Australian Spec i-MiEV

[Hippie403]

Just bought a white 2012 Australian spec i-MiEV and was interested in the differences between Australian cars and the USA / European cars. I think our are basically Euro spec (not wider and longer like the USA ones.) I think there is only one model/trim level here and only one option, which is the Sat. Nav pack. Fast charge port is standard, as are the alloy wheels.

What I was particularly curious about is the lack of the remote control for timer charging and pre-heating and pre-cooling.
Is the remote only a feature of the USA cars?

Greg O'Sullivan

 

[JoeS]

G'day Greg, congratulations on your new i-MiEV! The lower unsprung weight of those alloy wheels is a nicety.

Whereabouts in Australia are you? I have many very fond memories of your country and the world's friendliest people. On Recargo I see plenty of charging stations down in the Melbourne area, but not many elsewhere and I didn't realize there were any CHAdeMO stations around.

Sorry, can't answer your question. The quirky Remote's primary attribute is the pre-heating/cooling feature, as any old external timer can be rigged to control charging.

 

[Hippie403]

I'm in Melbourne. The local Mitsubishi dealer has a fast charger (30 minutes to 80%) but
access is limited, you have to book in with their service department to use it.

The standard Australian charger is 240V with a 15 Amp plug. About 7 hours for a full
charge. I think it is limited to around 10 Amps in spite of requiring a 15 Amp socket.

 

[Don]

From what I've read, there is a difference in the motor/transmission between the North American spec cars and all others. Here, the motor is limited to 9900 RPM and the transmission uses a 7.065:1 reduction, while the European versions use an 8,000 RPM motor and a 6.066:1 final reduction. I'm guessing this extra gear reduction was needed to improve the performance of the wider, longer, heavier car . . . . but then, why wouldn't they allow the European motor to spin up to 9900 like it does here - Seems the higher speed would be useful for the AutoBahn

Don

 

[Hippie403]

Another difference between i-MiEV variants is the lack of the "B" and "C" modes on the gear selector on Peugeot Ion and Citroen C Zero models.

Speaking of which, is the "Eco" (USA cars) and "C" (Australian cars) the same thing?

 

[Leafboi]

Greg!!!!!!

Congrats on the purchase. I'm so excited for you. I love the i-Miev!

I'm in Melbourne also but I purchased a Leaf. I just joined up after about a year of lurking over this forum because of you.

Where abouts in Melbourne are you located? I'm south west... Point Cook.

Can you spill more details about your purchase? I was ready to buy one in December when I was offered it for $38000. But holding, out that's about what I got my Leaf for. But with current pricing sub $30k it's an amazing price. Makes me want to buy one anyway.

What dealer did you go to? And I'm a little intrigued about this fast charger..?

 

[Hippie403]

I bought the i-MiEV for $29,990 drive away from Chadstone Mitsubishi, I think that
is just the current price for the remaining 2012 i-MiEV stock.

They only had a blue demonstrator with the DVD/NAV package in stock but it
had 2,000 km on it, they were asking $27,800 drive away for it.
I asked them about availability of a new one in white and they said they would
get back to me. All the Aus i-MiEVs are with dealers now so they had to find one who
would relinquish a car. They sourced one from a Mitsubishi dealer in Geelong and
had it shipped up for me. They took a while to get back to me and I was going to
buy the demonstrator, but they sold it the same day I looked at it!

 

[Leafboi]

Excellent price. So luck to get one in the colour you wanted.

I took that demo from Chadstone home to make sure it would suit my needs if I purchased it and it passed with flying colors. Your going to love it!

So where are you located?

 

[Hippie403]

Something the same with Australian i-MiEV, brake recall


http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1047367

 

[kps70]

Hi, welcome to the wonderful world of electric motoring! I am in the UK and I can confirm that the i-miev here comes with the remote control. I have only used it for pre heating and defrosting the windows. I have not used it to set the charging times as I usually charge it at home and I use an immersion heater timer to regulate when the power comes on.

 

[Hippie403]

Hi, welcome to the wonderful world of electric motoring! I am in the UK and I can confirm that the i-miev here comes with the remote control. I have only used it for pre heating and defrosting the windows. I have not used it to set the charging times as I usually charge it at home and I use an immersion heater timer to regulate when the power comes on.

Interesting to know that the UK cars have the remote. I'm guessing that they considered
our climate too mild to need the pre-heat function. I wonder if our cars have the hardware
to support the remote and they just don't provide it or is the circuitry missing? Maybe it's
something that could be enabled in firmware if I could get hold of a remote.

