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Mitsubishi i-MiEV Forum

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Longer range EVs certainly make travelling easier. I think the record for US coast-to-coast in an EV is just under 58 hours, set by a Tesla Model S with Auto-pilot driving most of the trip. According to Google Maps, the fastest route between LA and NYC takes 41 hours.


The i-MiEV is likely one of the most difficult vehicles to do long distance in, both because of the smallest battery on the market and the relatively puny 3.3 kW charger. Put a 6.6 kW or even a 10 kW on-board charger and a 25 kWh battery in and things get a lot easier. When I was plotting out the route for my planned Normal, IL trip, having a portable CHAdeMO charger cut my charging time by more than half, just by increasing the power I can get from a level 2 station from 3.3 kW to 6.6 kW (13.2 kW in a few places with dual stations) for a route with almost all level 2 charging. A Tesla, on the other hand, can do the trip with 2-3 stops at Superchargers, and only spend about 1.5-2 hours plugged in (all this one way).


Despite the energy limitations, the i-MiEV is the only car I can spend a lot of time in and not feel worn out afterwards.


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