iMiev worth it?

[jacques2]

I want to get an iMiev in addition to my Leaf. Can it handle my daily drive? It's about 20 miles to work, and a lot of it is on the highway. My Leaf uses about 30-40% of the battery, depending on the weather. I charge at work because I don't have a charger at home. So, my car is always full when I leave work. But I can't charge it again until the next day.

Can the iMiev go to work and back without needing a charge? It's about 45 miles, with a lot of highway driving. My Leaf can do it and still have some battery left.

 

[MickeyS70]

Can the iMiev go to work and back without needing a charge? It's about 45 miles, with a lot of highway driving.

Hello and welcome to the forum

The short answer is no if you mean driving at highway speeds.

A new i-MIEV had a usable battery capacity of around 14kWh, a lot less than a 1st gen Leaf (22kWh).


Mickey

 

[NilsMAS29]

I want to get an iMiev in addition to my Leaf. Can it handle my daily drive? It's about 20 miles to work, and a lot of it is on the highway. My Leaf uses about 30-40% of the battery, depending on the weather. I charge at work because I don't have a charger at home. So, my car is always full when I leave work. But I can't charge it again until the next day.

Can the iMiev go to work and back without needing a charge? It's about 45 miles, with a lot of highway driving. My Leaf can do it and still have some battery left.

I’ve owned an iMiev for a couple of years now, and while it’s a great little car, I’d be cautious about highway driving, especially with your commute being 45 miles round trip. The iMiev has a smaller battery compared to your Leaf, 16 kWh vs. your Leaf’s 24-40 kWh, depending on which model you have. On the highway, the iMiev tends to use up the battery pretty quickly, especially at higher speeds, and in colder weather, you could see an even bigger dip in range.

Since you can’t charge again until the next day, I’d recommend testing it out first, if possible. On a good day, the iMiev should be able to handle your commute, but if you’re stuck in traffic or hit bad weather, it might be cutting it close. It’s definitely a city-friendly car, but for highway-heavy commutes, it might be worth sticking with the Leaf. If you still love the iMiev, maybe save it for shorter trips around town!

 

[NinianMIC3]

I’ve been driving an iMiev for a while now, and it’s been pretty reliable for my daily commute, but I’ll be honest—it struggles a bit on the highway. For city driving, it’s perfect, and I can squeeze out 60-70 miles on a single charge. But when I take it on the highway, the range drops significantly. Based on your 45-mile round trip with a lot of highway driving, I’d say the iMiev could probably handle it, but it’ll be tight, especially if you have to crank up the heat or deal with bad weather.

That said, if you’re only using 30-40% of your Leaf’s battery, there’s a good chance the iMiev could get you there and back, just without as much buffer left over. Maybe try a test run to see how it holds up? And keep in mind, if you’re doing a lot of highway speeds, you’ll likely have to drive more conservatively to stretch that range.

I want to get an iMiev in addition to my Leaf. Can it handle my daily drive? It's about 20 miles to work, and a lot of it is on the highway. My Leaf uses about 30-40% of the battery, depending on the weather. I charge at work because I don't have a charger at home. So, my car is always full when I leave work. But I can't charge it again until the next day.

Can the iMiev go to work and back without needing a charge? It's about 45 miles, with a lot of highway driving. My Leaf can do it and still have some battery left.

 

[DorcasMIN28]

I think it’s definitely possible for the iMiev to handle your commute. it’ll be close though. The iMiev is a great little city car, but highway driving does eat into the range more than you’d expect. With your 45-mile commute, and the fact that you can’t charge until the next day, I’d recommend being cautious, especially in colder months or if you run into traffic. In perfect conditions, the iMiev could make it there and back with some battery to spare, but you won’t have the same comfort zone you’re used to with the Leaf.

Since you already have the Leaf for longer drives, maybe the iMiev could be a good backup or for shorter trips where you don’t need to worry about charging. I’d say it’s worth considering if you really love the iMiev, but it might not be as worry-free as your Leaf when it comes to highway driving.

 

[michael8554]

As I'm sure you're aware, the older the car the more the drive battery is likely to have lost capacity. So for a start, what range is showing on the dash when fully charged ? If it's showing 60 or more, you have a good chance of making it. If the range showing when you get to work is less than 30 you should investigate the possibility of plugging in the slow charger while you work.

 

[jray3]

@jacques2, I wouldn't recommend a 2012 MiEV for your mission unless it got a battery replacement. I have a 50 mile round trip commute, so EVen our car that's down to 29 AH capacity has no trouble with the winter one-way trip, and I can return home after as little as an hour on L2 at work, but would really have to nurse it carefully for a round trip without plugging in. Getting charging stations or the ability to plug in on L1 is all you'd need. Here in the Pacific NW USA, all government spending must be predicated on "Equitable Electrification". This has resulted in a lot of silly spending, such as deploying EVSE in housing projects where they're immediately destroyed by copper thieves. HowEVer, at my office where the lowest-paid employees drive the older EVs that MUST be plugged in for a return trip, this equitable arguement has enabled us to maintain and expand workplace charging during a time when all the new EVs have ample range for even the longest round-trip commute. (Plus we have employees in apartments who cannot plug in at home.)

 

[Jiminy]

I would never recommend a used i-MiEV to anyone, ever. Too much chance of it having a degraded battery. They are mostly at EOL, end of life. There's a push to find foolproof battery cell replacements ordered directly from Alibaba vendors in China but it isn't quite there yet and what is there will start at $4k plus your research and labor.

An i-MiEV is best driven at no more than 65mph. 60 is better. Windy days bring whiter knuckles.

Jim

 

[jacques2]

Thanks for the inputs everyone! Really appreciate it.

 

[MickeyS70]

I would never recommend a used i-MiEV to anyone, ever. Too much chance of it having a degraded battery. They are mostly at EOL, end of life.

Getting a second hand I-MIEV is probably one of the most affordable way to get into EV ownership, certainly if you’re looking for a ‘city car’.

But like with any purchase (especially EVs) one should properly research the capability and limitations of a model. Fair play to @jacques2 for doing exactly that and unfortunately his usage exceeds the range of most used triplets.

But that’s not always the case; as long as your winter range is greater than your daily needs and you’re prepared to get ‘stuck in’, I see no reason why not to buy a second hand I-MIEV, iOn or CZero..

Being able to potentially DIY upgrade the HV pack in the near future is an added incentive.