Hi guys, We are still keen on getting an iMiEV, but with no recharging stations here yet, and each fast charge one we have looked at bringing in ourselves being in development still, or really expensive, until the $ 17, 000 NZ version is available, we have been looking at alternatives for both short, and long range use.
Recently, we took a Prius C for a test drive over a long weekend, from Friday 4 pm to about 2 pm on Monday. On Friday and Saturday we did about 160 Kms combined, and on Sunday we went for a long drive to Kaikoura, with a meal stop in Cheviot, and again a meal in Kaikoura prior to the long trip back. Total for there and back was about 395 Km.
The trip gave us a 4. 7 litres per 100 KM economy at speeds below our normal 100 Km / Hr which we could do as there was very little traffic.
The trip on Sunday used $ 40.00 of fuel which is about 20 litres of 91 petrol. The trip on saturday for about 80 Kms used about $ 7.
The boss was staggered when he filled up after the trip on Sunday to see the car stopped filling at about 17 litres and he managed to get about 19 litres in. Normally, our Adventra would use $ 120 or so for the same trip. About 59 litres.
We had a talk about the fuel costings and the price of the car, and did sums comparing the iMiEV, the Nissan Leaf and the Volt.
If we didn't have to allow for interest on the purchase cost, i.e use cash for the purchase instead of a loan, the iMiev, followed by the Nissan Leaf followed by the Volt followed by the Toyota for around town driving would be best.
Because each firm is charging different interest and has differing pricing to start with as well, and differing fuel and electric economy it gets more complicated, but in the end we decided we would buy two cars..the Mitsubishi iMiEV for around town and longer trips when charging stations are available on route, and the Toyota Prius C for longer trips until the recharging stations are available or when time on trip is important. That is, when no time is available for recharging at fast stations.
How does this all fit into the B- Mode discussion ?. Well, we tried B mode on the imiev and loked it a lot, very easy to drive with in start go traffic and on hilly windy roads. On long flat bits the D mode is good too. Kind of like driving in third on a manual Hilux for B and like 5th in D.
The Prius C though acts differntly in B mode, the take off and driving along is more noisy as the petrol motor acceleration goes high and holds a higher revs than in drive mode until it reaches the speed you are aiming at then it goes quieter.
In Drive it acts like a normal automatic except it seems to not change gears, just a normal constant acceleration movement feel.
In B mode while slowing though from a high speed to a lower speed, say on a downhill slope with corners, the engine races as the cars works to slow down on engine and electric braking, then become normally quiet again as the speed of the car matches the engine note.
Touching the brakes lightly adds more regen and putting more push in the brakes will adds heaps of regen then as the cars slows to almost a stop there is a reduction in braking so more of a push is needed, just slightly though.
So for a more relaxed quieter ride, leaving it in D mode is best and applying the brake slightly to get the regen working hard until the speed is lower, then putting in B to hold the speed while going downhill or through corners seems to work well and is quieter.
The Consatntly Variable Transmission is ok, but a bit disconserting to someone like me more used to a Manual or auto that has steps in gears. Interestingly, it has Cruise control and on setting a speed and a downhill makes the car speed up, the car then slows to the set speed by using regen ! cool.
So for now, subject to finance, we will get the Prius C and then once the iMiEV is slightly cheaper or recharge stations are available, we will get it. I far prefer the driving of the iMiEV though in terms of quietness and fuel savings, and it is fun to drive.
The Prius C though will allow me to go to the Sounds to see my boat, which due to work and the high cost of fuel, which means a day or two is all I can get off and it costs $ 255 or so to go there and back, comapred to the imiev being $ 24 or the Prius C being $ 80.
For $ 80 it seems reasonable and I can then nip off to the sounds after work, stay on the boat and then come home later the next day, refreshed for the next day work. At $ 255 I had to have at least three or four days off to make it worth while.
Still, I am keen to see fast recharge stations pop up along the route and even if it adds another 4 hours to the trip recharging, expected is another 90 minutes for three rechargers , it would be so cool to travel for only $24.
If using the imiev, as here are a lot of stop start traffic on the way and lots of hills and corners for much of the way, I will proberly leave the imiev in B.
On the trip to Kaikoura and back we spent $ 45 on food and $ 40 on fuel in the Prius C. The Holden on the same trip would have been $120, before food for us, so we proberly would have had $10 of Macdonalds between us two people instead, grin.
Putting it another way, if we took the imiev and allowing for recharging , we could take four people and shout them a $ 5 Macdonalds meal each stop, and be cheaper than fuel for the Holden...
