Test Drive

[jjlink]

I did a quick test drive of the SE on local streets in Carmel California yesterday and it seemed pretty good.

 

[bparker555]

I had a quick test drive this evening at the dealership in San Bernardino, California. They just received two "i"s: a silver ES and a white/blue SE.

I had put my deposit down several weeks ago but this was the first time I had seen a real vehicle. I drove the ES, which is what I have on order. The drive included both city streets and a stretch on the freeway. The on-ramp was downhill, which I'm sure helped, but the car had no trouble getting up to 65 miles per hour and merging in. The car felt stable and smooth at speed. Handling on the city streets was very satisfactory. Good control in a simulated panic stop.

The overall feel of the vehicle was solid and well-constructed. Actually much more solid than I expected. Interior was nice and the cloth upholstery had a good feel to it. I'm 6' 5" and had no problem at all getting a comfortable driving position. Plenty of head room even for me. Comfortable seat backs and head rest. Good head room in the back seat also but no leg room for a tall person if the front seat is slid back.

The car is beautifully silent and smooth driving at low speeds. Great turning circle.

The only real reservation I have about the design and implementation is the truncated front-end. I wish they had a few more feet up there for additional crush zone. I'm still sold on the car though. It definitely exceeded my expectations. Mine is supposed to arrive in mid-March and I'm really looking forward to it.

Ben Parker

 

[PV1]

Hello. I just joined on after following the I for several weeks. I was planning to take a test drive of a silver ES tomorrow. Any pointers on what I should look for? Also, would it be able to make a 70 mile commute at 45 MPH with mild hills and traffic? Are dealers in PA selling them or do they have to be ordered? Another local dealer has 5 on the lot. The only thing I wish this one had is a quick charge port (has cold weather package).

 

[fjpod]

Hello. I just joined on after following the I for several weeks. I was planning to take a test drive of a silver ES tomorrow. Any pointers on what I should look for? Also, would it be able to make a 70 mile commute at 45 MPH with mild hills and traffic? Are dealers in PA selling them or do they have to be ordered? Another local dealer has 5 on the lot. The only thing I wish this one had is a quick charge port (has cold weather package).

Seventy miles might be a stretch. Is that one way or round trip. You might need to charge at work, and/or limit your use of climate control. Hypermiling would help.

As much as I like the idea of the quick charging port, are you anywhere near one?

 

[PV1]

Hi. 70 miles is round-trip total. I rarely use active climate control (AC, heat), just the vent or windows down in slower traffic. I would also take advantage of as much regen as possible for holding back or slowing down (took 5 mile test drive in a LEAf and only dropped range by 1 mile) and of course coasting if the hills right. There aren't any quick chargers around yet, but I'd like to have it when they become available. 45 MPH is about the maximum for about 40% of the trip, the rest is 25-40 MPH. Level 1 charging might be possible at work, or I could use the level 2 at the dealer since it's along the way home if they allow it.

 

[tonymil]

This blogger reports getting over 80 miles per charge without hypermiling but with constant b mode (regen). I'd personally be very nervous about trying to make a 70 mile commute without the ability to charge at work. I'd be too worried about bad weather, bad traffic, etc. eating up any cushion.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2232095&page=5

 

[TaosEV]

Why not as your dealer if you can take the demo car out on your commute route for a test run?

And now (before you buy) is the time to check out the work charging possibilities. Even a few hours on a Level 1 charger at work wold give you plenty of range to get home.

Heavy traffic has mixed effects of EV range. Being stopped in traffic for a long period of time has noneffect on range: there's no "idle" using up fuel. Lots of stop and gos will use p some charge because it takes more energy to get the vehicle to a specific speed than it does to maintain that speed.

 

[PV1]

I was thinking along those lines. I thought that maybe borrow on a Saturday, drive it around on my route to test it on Sunday, and then take it back on Monday to allow time to charge since only Level 1 is available at my house. I calculated that 5 hours on level 1 is slightly more than an hour on level 2, giving almost a kilowatt more power. Since the level 1 only pulls about 900 watts (same as a coffee maker, less than a space heater), finding a suitable outlet shouldn't be difficult.

 

[fjpod]

bottom line...you have too many variables to predict whether you will make it 70 miles on one charge.

