If you work and play in an urban environment you might be intrigued by the prospects of
owning an electric car.
And you'd be surprised to learn that there are a number of them on the market.
Well kind of - many manufacturers limit sales to a handful of markets.
But there are some that are more widely available and almost none cheaper than the Mitsubishi
i-MiEV.
2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEVThere are currently about a dozen fully electric cars available
to U.S. consumers, if you live in selected geographical areas, ranging in price from
under $25,000 for a base i-MiEV to well over $100,000 for a high-end Tesla Model S and
all of them qualify for a $7,500 federal income tax credit.
By EPA estimates, it costs on average between $500 and $700 per year to juice one, saving
owners $5,000 to $6000 in fuel costs over 5 years.
That equates to using about 8 gallons of petroleum annually whereas your gas-fueled car might
use well over 500.
And of course, there are zero tailpipe emissions.
They come in a variety of bodystyles but none as unusual as this.
I first drove an i-MiEV prototype in 2009 and this is my first go-around since.
Mitsu skipped the 2015 model year for the i-MiEV and sold less than 200 of them last
year.
It’s back for 2016 in all of its golf-cart glory and if you leave off the $2,000 navigation
package, it comes in as the most affordable electric vehicle in America with an MSRP of
$23,845 including destination, beating out the smart fortwo electric drive coupe by about
$2,000.
But whereas Hyundai and Kia have demonstrated that a quality car doesn’t have to be expensive,
Mitsu subscribes to the theory that you get what you pay for.
Understandably, not everyone can afford a $30,000 Nissan LAEAF and the fact that Mitsu
delivers a 5-door electric car with a 62 mile driving range on the cheap is fundamentally
commendable.
It’s rear drive and uses a 16kWh lithium-ion drive battery that feeds an electric motor
that produces 66 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque.
For some perspective, the LEAF’s larger battery produces 107 horsepower, 187 pound-feet
of torque and delivers a driving range of 84 miles.
But the i-MiEV is smaller, a subcompact, and Mitsu has kept the weight down to an impressive
2,579 pounds considerably less than even a BMW i3.
The i-MiEV has 2 charge ports: one for plugging into your standard household outlet and public
charging stations and another for the hard-to-find level 3 charger which takes a mere 15 minutes
to replenish the battery.
If you live off of 120V it takes between 14 and 22 hours to fully charge and about 6 hours
at a 240V charging station.
All electrified cars I’ve driven incorporate EV-specific whiz-bang electronics and provide
a smartphone app to monitor charge status and the like.
You’ll find very little of that here.
Instead you get things like this radio transmitter key fob with pull out antenna and a navi system
with POIs including needles gas stations.
It’s all as if Mitsu spent 99% of their energy developing the propulsion system and
1% on the car surrounding it.
The only factory installed option you can get is this newly available touchscreen navigation
system, and frankly it's not half bad.
But everything else about this interior lets you know exactly how Mitsu keeps the price
so low.
It is embarrassingly cheap.
From the hollow sounding doors to the dreadful appearance of the cabin, everything feels
like it’s one more touch away from breaking.
As if you needed any more proof, this solidifies that Mitsu is either clueless or simply doesn’t
care about the demands of the American market.
Fact of the matter is that the i-MiEV drives pretty well.
The 60-90 mile range is sufficient for most daily activities, it's electric quick and
the ride is tuned for softness.
You sit elevated with this huge windshield out ahead and as long as you're not on the
highway it’s pleasantly quiet.
With the optional USB port and navi package, this i-MiEV ES stickers for $25,980.
If low price is your only criteria for EV purchase, then here’s your answer.
Otherwise, aspire for something more.