Road Test
First Drive: 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV Plug-In Electric
The Sounds of Silence
Listen carefully and you might hear the slight whir of its motor, the hint of wind noise and a faint thrum from the tires. Think whisper; that's how quiet this minicar is.
Could this be the sound of future driving? If Mitsubishi has its way, then this Mitsubishi i MIEV — a test bed for an electric vehicle scheduled to be introduced for 2010 — makes a pretty strong case for it. This particular car is one of a 30-vehicle test fleet that's running around Tokyo right now.
At Mitsubishi's first driving demonstration of its i MIEV (Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle) prototype, we jumped behind the wheel to check out the sounds of silence.
Battery Life
Once we're motoring along, the interior of the i MIEV seems as quiet as a church and the scenery slips silently past. When you back out of a parking lot, you can hear yourself breathe.
Apart from the lack of any recognizable noise, this i minicar seems like any current showroom model from Mitsubishi. Look closer, however, and you notice that the four-speed automatic transmission has been replaced by a two-position gear selector that lets you choose Drive or Eco mode. And where the tachometer normally goes on the instrument panel, this i sports a meter that indicates the charge status of the battery and the discharge rate.
But the most critical innovation inside this futuristic design is the replacement of conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries in favor of the latest, state-of-the-art lithium-ion kind. Smaller, lighter and more powerful, these batteries are being codeveloped by Mitsubishi Motors, GS Yuasa Ltd. and Mitsubishi Trading Co.
With the i MIEV's motor, inverter and charger located under the floor of the luggage area behind us, the 22 lithium-ion cells are artfully spread under the belly pan. Given that the car weighs 2,380 pounds — 397 pounds more than its gasoline-powered counterpart — it feels better to drive than we expect. Its low center of gravity helps minimize body roll and reduce brake dive.
The i turns into corners sharply with minimal effort, boasts ride comfort levels comparable to, if not better than the standard i minicar and actually feels more planted to the ground. Most of this has to do with its road-hugging weight, of course, but the only time you really notice the extra pounds is under heavy braking, and even then a larger brake booster minimizes the effort you have to put into the pedal.
Lightning Fast
Powering the electric-powered i is a rear-mounted, permanent-magnet synchronous motor developing 63 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque. Thanks to direct drive (no transmission to soak up the power before it gets to the wheels), the MIEV is just as quick as an i Turbo. (Perhaps this is not a very high standard, as the i Turbo's turbocharged, 660cc three-cylinder develops just 63 hp of thrust.)
Yet the i MIEV feels brilliantly quick. It jumps from rest to 60 mph in under 9.0 seconds on its way to a top speed of 82 mph. Even with three people in the car, our i matches cars with 1.0-liter engines away from the stoplights. The i MIEV never feels slow and its perfectly progressive acceleration is smooth.
Of course, if you drive like this, the batteries will run out of charge within an hour.
That's what Eco mode is all about. Flick the gear selector into Eco and the power output drops automatically from 63 hp to 43 hp, extending your cruising range. Even so, the electric i never feels underpowered in Eco mode, and the little Mitsubishi still sprints away from other annoying minicars. The way we figure it, if the Eco mode gives you another 10 miles of cruising range, then leave it in Eco.
It Depends on How You Measure a Mile
Mitsubishi claims that in ideal conditions, the i MIEV gets 100 miles on a full charge, which compares with the 40 miles promised by the Chevrolet Volt. When we asked what "ideal conditions" really means, we were told, "no air-conditioning." In the real world of city driving with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees F and the electric heater humming away for comfort, we managed a little over 60 miles before it was back to Mitsubishi headquarters for a recharge.
Given that the infrastructure supporting electric cars is still in its infancy in Japan, Mitsubishi offers a three-way charging system. There's plug-in recharging using the Japanese grid, which takes 14 hours for a full charge on a 100-volt domestic outlet or half that time on a 200-volt industrial outlet. There's also a Mitsubishi-built quick-charge system that replenishes 80 percent of the battery charge in just 30 minutes.
Mitsubishi also tells us that if you charge at night, you can reduce your running costs by 87 percent compared to the conventional gasoline-powered i. If you take into account the CO2 emissions produced by Japan's electric power plants (most use nuclear power) that produce the electricity required to refuel the car, then the i MIEV emits only 28 percent of the CO2 of a comparable gasoline-powered i.
Coming to a Store Near You
The 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV is expected to go on sale by the end of 2009 for around 2.5 million yen ($24,000), although Japanese government subsidies for zero-emissions cars reduce this price by 50 percent.
As a kind of preview as to what's coming in terms of future zero-emissions cars, the i MIEV is a significant breakthrough. But to tell the truth, we were hoping for a car with a reliable real-world range of at least 90 miles — not just a theoretical range — which would permit a useful half-day trip before a quick recharge at lunchtime.