 

[JoeS]

Just because you CAN go 70 miles without recharging in an iMiEV deosn't mean you SHOULD do this on a regular basis. The issue is battery longevity and, although not as critical as for lead-acid batteries, the data available so far indicates that Lithiums will also last significantly longer with reduced depth-of-discharge (DOD). Also, you always want to leave yourself a comfortable safety margin for unexpected detours during your commute.

PV1, I agree with TaosEV that your best bet is to arrange for some simple charging when you get to work - even the wimpy Mitsubishi Level 1 EVSE (120vac 8A) that comes with the iMiEV would be sufficient to provide you with a very comfortable range improvement for your daily commute as well as diminish the stress on your battery (and yourself) while you charge at work. You can always offer to pay for the electricity you use and if your company doesn't let you then maybe you can find a friendly neighbor close to your work who will.

As you might have seen on some other posts, the iMiEV onboard battery charger can easily handle higher currents at 120vac. Some of us have the SPX Power Xpress which can handle either 120vac or 240vac (Level 1 or Level 2) and has input current which can be set for 12A or 16A (or higher for future EVs) - this can be used as a transportable unit which you could take with you to work. Many commercial buildings have 120vac 20A outlets so you could very easily fully recharge your iMiEV while at work. Another alternative worth considering is EVSEUpgrade.com which can upgrade the Mitsubishi EVSE (made by Panasonic) to 120v/240v 13A (best $$/performance value IMO). (Disclaimer: I have no connection with either SPX or EVSEUpgrage.com)

 

[PV1]

I've looked at evseupgrade.com. I like the I because it's a basic car and it's more affordable. Nothing at this point is certain, but should be by fall. I may end up with the LEAF because of the extra range. I'm just wondering that EPA rates about 90 miles range in the city, I don't do any highway driving, and can make adjustments to drive slower to extend range. If the battery is capped to 92%, that leaves 14.72 kwh usable, each mile using 164 wh for a 90 mile range. For 70 miles, this usage can increase to 210 wh/mile. If the guy in the link above is getting 80 miles per charge without hypermiling, he's averaging 184 wh/mile. I would need to average between 180-190 wh/mile to get the range and not stress the batteries, leaving 10-15% SOC. I will more than likely have a plug available, but if not, maybe I can install a charging station since the building houses the electrical union and part of the training for electrical apprentices. Of course, the dealer is on my route about halfway home, so in a pinch, I could stop for an hour or two to make it home.

 

[PV1]

It was a mixed day yesterday. I got the test drive in the silver ES. It was very nice, in my opinion better to drive than the LEAF. Also, my dealer experience was better with Mitsubishi than with Nissan and they said that they could make a good deal since they are trying to sell it (they sold the first one in the area). I also found out that there is a red Tesla Roadster in the area, haven't seen it yet. Finally, I didn't get the apprenticeship, so now I won't be needing a 70 mile daily range.

Things I noticed about the I. With 2-3 bars missing on the gauge, the RR was 53 miles at the start, and ended at 49, with some A/C usage in the final 1/2 mile of a 6 mile test drive. Regen is very strong. The I starts very quickly, faster than the LEAF and about the same as my car when its warm. Rear legroom is a touch better than the LEAF, and I found the radio to sound pretty good. The suspension also smoothes out washboards effectively.

 

[JrCRXHF]

Put her down in B mode you will get really hard regen.

Over all if you like touch screen info and light color better finished off inside then the leaf might make more since but if you are buying the car to be the biggest bang for the buck and the best city driving then the I is much better.

 

[PV1]

That's what I was talking about, the regen in B. I found it was easier for me in Pittsburgh traffic to leave it in drive and use the brake pedal to modulate regen. I don't mind the dark interior (and kind of prefer it since my Cavalier has it) and like physical buttons on the radio better than a touch screen. I'm looking for an affordable EV, and the I fits me well.

 

[jray3]

Besides the affordability and simplicity, along with better regen and more driving fun, I'm noticing in my friends' "Leaves" that the light beige interior is a dirt magnet and easliy shows claw marks from canine passengers... The i has very durable upholstery, and though the felt carpet pills up quickly, the floor mats are very tough. As one who's trying to convince his wife to retire her '92 Civic, I can attest to the practicality of long-lived uphostery!

