Long Term Impressions

[LBCev]

Hi all,

I'm wrapping up my 39 mo. lease on a MY 2011 LEAF SL. The LEAF has been great to me but I've been looking at other EVs. Before my LEAF, I was initially interested in the i-MiEV and have driven it at the area plug-in events. I ended up n a LEAF primarily because it beat the i to market and I needed a car. If I don't re-up for the LEAF, it's definitely on my shopping list. A few questions for the i drivers:

- Any noticeable battery degradation or range loss? My LEAF has lost one capacity bar and about 10% range in 36 months and 27,000 miles. I still regularly hit EPA range of 73 mi/charge.
- Any maintenance issues?
- How does the interior hold up?
- Is highway merging speed really as bad as it sounds in mainstream reviews?
- How does it do with infant car seats?
- What kind of lease deals are out there?

I can't find any inventory in So. CA. I'm guessing this is a pregnant pause before the 2014 come out. I'm looking forward to a longer test drive.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[JoeS]

Hi LBCev, welcome to the Forum!

1. None of the US cars to date have shown any battery degradation, and it is unclear if the number of bars showing will indicate this (someone correct me if I'm wrong). There is an Android App called CaniOn which shows the voltage status of each of the 88 cells, as well as a number of other operating parameters.

2. Zip maintenance: cabin air filter replacement and windshield wiper. A couple of us with extensive daily hilly curvy road driving have suffered premature tire wear on the LRR OEM Dunlop Enasave tires - 23,000 miles in my case.

3. No wear on the interior, and easy-to-clean plastic. Great for a daily workhorse.

4. Highway merging - ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM!! The i-MiEV has the EV acceleration when needed, and I invariably find myself crowding the cars in front of me on onramps.

5. There are standard child restraint latches built into the rear floor behind the rear seats. I've used them with my granddaughter's car seat, and the rear doors make access to a child carrier easy.

6. Lease deals - won't know until about April-May when the new i-MiEVs arrive. I expect that the well-appointed 2014 i-MiEVs, with CHAdeMO standard, should be bargain-priced to compete with the lease deals of other EVs.

As an aside, the most damning and completely inaccurate review of the i-MiEV was by Consumer Reports - laboriously refuted here. The motoring press, in general, was initially put off by the i-MiEV's looks, with Mitsubishi not helping matters by providing fully-loaded (and thus overpriced) i-MiEVs to journalists who, rightfully, pointed out that for a small price difference you got a more fully-featured car with a Leaf.

I've talked a number of friends into buying a Leaf, simply because they needed five seats for their families. In my case, I considered the Leaf a little too large for a daily workhorse, and love the iMiEV's tight turning radius, cavernous interior with flat floor with the back seats down, and three-levels of control over regeneration. It's a fun car to drive, and more agile than a Leaf. Here's a link to comparing the i-MiEV with other EVs: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=92

With your experience with the Leaf, you are now aware that vehicle range is whatever you want it to be. The i-MiEV rewards frugal driving, the biggest hits being high speed and heater use.

Good luck to you, and feel free to ask any more specific questions you may have. You've come to the right place.

 

[PV1]

I almost bought a LEAF, but the i-MiEV was more fun to drive and easier to see out of. I had a hard time judging where the LEAF was on the road, but on the 1st test drive for the i-MiEV, I went between a curb and a fire hydrant easier than the Cavalier I was driving. So, all in all, I'm glad I went with the i-MiEV. It has treated me very well during the last 12 months.

To answer some of your questions:

1. Except for Malm in the furnace that he lives in, I don't recall anybody reporting any major range reduction. There were some reports of reduced range with new tires, but I'm not sure if it is battery related or that the new tires have more rolling resistance.

2. Not much in the maintenance department, either. A couple of members reported bad battery packs, which were replaced under warranty. Personally, I had a bad airbag sensor, which I think was an early recall, but the dealer didn't recognize it. Still, it was replaced for free. I also had to replace my windshield wipers. This winter was brutal on them.

3. The interior is quite durable. It is easy to clean and keep clean. I take a shop vac and a towel and can have the interior looking like new in 15 minutes.

4. The few times I've jumped on the highway, when I look forward after checking the lane behind me to merge, I've had to let off and regen to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me traveling at highway speeds. The i-MiEV picks up rather quickly. Get above 60 and the acceleration starts lacking, but the i-MiEV does just fine on the highway. If you're in heavy traffic moving at 60-65 mph, you can actually get better range than 40 mph on main roads, just because all the other cars have a nice flow of air going.

