, going 25 miles somewhere and back still leaves you a good 10-25 miles to drive around. You just shouldn't go 80mph AND try to go 80 miles. Range ends up being whatever you want it to be, and you adjust your driving style to meet your needs. If it's too far, presumably you have another car you can take. Most of us have found that the i-MiEV, by far, meets our daily needs and becomes the primary vehicle in the family, with the ICE car getting relegated to the occasional longer trip.

If I may suggest, peruse PlugShare (be sure you set the appropriate filters) in order to determine if you really have as few charging opportunities as you think. Even a slow Level 2 charge works out just fine if you go somewhere and then have lunch - the L2 J1772 recharge rate is around 12 miles for an hour's charge. The only time you'll use DCQC CHAdeMO is if you're intent on covering longer distances nonstop.

For many of us, all of our charging is done at home: having a 'full tank' every morning is a priceless convenience which soon makes one realize how absurd the gasoline station model really is. Instead of taking less than ten seconds to plug in the electric car, for a fossil-fuel car you have to go to the filthy smelly gas station itself, get the payment authorized, spend a few minutes pumping the stuff, and leave with a lighter wallet. Then there's the impact on the planet... :mrgreen:

centex, you've come to the right place. Feel free to ask us any specific questions that you may have - you'll get straighter answers here than from a dealer, as we've found that most dealers are barely familiar with the i-MiEVs they sell.
 
centex, I just bought my 2014 I-Miev last month and I am able to get a good deal with all the incentives. As Joe pointed out, range does not become an issue once you own the car. Instead, planning and knowing the limitation of the I-Miev is more important. This article is a good read:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/24/1265057/-Electric-Car-Early-Adopter-Report-1-Year#
 
I just bought a used 2012.
I am still looking and learning on this site here.

Start looking at the older threads and read. There is SO much information here.

I spend all my off time reading here
 
centex, I just checked out San Antonio on PlugShare. Looks pretty good to me. Since the i-MiEV will suit your family's needs for six days of the week, perhaps you might want to plan your trip into San Antonio and back - simply do the math and have a backup plan (any friends with a dryer outlet along the way?), if taking your time and having a lunch while charging won't work. Unless you're doing something unusual, I think that a round trip on one charge should be easily doable. BTW, you'll soon get used to being exact: is it 25 miles or is it 28 miles or is it 22 miles?... round trip, that's significant. Do the math. Piece of cake, IMO.
 
I've looked at the SA map. None are really where we like to go when in SA. Sure wish Starbucks had chargers, would not mind waiting while have some coffee.

I really like the car; fun to drive. I will give it some thought.
 
Back
Top