Upgrade SE interior

[Vike]

Looking at an i SE without the Premium package in a Mitsubishi showroom, it became pretty clear to me that this configuration made almost no sense. The "upgraded" seat fabric seems just as utilitarian as that on the ES, albeit a different color and texture, and the bright trimmed two tone dashboard, crude and tiny fabric door sub-panels, and leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter don't do much to move the i "up market." Functional improvements like the 8-speaker stereo, fog lights, and alloy wheels are nice enough touches, but don't combine with the minor interior tweaks to add up to a $2k+ upgrade.

Even worse, the SE, unlike the ES, cannot be equipped with a Level 3 quick-charge port as a standalone option (I'll address quick-charging in another suggestion). The only way to get quick-charging with the SE is to upgrade to the SE Premium, which may as well be a separate trim level, as it's priced higher than the ES->SE upgrade itself. Though expensive, the SE Premium at least offers a meaningful upgrade in equipment (e.g., backup camera, nav, bluetooth).

I've seen video reviews of i-MiEVs in Europe, and they're offered there with what appear to be much nicer interiors. For 2013, I hope Mitsubishi will be revisiting their approach to the SE and give customers a reason to pay for the upgrade. As it stands, the SE without the Premium package seems like too much money for too little content.

 

[jennrod12]

How much would it cost to just upgrade to alloy wheels? I thought that was close to the cost of the SE package itself, but I don't really know much about the cost of wheels.

Jenn

 

[Vike]

How much would it cost to just upgrade to alloy wheels? I thought that was close to the cost of the SE package itself, but I don't really know much about the cost of wheels.

Four tiny alloy wheels should be in the hundreds of dollars, nowhere near $2k.

I think what's really going on with the SE and SE Premium is that Mitsu's trying to cut their losses by making a bit more money on at least some cars (surprise!). The SE Premium comes in close to $5k more than the ES, not a great value; having been in both cars, the SE Premium just doesn't feel $5k "better."

The ES definitely has a spartan retro-compact feel to it, which is fine. The problem for the SE is that it barely raises the bar on that feel; "cheap and brown with chrome strips" is not to my mind a sufficient "upgrade" from "cheap and black". What I'm asking Mitsubishi to do is re-think their approach, spend just a bit more money to make the SE meaningfully more expensive "feeling", and I think they'd do a lot better upselling their buyers. To my mind, the more success the i enjoys, the better; I don't mind having a niche product, but it might be inconvenient to own an orphan.

 

[Don]

I *think* the alloy wheels are upwards of $400 EACH across the parts counter - Not terribly expensive as far as OEM ally wheels go. The 14 X 6 BBS basket weave wheels I have on my '94 Miata were $850 EACH plus another $75 for the hubcap if bought new from Mazda and a USED alloy wheel for my son's 2001 Cavalier is $150 in the junk yard . . . . they're not a terribly scarce or desirable wheel either. Not too many places to buy alloy wheels with fit this car either . . . . .

The foglights are about $350 and I'm sure the steering wheel would be in the $250 range and the stereo probably adds another couple hundred

Agreed, the SE package isn't for everyone but after adding up the cost of everything, it was sure worth the cost to me - $2700 more for the nav package seemed pretty extravagant, but it does include the quick charge port, whether you wanted it or not - I didn't which made the nav package even less attractive

Don

 

[Vike]

This is perhaps bias on my part. I attach approximately zero value to alloy wheels, so $500 for 4 of 'em would be too much. Ditto for leather-wrapped anything - useless to me, I always wear driving gloves. I added the $400 fog lights and $700 quick charger (discussed that elsewhere in here) to my ES, but found the stock stereo surprisingly good (folks in the back don't need to hear it, they won't be there long).

My main point isn't that the non-Premium SE trim level contains nothing of value to anyone, only that Mitsubishi would be more successful selling it if it had (a) a more distinctive interior, and (b) the ability to order with a quick charger as a standalone option.