Should I purchase a 2014 i?

[DriveGreen]

I am thinknig of 'investing' in a 2014 i. We are looking for a small, second car compelenting our Prius for running around town. I figured our 50 km/day round trips with this baby would work out OK. I can also charge the car at home. I have an unused 240V 30A (dryer outlet) I can easily extend into our the garage.

My dealer told me that the Canadian price for the 2014 i-s was set at $27,998. Assuming the Ont. Govt. maitains the $8,321 incentive, the price looks OK.

So the real question is this; is there any reason to stay away from this car??? I have few concerns; the availablity and cost of wheels (as steel rims for spares/snows?) and tires, and battery life. Can anyone out there, driving a 2012 model if they lost battery capacity and how much - as in bars or blubs or whatever?

Thanks

 

[dniemeyer99]

I am from Sudbury and I drive a IMiev. What would you like to know ?

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

I'd like to know how the battery degradation is holding up after 2-3 years in the north.

 

[DonDakin]

I have had mine since August 2012.

As far as I know the battery is fine. I keep my car in the garage all the time to smooth out the temp variations but I have driven in -25 deg c weather in Montreal no problem.

You should take the time to read thru the forum if you can there is lots of info.

It's fine in the winter but the range can drop like crazy when the heater is on full. if you have level 2 and don't ever need to go more then 50 km you will be fine in the winter.

After two winters with the car I have decided to install a diesel water heater to increase range and heat output. Not needed for short distances but an excellent range extender in winter.


The short answer to you question is yes definitely !!!!

Don.....

 

[user 1835]

I am thinknig of 'investing' in a 2014 i. We are looking for a small, second car compelenting our Prius for running around town. I figured our 50 km/day round trips with this baby would work out OK.
My dealer told me that the Canadian price for the 2014 i-s was set at $27,998. Assuming the Ont. Govt. maitains the $8,321 incentive, the price looks OK.

I bought my 2014 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive last year. I think the original price was $26,900K list, and I added $500 of options like see-through 'pano' roof. Smart offered $4K off that price, then Ontario rebate of $8500, and then adding taxes and various fees put me at $19,300.

It costs very little to run these small EV's, you'll find that 50KM is reasonable from a full charge in the winter, even with the heater on full (and the heat comes on immediately, which is a super bonus compared to small ICE cars that take the entire commute to warm up). The cold does have a major effect on range, so in the summer, you won't be recharging every day like you would in the winter.

Buy it and enjoy it!

 

[JoeS]

DriveGreen, an added bonus is the pre-heating feature: while your car is plugged in, you use a Remote control to turn on the car's heater and car seats, maybe 20-minutes before you are to leave home. You come out to a nice warm and toasty car, not having eaten any of your battery capacity - priceless! On a hot summer day you can do the same thing with aircon and the Remote.

With your short range requirements, you should have no problems even with your heater blasting away full bore for your entire snowy trip.

Regarding your specific questions:

1) Spare wheels for snow tires - you may not need snow tires at all. Some of your compatriots may wish to comment.

2) Battery capacity loss - none yet identified in North American vehicles. We're still having a debate on how that would be measured. Quite frankly, the range variation due to driving style swamps out the few percentage points of any battery capacity loss, at least at this stage of the game.

 

[sandange]

Hi Drivegreen
I'm in Quebec, 1 hour north of Montreal
We have a 2012 now for almost 2 years and put
63,000 km on it
I use my longest regular drive (92 km) to visit my son
to gauge my battery capacity/ loss
Driven this in -25C and in 32 C

I make it in one charge traveling average 70 KMh, in winter (using seat heating only), as well as in summer (no AC), with some km left over (as few as 10) , more left over in the summer.
There has been no significant change to date with the battery performance.

Definitely upgrade your EVSE to 240 level 2 to preheat the car and charge quicker.
We are very happy with the car even though we have had our first problem with the car
but Mitsubishi is addressing it.

 

[ndm]

Hello drivegreen, I live near peterborough ont. I regularly commute 110kms a day, level1 charging at work in between, I love the car, still getting 100kms range with mixed driving , and because I use a webasto diesel coolant heater my range in the winter with snow tires is around 90kms, 30k kms so far and seemingly zero change in overall performance, as for snow tires I've driven with the stock tires in pretty crappy snow storms and I would spend the extra on snows, I've had my car for 1 yr and no regrets, for reference I paid $26095 out the door for my 2012 se

 

[MLucas]

Two years for me in June, I drive 80km a day mostly highway. I recharge at work using the stock L1 charger rated at 8 amps (the new ones are better and the portable EVSE can be upgraded for L2). I have not noticed any degradation in my battery after 48k kilometers. I'm still able to do the commute 40km one way using between 7-8 bars in the winter and 5-6 in the summer. I've had no problems with the vehicle and feel its very well built.

Skip the winter tires, I've gone through two winters in the Niagara region without them. This car comes standard with Active Stability Control and it works really well.

 

[PV1]

Ndm, do snow tires make much of a difference? With the stock tires last winter, it seemed that the i-MiEV was on rails it went so well. I could only imagine tires better suited for winter. Everybody else is slipping and sliding and I'm sailing right along.

If you're questioning 2012 vs. 2014 i-MiEV, you'll pretty much have to wait for a 2014. I can only find three or four 2012's still for sale.

 

[ndm]

It's hard to say which depleted my range over the winter the extreme cold coincided with the tire install, overall I saw a loss in range of about 15%, the driving I do is about 30% highway, and you can get going as fast as you want but one day you may need to stop faster! snow tires are proven to help and they only improve the total handling of the car! the best range extender is a coolant heater! this summer I'd like to experiment with veggie oil

 

[aarond12]

We had several days here in Dallas with appreciable amounts of snow on the road. Having learned driving in Detroit, I am familiar with snow and how a car should handle.

What I saw is the i-MiEV did exceptionally well with the traction control on. Maybe the narrow tires and small contact patch were a plus in the snow. With the traction control off, the car is a completely different beast. Donuts are a little too easy (and fun!) and the car was a handful to control. It's amazing how good the traction control is on this vehicle!

I always pre-heated my i-MiEV in the winter. Yeah, I know it's not that cold here, but starting off with a toasty car allowed me to only use the first or second indent on the heater for my trip. Nice.

 

[DriveGreen]

Thanks folks, this is all good stuff. All very positive. I am going to see my dealer tomorrow. He knows I am waiting for a 2014 model. My wife wanted any colour but white. So we are waiting for a blue one. The 2014 "i" is now listed on the Ont. Govt. list of elligable vehicles for the $8,321 rebate. This car was not on the list just a few week ago. So things falling in place.

Anyone has converted the factory "brick" to an autoadjust L1/L2 charger?

Thanks again for all the good information
Laszlo

 

[DriveGreen]

We are now the proud owers of a brand new 2012 i. This baby was only registered by the dealer in February of this year as a demo. She has 150km on it. Got a good price and overall excellent service from Ben and the staff at Hamilton Mitsubishi. We will pick up the car this week.

Thanks for all your help and guidance.

 

[JoeS]

Laszlo - congratulations on your new 2012 i-MiEV!

Regarding the stock Mitsu (Panasonic) EVSE - I believe the 2012 is only 8A. I had mine converted by evseupgrade.com and have the ability to very easily program it to charge the car at 6A-12A (120vac) and 6A-13A (240vac). Best deal around, although I also like the idea of having a second (dedicated) EVSE at home and leave the original permanently in the car.

Have fun with your new car!