MIMS: i-MiEV bright spark for Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi went for broke with green power at the Melbourne Motor Show by focusing attention on its all-electric i MiEV (Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle).

Looking somewhat like a four-door A-Class Mercedes-Benz, the battery-pack Mitsubishi will go on sale in the Japanese summer this year.

Introducing the i-MiEV, Mitsubishi's Australian chief Rob McEniry said the little four-seater accelerates from zero to 80km/h quicker than its conventional engined counterpart, while offering a range of up to 160km and a top speed capability of 130km/h.

Charged via a conventional 240-volt powerpoint, the MiEV needs up to seven hours for a full recharge of its lithium-ion battery pack, although the company is working on a system that will bring it up to 80 per cent of maximum power in around 30 minutes.

The i-MiEV is already on sale in the UK and is expensive: the pricetag in Great Britain is around 35,000 pounds sterling, which converts to $77,000 Australian dollars.

Mitsubishi has said it would like to get the little car into Australia, but, like the first Honda Insight, it wouldn't necessarily be entirely practical, purely because of the cost.

Notwithstanding, the company is planning to display the car's green credentials (although it plugs in to an environmentally incorrect 240-volt power supply) via two cars brought to Melbourne concurrently with the show that will be driven by politicians, VIPs and journalists in a series of events to be conducted around the country.

Also read our 2009 Melbourne motor show overview