B mode is great for heavy traffic 1-pedal driving, but I think it's a matter of "not if but when" an i gets rear-ended because it can slow down quickly and silently without showing any red lights....

 

[JoeS]

B mode is great for heavy traffic 1-pedal driving, but I think it's a matter of "not if but when" an i gets rear-ended because it can slow down quickly and silently without showing any red lights....

Which is why it behooves us to keep it in D in heavy traffic and use our brakes which gets us even better regen than B AND shows the brake lights, even though using B is no different than downshifting a stick shift when it comes to slowing down without the brake lights turning on. Always keep an eye out for distracted drivers behind us, as the last thing we want is crunches followed by a recall where they'd take B away from us... (having ability to control regen - and especially B - was one of the major reasons I bought the iMiEV).
In the future I hope all the electric car makers provide us with the option of determining our own regen preference amount AND a paddle on the wheel to manually control regen (I have a joystick on my Gen1 Insight mod which does this). Brake lights could be accelerometer activated.

 

[PV1]

Getting rear-ended is something I always worry about. A switch system could be easily added to the gearshift and throttle to activate brake lights when in B. Or you could be like Tesla, and always have the brake lights come on when the throttle is released. A simple swich could do this.

 

[fjpod]

It probably would be a good idea for a brake light to come on in B. I predict this will be a recall.

 

[freddotu]

My wife and I visited the local Mitsubishi dealership, traveling there by our 2003 Rav4EV to perhaps lend some credibility to our visit. After about ten minutes looking at the five outside vehicles, we went inside to open the doors and poke around the SE in the showroom. At least three salesmen passed the vehicle as we were examining the features, yet no one indicated they had seen us. After learning what little we could in this manner, we exited the showroom to take photos of the five price sheets on the windows. Just as that was completed, a salesman asked us if all our questions had been answered. I was rude with my reply, but tempered it somewhat. I explained that I had few questions, but desired to perform a test drive. He appeared surprised that I would ask for a test drive and I'm not quite sure why.

The test drive was unremarkable, but pleasant. The SE we drove displayed RR of 50 miles, after the salesman removed the charging cable. My wife and I are mostly hypermilers, and drove the vehicle in eco mode most of the time. I pushed it into D at one point and applied a bit more abrupt pressure to the pedal. It wasn't "beating on it" but I would not drive it in this manner normally. I got the impression from the salesman that other drivers, including the sales crew, are much less gentle.

During the drive, the RR figure changed very little and very slowly. It reached a low of 46 miles, but began to climb again as my wife drove. It returned to 50 as we pulled into the dealership, after about a 5 mile test circuit.

The steering has a good feel. I've only just read that it's speed sensitive, and I think they did a good job. The interior space is just about that of our Scion xA, including dash placement and space around the front seat passenger. Certainly the cargo area is a bit smaller, but that's no big deal for us.

The salesman wasn't particularly up on things and told us that the remote for the charge timer was an SE option only. He knew nothing about the pack cooling system and only moments ago did I learn that it is part of the chademo charge system and not part of the level one or two system. I don't think we will spring for extra cost of level three.

The nav screen and associated buttons and features is another item we need not purchase. I don't need GPS in my area and if traveling afield, can use Google Maps before departure, or use traditional methods as needed. I suppose traditional methods would be Google Maps nowadays.

All in all, my wife and I agree that it's a responsive little runabout and if we can find a good deal, one will reach our doorstep by year's end.

 

[JoeS]

Hi freddotu, glad you found driving the iMiEV a pleasant experience. Your hypermiling skills certainly showed and you'll find the iMiev especially responsive to such gentle treatment, with the primary range killer being high speeds. I like your very apt choice of words "responsive little runabout".

Yes, your dealership experience is similar to that of many - with all the apparent time on their hands, I'm irked that salespeople don't at least read if not memorize their own vehicle owner's manuals…

Agree with you on the center console. I've mounted a very inexpensive GPS on top of the left side of my dashboard primarily to display trip miles which I reset every day and it's always fun to play games such as trip miles + RR be more than the RR one started with. On long trips it's also nice to be aware of GPS distance-to-go to destination vs. RR.

We normally keep the back seats down and a few large plastic containers back there (for groceries) and have found that with the seats down the aft space can really hold a lot of stuff…

All the best to you, and if you have any questions there are plenty of us very happy owners who can hopefully answer them.