5. Can't help you here.

6. I know before they had a $96/month deal. Others can probably help you more than I can. I bought mine outright.

I found exactly 1 within 100 miles of Los Angeles.

 

[clovi]

Hi all,

I'm wrapping up my 39 mo. lease on a MY 2011 LEAF SL. The LEAF has been great to me but I've been looking at other EVs. Before my LEAF, I was initially interested in the i-MiEV and have driven it at the area plug-in events. I ended up n a LEAF primarily because it beat the i to market and I needed a car. If I don't re-up for the LEAF, it's definitely on my shopping list. A few questions for the i drivers:

- Any noticeable battery degradation or range loss? My LEAF has lost one capacity bar and about 10% range in 36 months and 27,000 miles. I still regularly hit EPA range of 73 mi/charge.
- Any maintenance issues?
- How does the interior hold up?
- Is highway merging speed really as bad as it sounds in mainstream reviews?
- How does it do with infant car seats?
- What kind of lease deals are out there?

I can't find any inventory in So. CA. I'm guessing this is a pregnant pause before the 2014 come out. I'm looking forward to a longer test drive.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

After 1 year and 2 months , on the Bianco (~26.000 miles) and almost 1 year on the Vino (~8000 miles I guess!) , no problems with batteries , tires or anything else. I bit up my Bianco ( my workhorse) , driving almost every day, on average of 63 miles a day. Never use a Canion , but after leave the car on the dealer for maintenance , no batteries degradation or anything else. Can drive 75 miles on the spring/summer and a bit less on the winter. I don't stop charging at 80% and I charge the car at least 2 times a day (level 1 and 2, level 3 few times), having seeing the turtle (shows up with one mile to go) many times.
Awesome transportation, fast for city , can keep 70 to 80 mph on the highway with absolutely any problem. Oh , sorry , my only problem if my wife and daughter "fighting" to use the "Vino" against our Minivan, and a new battery on the minivan!! Who wants to drive a boat???? Probably I need to find another one , because my son will start to drive soon. Cheers,

 

[peterdambier]

Ours is from 2010 and we have it for almost two years, two winters at least.

No loss in battery detected. We are living on the other side of a hill and did have a long ride on the highway the day before yesterday. 40 kilometers one way mostly down hill spent some 7 kilowatt hours riding behind a lorry. The way back 60 kilometers mostly up hill without lorry but with heater used 12 kilowatt hours. That is no different from when the car was new.

Going up and down hills living between cows and horses gets us some 120 kilometers in 5 hours but without the heater.

Insulating four doors, back and front lid improved heat and noise and speakers. It did give us more range not only in winter and it did give us a ticket for speeding because we no longer hear how fast the car goes.

We like to compare it to the BMW i3. The i3 is bigger outside. The i-MiEV is bigger inside. At a traffic light the i3 is faster. At the charger the i-MiEV is faster. At a parking lot the i-MiEV is easier parking and easier finding.

Cheers
Peter and Karin

 

[danpatgal]

We've had ours for 20 months now and have had no major issues. We had looked at the Leaf also when considering the iMiev, and I just liked more spirited drive of the iMiev and it's better efficiency numbers. One thing others haven't said yet which is important for me (I'm tall) is that it is easy to get into and out of AND is comfortable to sit in. The Leaf was harder to get into and didn't feel as roomy inside. My kids really like it too - it sits a little bit higher than our old ICE car, a Ford Focus Wagon.

I don't like driving it at highway speeds because probably 30% of the time there is a cross-wind and the iMiev is so tall and narrow you really get knocked around at 55+mph. And of course, the range takes a hit on the highway. But, for that one downside, the other upsides more than make up for it and we'd definitely buy again and we might get a second one to replace my project EV.

 

[PV1]

Forgot about that. Yes, the i-MiEV definitely has more rear legroom and more headroom in general. Also, the front seat moves forward quite far and lays nearly flat with the back seats folded down and headrests removed.

Another big plus for the i-MiEV, No static electricity when getting out!! I forget, when getting out of other cars, to grab ahold of something metal before my feet touch the ground. I had a small burn mark on my hand from the Auto Show.