 

[Leafboi]

I think the most disappointing thing about the AU spec i-Miev not having the remote is the in ability to set the timer for charging to take advantage of off peak power rates. That is probably the only downfall of the car.

 

[JoeS]

I think the most disappointing thing about the AU spec i-Miev not having the remote is the in ability to set the timer for charging to take advantage of off peak power rates. That is probably the only downfall of the car.

That's pretty high praise if absence of a timer is the worst thing you can find about the iMiEV :?

Even a simple inexpensive timer from Dick Smith should do the job:

http://dicksmith.com.au/product/M7334/24-hour-easy-set-timer

If you prefer digital,

http://dicksmith.com.au/product/M6598/hpm-7-day-digital-timer

They don't provide the amperage specs, but claim they're compatible with heaters and coffee makers... at worst, you could pick up an industrial timer of some sort.

 

[misterbleepy]

Hi, welcome to the wonderful world of electric motoring! I am in the UK and I can confirm that the i-miev here comes with the remote control. I have only used it for pre heating and defrosting the windows. I have not used it to set the charging times as I usually charge it at home and I use an immersion heater timer to regulate when the power comes on.

The UK Peugeot Ion doesn't have the remote control (and I would guess neither does the Citroen Zero) - unless I just haven't found it yet? No mention of it in the manual. Is there any visible receiver in the car for the remote? Maybe the Peugeot has the receiver and would work with a remote if I bought one?

 

[MLucas]

Is there any visible receiver in the car for the remote?

You have to look at the right hand side sail panel glass (the small window in front of the mirror). It's hidden behind the blacked out area. In the sunlight at the right angle you can see the lines for the antenna.

 

[WyVern]

Interested regarding the prices paid here in Aus. Unlike America and the UK we get no rebate or assistance with EV prices. I'm in Brisbane and found an unregistered blue iMiev for AU$25,977 on the road. I chopped in a 12 year old Zafira to get the cost to change down to $22,977 on the road and I reckon I could have got more if I haggled harder. Having 15A socket installed tomorrow and take delivery Saturday, can't wait!

 

[JoeS]

WyVern, welcome to this forum and congratulations on your purchase. Trust that you'll like your iMiEV as much as we do (just keep it hidden during the January summer lightning storms). :roll: Early in the last decade we spent a fair amount of time in your lovely Brisbane area (living on a cat in Manly Harbour on Moreton Bay), and wife still wistfully reflects on Queen Street Mall...

 

[Don]

I think the most disappointing thing about the AU spec i-Miev not having the remote is the in ability to set the timer for charging to take advantage of off peak power rates. That is probably the only downfall of the car.

That's a very minor consideration

Many of us who do used timed charging do it utilizing another method as that's not a well organized feature of the remote. I use a simple clock timer . . . . I have one for 120 volts and another one for 240 volts

About all I ever use the remote for is preheating the car in the winter - Don't really need it to pre-cool in the summer. In more than a year and 10,000 miles, I think I've used it 4 or 5 times. If the car didn't come with the remote, I for one wouldn't really miss it

Don

 

[Leafboi]

I think the most disappointing thing about the AU spec i-Miev not having the remote is the in ability to set the timer for charging to take advantage of off peak power rates. That is probably the only downfall of the car.

That's a very minor consideration

Many of us who do used timed charging do it utilizing another method as that's not a well organized feature of the remote. I use a simple clock timer . . . . I have one for 120 volts and another one for 240 volts

About all I ever use the remote for is preheating the car in the winter - Don't really need it to pre-cool in the summer. In more than a year and 10,000 miles, I think I've used it 4 or 5 times. If the car didn't come with the remote, I for one wouldn't really miss it

Don

With my current feed in tariff for my solar system of .66c per kwh and an off pear usage rate of .14c per kwh (for 100% green power) it makes no sence to charge outside of off peak. And I ring want to be using a regular power point to do the charging I wanted an EVSE, which I have and it does not have its own timer as the ones available in Australia at the moment don't.

I tried to get a Blink EVSE but they wouldn't do a residential instal here in Australia, that one has a timer and would have been perfect.

 

[offgridQLD]

From the info I can find online the US spec I-miev is 81kg - 178lb heavier than the Australian - UK spec I-miev

US - 1169kg

AU - 1088kg

About 8% more weight to lug uphill. About the same weight as carrying a full grow man as a passenger. I would say being wider to the US model would have more wind drag to.

Kurt