2014 iMiev test drive

[archie_b]

A local, as in 80 miles away, Mitsubishi dealer got their first 2014 i on Tuesday. Drove there Wednesday afternoon for a test drive. The new 2014 i drives.....just like the 2012 i. That is not a bad thing as the 2012 drove just fine.

Improvements; many. The new all black interior is very nice. A huge improvement over the brown or black on the 2012. Alloys, passenger seat heater, cold weather package, L3 charge port all standard. New color, Aqua Marine Blue, looked very good, maybe a little soft. Another nice touch was dealer is discounting the car: MSRP was $24,290, selling price $22,988. With full Federal tax credit price is just under $15,500.

Was unable to view new charger as it was back in service and not available. Overall the 2014 is significantly improved over the 2012, especially in the interior. I took pictures and will upload later this evening.

 

[Mart]

Good! I've really been waiting to see how much the new blue varies from the Canadian color. Very glad they got rid of the two-tone gray and brown interior.

 

[archie_b]

Here are the pictures.

 

[JoeS]

archie_b, thanks for posting the photos and telling us of your experience. What a contrast with mine -

Today my wife and I drove down to Capitol Mitsubishi (I had called earlier this week and they allowed as they had a new 2014 in stock), as not only was I curious at exactly what the configuration is of the 2014 i-MiEV, but in the back of my mind is still the desire to get a vehicle with CHAdeMO, so I was ready to do some horse trading.

On the showroom floor was a white i-MiEV that is almost identical to my SE in terms of features. I crawled all over the car, noting the 8A/12A selectable Mitsu EVSE. Upholstery doesn't matter to me and I'd be hard-pressed to note any difference. The seat heater switch has been relocated to the left side down there. The features list identified the front shoulder harness as having some type of vertical adjustment. Anyway, no substantive difference between this car and my 2012 SE, other than CHAdeMO, a battery warming system, the charge port light, heated outside mirrors, the heated passenger seat, but only a 100W audio system with speakers in the back.

The sticker price is $22,995 + Optional Equipment (USB Adapter) $135 + Destination/Handling of $850, yielding $23,980.

Now, plastered on the windshield was the following: "Added Mark-Up" $2,995, yielding a total of $26,975. When I asked about this, the salesman was adamant that these cars are in very short supply, that they are one of the lucky few dealers who have one and that this is the only car they're getting until maybe September, and this markup is well-deserved (or something like that) because of its rarity.

When I asked him if they would take my present i-MiEV as trade-in, he said sure, went to the back room and then came back saying they'd allow $8,000.

All in all, a most unpleasant experience. At least we picked up three bars from them.

We drove home hugging our Mitsi, and love her even if she doesn't have CHAdeMO.

Note to anyone who might be purchasing this car: be sure to check the Remote, as the salesman dropped it onto the hard tile floor while he was rummaging through the glove box looking to show me the USB connection.

 

[PV1]

Sweet! And not a single update on Mitsubishi's website. It's still listed as an 'Upcoming Vehicle'. Maybe because this is just the first batch (of hopefully many).

If I would trade my white for a blue (which I'm not), then every car in my household will be blue. My parents have a blue truck, a blue hybrid, and a blue Camaro. My brother has a blue Civic. I have a white i-MiEV.

I find it amusing where the passenger heated seat switch is, down by the USB port (if so equipped). I've been wondering what the black center stack looks like against the black dashboard...now I know (and I like it).

I kind of thought they would just make the SE the new ES, but they made an ESE. I wonder which of the two 2012 trims is more rare. The dealers had quite a bit of trouble selling the SE Premiums.

 

[fjpod]

I'd like 10 more miles.

 

[HParkEV]

In your pictures, the color looks identical to my Canadian 2012 "Ocean blue".

 

[PV1]

Here's my question, did they fix the clock on the radio, or are they still in military time?

 

[Mart]

JoeS,

I'm getting a feeling Mitsubishi should join with Tesla in asking for direct sales. :roll:

 

[JoeS]

JoeS, I'm getting a feeling Mitsubishi should join with Tesla in asking for direct sales. :roll:

That was indeed one of the comments I removed before posting. Compared with others, this salesperson wasn't too bad, but I didn't bother correcting some of the inaccuracies in what he said. Beats me why sales managers don't put their salespeople through a rigorous vehicle familiarization program (as sales types seem to be standing around BSing whenever I visit dealerships). As I've said before, I think a case could be made for a brand-independent electric vehicle showroom.

 

[olagon]

Here's my question, did they fix the clock on the radio, or are they still in military time?

I spent a few hours trying to configure my clock until I realized wow this is stuck in an international format! At least we get our speed in MPH

 

[siai47]

The feature writer must have been trying hard to add "new" features. The shoulder harness adjusts vertically on my "old" I-MiEV. In addition, along with some others, already moved my seat heater switch to the left side identical to the 2014 position. I guess I can tell everyone I have a 2014 now (and just say the passenger side seat heater broke)

 

[misterbleepy]

Here's my question, did they fix the clock on the radio, or are they still in military time?

I spent a few hours trying to configure my clock until I realized wow this is stuck in an international format! At least we get our speed in MPH

At least you get a clock! :lol:
(and if my car had one, I'd want it in 24h rather than 12h format)