WINTER DRIVING:
Yesterday, I had to drive 23 miles to a job. When I woke up in the morning, the temperature was -8 F.
By the time I had actually hit the road it, the temperature was closer to 0F.
I drove half on the freeway and half on slower roads, driving conservatively on both. I ran the heater most of the way, on low. The car was pre-heated before I left.
When I arrived, I just dropped to one tick below half on the fuel meter.
I was able to use the OEM Level 1 charger with an outlet at the location I was using during the day. I got to three ticks above half from the charging during the day. When I left, it was starting to snow. Temperature was around +7F.
I had to do some more work at a different location, which was on my way home anyways. There is one CHAdeMO charger in my area, which would be a side trip, but I could quickly get lots of juice fast, and it meant I could actually USE my heat! I turned the heat on while driving to the fast-charger.
Of course, when I got there, the charger DIDN'T work! For whatever reason, the CHAdeMO would just not run. It didn't even give an error message, just conked out! Only a minute later, somebody else pulled up in an iMiEV. This was sort of weird, as I have NEVER seen another iMiEV in the wild before - I have only otherwise seen them at eco-fairs, EV events, etc. Of course SHE also wanted to use the CHAdeMO, unfortunately with the same problem and the same lack of charging.
One thing that WAS fun is I was able to get a photo of two iMiEVs right next to each other - mine with the LED headlights, and hers with the stock headlights.
I also noticed that the other driver had a fleece steering wheel cover and a lap-blanket. Unlike mine, hers was a plain blanket, rather than a 12V electric heated blanket.
I alerted the owner of the charging station to the problem with CHAdeMO. They have been GREAT supporters of EVs. This is Marshall Autobody in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I did put the car on charge with the J1772 very briefly while trying to figure out what was wrong with the CHAdeMO and writing a post on PlugShare.
After that, it was back on the road to get to the other job. By then, my shoes were a little wet from stepping in and out of the snow. I couldn't run the heat, as I now had LESS than half a charge, and still had up to 30 miles to go that evening. Fortunately, the fact that it was snowing meant that all traffic was driving at a more reasonable speed, so at least I didn't have anyone tailgating me the whole way while I was driving slow. By the time I finally got to where I was going, my feet were cold enough that it was painful. Once inside, I took off my shoes, and shoved paper towels inside them to remove as much moisture as I could. Although I was wearing my new "SmartWool" brand socks, wet and cold is still wet and cold.
I was working at a municipal building for about an hour and a half. The library is just on the other side of the parking lot, and they have electric outlets on the outside of the building. I plugged in the Level 1 charger while I was there. The extension cord had to cross the sidewalk, but I was also at the end parking space, so I figured there should be almost no foot traffic past there. Still, I can imagine being yelled at by librarians for "potential trip hazard".
When I came back out to my car, it was still plugged in, and I had gotten at least a little more juice in it. I still drove home with almost no heater use. I was also using only the side roads and driving slow. Once I was only a few miles from home and could see that I would be able to make it no problem INCLUDING blasting the heat, I really turned it on.
Round-trip travel for the day was 57 miles. BUT that was with charging at any chance I could, freezing my toes off, and making sure to include plenty of extra travel time. It's amazing what a BIG dent the heater puts in the range-o-meter. (Also driving fast. This is a good car to keep OFF the freeway!)
I'm pretty good with a heavy coat, and the electric blanket on my lap is luxurious. However, I still need heat for the defroster, and other than by wearing my big boots (which make it a little hard to operate the pedals) and heated socks, I don't see a reasonable way of getting heat to my toes OTHER than just actually using the heater!
To be fair to the car, the heat works pretty well IF: 1) I'm driving during the day (sunlight DOES make a difference in heat!) 2) The car is preheated (easy to do from home, but not at other places.) 3) I'm not going all that far. As long as I have the range, there's no reason for me NOT to blast the heat the whole time. Even then, the heater just doesn't get as hot as a more typical heater in an ICE car.
If I am just running errands in an after noon, I will pre-heat the car, run the heated seat and the heater. I have plenty of power for some local errands with no concerns about range, then I just recharge when I'm back home. BUT a 20 mile trip becomes 40 mile round trip. Part of that will be on the freeway (further sapping battery) and I need to leave the heat off!
My other concern about winter travel is that, unfortunately, Public EV charging stations are simply NOT reliable. The only charger that I can say 100% certain that it will be available and work IS THE ONE IN MY GARAGE. AND when I made this trip last night, it was also the first time that I've showed up to a charger where somebody else was there ALSO wanting to use the same equipment.
I've been reading through some of the winter weather threads here on MyiMiEV and the fuel heaters are VERY appealing. I think at this point, I just need to decide between the diesel and gasoline version. I have E85 fuel available locally, and I know a guy who makes his own straight ethanol from scratch, so a gasoline-fueled heater might be the way to go, as I can get non-petroleum fuel that will burn in it.
I also do need some new tires, the tread on the tires that came with the car is very thin. Several times, I did intentionally over-accelerate to see how the car would react. Using Eco, instead of Drive, is a good way to reduce torque, kinda like starting in 2nd gear instead of 1st on a manual transmission vehicle.
OVERALL, I really like the Mitsubishi as a nice little economy car, BUT it takes such a hit in the winter! It really needs some insulation and an improved heater! The other thing that I think really makes a difference is simply where you live. In the various heater threads I have read, feelings on the heater vary from "It's fine" to "It's the worst thing ever!". Of course, all the people commenting live in different places, from California to Louisiana to Moscow, Sweden, Canada, or Wisconsin.
What's good heat in one place is NOT good heat in another.