10 Year's Owner

[PV1]

My goodness. I can't believe it's been 10 years since I drove Bear off of the showroom floor. What a decade it has been.

Owning a stable of EVs, there are things that Mitsubishi got right with this car that other major manufacturers have not. The speed-sensitive wipers are still superior to rain-sensing wipers, although Tesla's implementation is notoriously poor. The rubber window seals have held up really well and don't freeze or scratch the windows, like what has happened to the Bolt and the Model 3. I've never had the doors and charge port freeze shut. The Tesla was a complete ice cube and was totally inaccessible on a few occasions (2021-2022 winter season even froze the Bolt shut once, but the I-MiEV opened right up).

Now, time is starting to show. There are now a few rust spots scattered around the body from rock chips. The headlight housings are clouded and will need replaced soon. I've applied a restoration kit a few times, but it doesn't last. I've also lost a bit of range with the car not being driven as much lately.

While I have some missing data, in 10 years time with 51,547 on the odometer, my first I-MiEV has consumed approximately 12,389.49 kWh, yielding roughly 4.15 miles/kWh and $52 miles/dollar energy cost. These aren't exact figures, as not all charges are accounted for, there are rounding errors, and the last couple years have some missing data (though home charging from 2014 onwards is all accounted for by a hardware energy meter).

 

[Phximiev]

Damn cool, keep them running!

 

[Don]

We'll be 11 years this coming May - Still drive one every day

 

[JoeS]

PV1, thanks for the writeup and photo - that wide-angle lens and shooting angle sure makes your white i-MiEV loom over the others.

I see that your energy consumption is almost identical to what I had measured for over 8,000 miles: 4.2miles/kWh, wall-to-wheels (not to be confused with what some electric car dashboards show, which is battery-to-wheels).
Ref: https://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5744#p5744

Living in our mild climate our i-MiEVs don't experience the ice and salty conditions that you do. Our eleven years and 150,000 miles of i-MiEV ownership (three cars, now two) has not lessened our affection for them. With the exception of one i-MiEV losing its OBC, these have been the most reliable and maintenance-free vehicles I've ever owned, the Tesla being a close second.

Both i-MiEVs continue to be our go-to daily workponies, now supplemented by the Kona Electric for round trips >40 miles and the Tesla still reserved for seriously-long trips. The Corbin Sparrows, which used to be our daily drivers, are now simply for fun drives, car shows, EV meetups, and the occasional quick hop into town.

 

[PV1]

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's the angle of the cars or how light interacts with camera sensors, but the white one always looks larger in every picture.

It was actually important for me to take a "family" portrait as Koorz (silver) is going to be sold soon. Pittsburgh is not too kind to vehicles, and with these not being driven a lot, the cars are decaying in the driveway. They deserve to be used, and I have a friend that needs a car for a 25-mile round-trip commute, of which an I-MiEV is perfect for. My commute lately is 40 miles and is on the edge of Koorz's degraded range, but a shorter trip would do just fine, especially if workplace charging is available. My Bolt, Photon, is also on the list to change ownership, but I want to keep it in the family, so it'll likely go to my niece. She also needs more battery than the I-MiEV has for both range and winter heat.

This leaves me with the Tesla and Bear. I don't really drive Bear much anymore, either, but I don't want to be kicking myself another 10-20 years down the road and be missing my first car. So, for sentimental reasons, I'll likely never sell Bear.

 

[stoatwblr]

The headlight housings are clouded and will need replaced soon. I've applied a restoration kit a few times, but it doesn't last.

Restoration kits MUST be followed up with a UV resistant clearcoating or the plastic will yellow again within 6-8 months
(This applies to all plastic headlights, not just Mievs)