New member needs commute distance help please!

[NikoV6]

Hi everybody, been lurking for a while gathering loads of information on my i-MiEV purchase!

I have a daily 60 mile round trip commute and think the MiEV will be just the car to do it in!

Couple of questions, I rarely get over 55mph during my commute on mainly A roads so think 60 miles will be OK, do other owners agree?

As for prices, I am looking at this car but it seems a little to expensive, what do other owners think?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201706306937219?postcode=nn144tx&radius=1500&fuel-type=Electric&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&make=MITSUBISHI&sort=sponsored&page=1

Many thanks!

 

[kiev]

Nice looking car with low miles and full leather interior--it's a premium edition so the price may be a little higher than one with less options. There's probably not many available, so you have to trade off price and availability plus waiting versus getting on the road now.

i have 60 to 70 mile daily round trip and do just fine if i don't try to race too fast on the highway. i have a shorter fast route or a bit longer slow route on side roads, so i have a backup plan if needed.

you won't regret spending a little to get one and enjoy the EV grin--cheaper than a new one, and that one is nearly new.

 

[JoeS]

Hello NikoV6, and welcome to the forum.

I will take a little more pessimistic stance than kiev, as at a regular 60-mile round trip commute, IMO the i-MiEV will be marginal in your weather. Not only does running the heater significantly decrease the range (~20%), but simply driving in the rain increases the rolling resistance resulting in some range decrease. A few questions:

1) Do you have no opportunity to charge the car at work?

2) Do you have alternate routes? Is it really exactly 60 miles or is it perhaps less? Five miles in this scenario matters.

3) Will you be needing to make any detours from that daily trip?

4) Do you have any DCQC charging stations along the way that you could use as a backup?

Can the i-MiEV do 60 miles? Of course it can, but to do so on a daily commute basis when perhaps you're running late occasionally and need to speed up, will not make it comfortable. I would check into the possibility of workplace charging, as plugging in for even a couple of hours per day would make your life a lot more relaxing.

The car you are looking at is rather nice. Does it have CHAdeMO DCQC?

 

[NikoV6]

Thanks for the replies both, appreciate that!!

Car does have a CHAdeMO socket but only the local to work BMW dealer has a charger. I think it's open for use by anybody for a fee, 9p is I think. Could I put 10 minutes into the car to get me another 10 miles?

 

[JoeS]

...Could I put 10 minutes into the car to get me another 10 miles?

Heck, ten minutes on a 50kW CHAdeMO DCQC will give you 30 miles! Rather than rely on that, it would be preferable if you could make arrangements to slowly but regularly charge your car from the mains while at work. Even though the car you are looking at has low mileage, it would be nice to have a capacity test performed on it to find out exactly what the state of that battery is.

NikoV6, I was thinking about you as I just came back from a 56-mile (90km) round trip. Left fully charged, drove maybe 50 miles of that on the freeway at anywhere between 55mph-70mph (mostly around 60mph), coasting on all the downhills, yet I had two bars blinking (and RR=7) by the time I got home. Had aircon on as it is hot here today. My battery capacity is presently 38.7Ah.

Thinking about your situation, I don't think I'd want to play such games on a daily basis in cutthroat commute traffic; nevertheless, if most of your commute is indeed at lower speeds ("I rarely get over 55mph during my commute on mainly A roads"), you should be ok.

 

[sandange]

by NikoV6 » Sun Jul 16, 2017 4:41 pm

Thanks for the replies both, appreciate that!!

Car does have a CHAdeMO socket but only the local to work BMW dealer has a charger. I think it's open for use by anybody for a fee, 9p is I think. Could I put 10 minutes into the car to get me another 10 miles?

In case you're not aware..
The Fast Charge plug on the BMW is Not the same for the Miev.
Combo vs Chademo

 

[NippyCar]

I got a 2012 leather seat iMiEV in April 2016 with about 10k on the clock and I love it. Very comfortable seats and much nicer than the cloth ones. Worth paying the extra for the leather, IMO. 60 miles is further than I have ever attempted to go. Winter range (slow London driving) is more like 45 miles for me so I would second the suggestion that you need to arrange charging at work.

 

[NikoV6]

Thanks again for all the replies!

Thanks for the info on the BMW socket being different sandage!

Distance to work is 27.5miles, it takes me almost exactly 45mins, so averaging 30ish mph.

Spoke with work and one of the outbuildings has an external 13amp wall socket, just negotiating "borrowing" it for a few hours a day to ensure no range anxiety

 

[JoeS]

Distance to work is 27.5miles, it takes me almost exactly 45mins, so averaging 30ish mph.

Aha, 55 miles! That helps. It's the high speed blasts down the highway that hit the range the hardest. A featherfoot makes a lot of difference! Slow city traffic is actually good for extending the range, except in winter when the heater sucks at the battery.

Spoke with work and one of the outbuildings has an external 13amp wall socket, just negotiating "borrowing" it for a few hours a day to ensure no range anxiety

Wonderful news, and just hope your co-workers don't get jealous and complain. You might find that you only need it for as little as an hour a day which will then allow you to seamlessly integrate with the usually frenetic commute traffic.

 

[DonDakin]

Hey NikoV6,

A 55 Mile round trip commute is a bit of a stretch in an Imiev.

You have only one thing going for you and that is the low ave speed of 37 MPH. That will make it very easily possible in the summer.
I would like to be encouraging but I think this would be difficult in winter. As Joe said the heater will give you an easy 20% range hit maybe more depending on temps. The slower speed is a double edge sword in winter as the heater uses more energy because its on longer.

If you can live without heat in the winter it will be possible but maybe very uncomfortable. Depends on you and the thickness of your skin....

It's a balancing act, the more you drive the car the more you save which is great but the farther you drive in a day the more you have to plan or compromise (time/heat/comfort). At 55 miles per day your commute is right at the limit where you would save a ton of money on fuel which is great but also push the limits of comfort and range in the winter.

This is also not really mentioning that when you get home your car is dead and you need minimum couple of hours charging to be able to use it in the evening

The real answer is to ensure some charging at work, while you work at least in winter.

If I were you I would go for it (I did) but I would have something up my sleeve for winter so that I could really enjoy driving the car and have some peace of mind reserve.

Don.....

 

[NikoV6]

Cheers Don! Good points!

It's done, collect the car Friday, can't wait!!

First trip is Watford to home, 76 miles mainly M1 motorway!!! Looking at the Polar map I can chedeabo charge at 37 miles, thinking a steady 60ish on motorway will get me there. Then the great big charging point of Milton Keynes is not far away!!

Entry to EV ownership complete

 

[sandange]

Congratulations on taking your first giant steps into the world of EV's

Hope you enjoy many electric miles with smiles.

 

[BenBrown]

Congratulations as well. Regarding cold weather driving...

After a friend living in Japan sent me photos I realized it was culturally normative for many Japanese to consider heating mainly the lower half of the body and wearing warmer clothing on top in the "living room" of traditonal homes. This must have translated into how Mitsu chose to support heating in their cars...
The first year I owned, Gregg, my imiev, I nearly froze tohave enough range to visit friends in a neighboring town. This past winter I was toasty warm without adding any new components of my car. I added new components to my body.
Wrapping my lower half with a thick heavy woolen blanket and wearing a top quality goose down jacket (and wool gloves and regular knit stocking hat) nothing got cold. I mainly relied on occasional burst of seating heat to energize the system.

The remaining challenge was keeping the windows de-iced. (if only electric window defrosters were allowed in the front window. Still, the range was some better than relying totally on resistance heating and I was much more comfortable.