Preaching to the Choir

I know everything I'm going to say has already been said or known in this forum. But, I can't help myself and have to shout out how much I love this car. I just picked up my brand new i Miev yesterday afternoon! I bought mine directly off the lot as in Canada we get either the ES or the SE and there are no options to choose from. The ES comes very well equipped even though its the base model with fog/driving lights (used for DTRs - mandatory in Canada), L3 charger, cold weather package. Basically, everything I wanted except for the upgraded wheels on the SE. I would have liked Cruise Control, I know I read the discussion on that but I find it easier to maintain my speed with Cruise.

The dealership was very good and handled everything very well. I got a good trade in value on my 08 Nissan Versa and they took care of all the government paperwork so I could apply the $8250 towards the price of the car. Yesterday, was the very first time I got to see what this car could really do. The dealership put the i Miev on a flatbad from London, Ontario to Grimsby, Ontario at no charge. We did the deal in the parking lot of the Casablanca exit service center which is 37km from my house. This is just shy of my 41km commute.

The i was mostly charged with 91km showing on the range meter and one bar down on the fuel gauge. The sales guy turned on the A/C for me as it was blazing hot yesterday. The range meter quickly dropped to 81km as I drove off. I put the car into D and quickly accelerated up to speed onto the QEW (local expressway). As I drove, the range meter began to climb back up towards 90km! I guess instead of our good behavior being rewarded with trees or butterflies we get to be treated like intelligent people and watch our range meters climb back up.

As I pulled into the driveway, my range meter was almost back up to 90km and I only used three bars on the fuel gauge. I have plenty of range left, more than I need. This gives me plenty of confidence to use this car for my daily commute even in the winter time. However, I did ask the parking garage if I could use the 110v outlets I found located in many places throughout. I'm still waiting for word back on that.

This independence day we can celebrate our freedom of choice, the choice to drive the vehicles we want. No more being enslaved to the gas pumps and being forced to dish out bucket loads of cash to the petrolium industry. This is a revolution and the people are taking 'charge'. Whether the EV is a home built science project or purchased off a lot, the people are speaking out - NO MORE GAS!

Well, except for those really long trips and those flights to Disney World. They do get us there. :lol:

But one day.....

Yep, we've had our Miev for several months now. It quickly became part of our family, supplying most of our local transportation. A nice little car - reliable, and doesn't use a drop of gas....

MLucas, congratulations on your new purchase! By simply paying attention, you quickly noticed how easy it is to extend your range.

When you ask about being able to use a parking garage 120vac outlet, emphasize that the iMiEV consumes less power than a toaster and poses no circuit overloading issues (an advantage of Mitsu's wimpy 8A Level 1 EVSE). You can offer to use a Kill-A-Watt to measure your consumption (so they can see for themselves) and offer to pay for the electricity.

If you're like us, after you get over the initial purchase euphoria you'll find yourself simply preferring to use the iMiEV for virtually everything except those long trips.

Have fun!

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. Seems like such a no-brained for the parking garage to let us use the outlets. Paint the lane green, put a sign up and advertise they are green.

MLucas said:

Paint the lane green, put a sign up and advertise they are green.

Click to expand...

If they just informally let you use the outlet, no problem. Once they get into officially designating that outlet for EV charging then a whole bunch of regulations kick in that may preclude its use. In any case since you might be relying on this outlet as a commuter, it wouldn't hurt to offer to buy them the sign... good luck!