Mitsubishi i-MiEV 2009 Review

Mitsubishi i-MiEV

What we liked
>> Appealing style
>> Spacious interior
>> Good performance and better dynamics

Not so much
>> Price?
>> Boot space at a premium
>> Unknown quantity until fast charging arrives

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 3.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

Mitsubishi's intriguing electric i-MiEV represents so many different ways forward for both the company and the automotive consumer market.

The i-MiEV is a 'jump-start' for a type of technology that lost favour once the early automotive pioneers opted for internal-combustion engines. Volts are back in vogue and the tiny Mitsu is leading the 'charge'.

It's a car that could change society as we know it. Assuming nothing better comes along in the short term, cars like the i-MiEV will encourage the habit of parking the car at night and plugging it into the mains power as part of our nightly program of events; right up there with putting the kids to bed and setting the DVR timer to catch the Formula One.

We possibly won't embark on long-range holiday travel anymore, unless it's by coach, train or plane -- or on foot even -- and we'll be more open to self-sufficiency; installing rain-water tanks and solar panels for fewer arguments with the accounts departments of privatised utilities.

How far cars like the i-MiEV will shape society will depend on how affordable they'll be. On that point, Mitsubishi refused to discuss prospective pricing with journalists taking part in the recent i-MiEV drive program, but we wouldn't expect much change (if any) from $50,000. That's a lot for such a wee car.

Because the expected price premium for electric cars over petrol cars of similar size and market positioning would place the EVs at a disadvantage, Mitsubishi would like to see a separate VFACTS segment for electric vehicles. Whether that will happen rests with the FCAI (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries). It also depends on other car companies bringing electric vehicles to market -- but that's just about a given.

So the jury's still out on whether the i-MiEV -- presuming it ends up on sale in Australia -- will even be marketed as a light car. Just as well then that it effectively provides the interior space of a small car. Mitsubishi has maintained compact external dimensions for the i-MiEV but has adopted an egg shape for the body to maximise interior space.

The electric car features interior spaciousness more like that of a conventional small car, furthered by upright seating. However, the luggage capacity is no better than any typical car in the VFACTS Light Car segment, since it has to accommodate drivetrain components underneath the floor.

Mostly though, packaging is a minor masterpiece in the i-MiEV. Headroom in particular is impressive, and rear-seat legroom is adequate for average-sized adults. There's plenty of kneeroom in the rear and Mitsubishi has positioned the front seats high enough off the floor to allow rear-seat occupants to slip their feet underneath quite easily. Rear seats recline, but the rake on the front seats doesn't offer enough adjustment (upright) to suit this writer.

Other minor issues centered on the use of an analogue gauge for the power usage read-out, but with a digital speedo located in the centre of the analogue power gauge. You'll find yourself monitoring the majestic sweep of the needle indicating power use -- rather than the LCD gauge for speed.

The interior seemed a little Spartan; largely a consequence of the colour scheme as much as anything else.

Our time spent with the i-MiEV was very brief. There was barely time to evaluate it on inner city roads around Adelaide's city centre before we had to hand over to the next driver, but that encounter was enough to convince us not only that i-MiEV has 'legs', but this could even be a relatively appealing car with a petrol engine -- at the right price.

With both battery pack and drivetrain (an electric motor and reduction gear driving to the diff), all mounted ahead of the rear axle, the i-MiEV offers an ideal set-up for weight distribution.

While that would potentially lend the i-MiEV racetrack handling, more immediately noticeable is the car's ride. Its relatively long wheelbase and wheel-in-each-corner stance results in quite poised behaviour, although the roads upon which we drove were not exactly typical of Australian suburban roads. Certainly though, the i-MiEV's secondary-level ride is exemplary by the standards of the one other 'kei-car' we've driven lately, Subaru's Plug-in Stella.

The i-MiEV also feels quite a bit more capable in respect of cornering and straightline performance than the Subaru. On top of those dynamic traits, the i-MiEV offers twice the range too. The downside there is that it will probably take twice as long to recharge using household AC mains power. Still, it's not like that will be an issue if you're recharging the car overnight.

As Ashley Sanders, the project engineer for Australian certification of i-MiEV agreed, it's a car best left in 'B' Mode (Braking) for a more aggressive regenerative braking mode to top up the battery's charge faster. Even with the faster deceleration, the i-MiEV feels quite refined and we're of the opinion that at least one of i-MiEV's three operating modes is redundant. There's the basic Drive mode ('D'), which provides full power and a lighter degree of regeneration from braking. An Eco mode reduces the power slightly to extend range -- and then there's the 'B' mode already mentioned.

In our view, it's the standard 'D' mode that's redundant, since the 'B' mode provides the same level of power anyway and the 'Eco' mode will aid touring on the open road. The three modes give Mitsubishi a further advantage against the Plug-in Stella, which offers only two modes: one corresponding to 'D' and another corresponding to 'B'.

Steering in the i-MiEV doesn't offer much feel, but it's direct, light and consistently weighted.

There was little opportunity to assess general handling and roadholding, but by comparison with the Plug-in Stella, the i-MiEV was streets ahead, even based on our truncated drive.

As mentioned earlier, the drive program for the i-MiEV was very short, but at around-town speeds, the drivetrain contributed to NVH more apparently than wind and road noise, but that would likely not be the case at open-road speeds.

From our brief exposure to the i-MiEV -- and as previously stated -- we'd go so far as to say that this is a car almost good enough to sell here in its petrol-engined guise, the Mitsubishi 'i'. That may be a consideration for Mitsubishi, but for the moment, the importer will be concentrating its focus on the electric car.