This is certainly the direction Mitsubishi wants to go. At the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show, it displayed the i MIEV Sport, a futuristic concept car with an aluminum chassis, a hub-mounted electric motor for each front wheel and a single electric motor to power the rear wheels, plus the promise of 90 hp and a 120-mile cruising range.
At this point, however, our short drive demonstrates that while the next generation of lithium batteries might provide better performance at less weight and size than the current nickel-metal hydride batteries, they still deliver only barely acceptable performance and cruising range.
For the moment, the i MIEV is a useful city runabout, but it needs a battery pack that's half the size and weight of these lithium-ion cells with twice the range before it can deliver the utility we expect from a real automobile. Right now, the Mitsubishi i MIEV is an emissions solution, not a transportation solution.
Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.
Could this be the sound of future driving? If Mitsubishi has its way, then this Mitsubishi i MIEV — a test bed for an electric vehicle scheduled to be introduced for 2010 — makes a pretty strong case for it. This particular car is one of a 30-vehicle test fleet that's running around Tokyo right now.
At Mitsubishi's first driving demonstration of its i MIEV (Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle) prototype, we jumped behind the wheel to check out the sounds of silence.
Battery Life
Once we're motoring along, the interior of the i MIEV seems as quiet as a church and the scenery slips silently past. When you back out of a parking lot, you can hear yourself breathe.
Apart from the lack of any recognizable noise, this i minicar seems like any current showroom model from Mitsubishi. Look closer, however, and you notice that the four-speed automatic transmission has been replaced by a two-position gear selector that lets you choose Drive or Eco mode. And where the tachometer normally goes on the instrument panel, this i sports a meter that indicates the charge status of the battery and the discharge rate.
But the most critical innovation inside this futuristic design is the replacement of conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries in favor of the latest, state-of-the-art lithium-ion kind. Smaller, lighter and more powerful, these batteries are being codeveloped by Mitsubishi Motors, GS Yuasa Ltd. and Mitsubishi Trading Co.
With the i MIEV's motor, inverter and charger located under the floor of the luggage area behind us, the 22 lithium-ion cells are artfully spread under the belly pan. Given that the car weighs 2,380 pounds — 397 pounds more than its gasoline-powered counterpart — it feels better to drive than we expect. Its low center of gravity helps minimize body roll and reduce brake dive.
The i turns into corners sharply with minimal effort, boasts ride comfort levels comparable to, if not better than the standard i minicar and actually feels more planted to the ground. Most of this has to do with its road-hugging weight, of course, but the only time you really notice the extra pounds is under heavy braking, and even then a larger brake booster minimizes the effort you have to put into the pedal.
Lightning Fast
Powering the electric-powered i is a rear-mounted, permanent-magnet synchronous motor developing 63 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque. Thanks to direct drive (no transmission to soak up the power before it gets to the wheels), the MIEV is just as quick as an i Turbo. (Perhaps this is not a very high standard, as the i Turbo's turbocharged, 660cc three-cylinder develops just 63 hp of thrust.)
Yet the i MIEV feels brilliantly quick. It jumps from rest to 60 mph in under 9.0 seconds on its way to a top speed of 82 mph. Even with three people in the car, our i matches cars with 1.0-liter engines away from the stoplights. The i MIEV never feels slow and its perfectly progressive acceleration is smooth.
Of course, if you drive like this, the batteries will run out of charge within an hour.
That's what Eco mode is all about. Flick the gear selector into Eco and the power output drops automatically from 63 hp to 43 hp, extending your cruising range. Even so, the electric i never feels underpowered in Eco mode, and the little Mitsubishi still sprints away from other annoying minicars. The way we figure it, if the Eco mode gives you another 10 miles of cruising range, then leave it in Eco.
It Depends on How You Measure a Mile
Mitsubishi claims that in ideal conditions, the i MIEV gets 100 miles on a full charge, which compares with the 40 miles promised by the Chevrolet Volt. When we asked what "ideal conditions" really means, we were told, "no air-conditioning." In the real world of city driving with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees F and the electric heater humming away for comfort, we managed a little over 60 miles before it was back to Mitsubishi headquarters for a recharge.
Given that the infrastructure supporting electric cars is still in its infancy in Japan, Mitsubishi offers a three-way charging system. There's plug-in recharging using the Japanese grid, which takes 14 hours for a full charge on a 100-volt domestic outlet or half that time on a 200-volt industrial outlet. There's also a Mitsubishi-built quick-charge system that replenishes 80 percent of the battery charge in just 30 minutes.
Mitsubishi also tells us that if you charge at night, you can reduce your running costs by 87 percent compared to the conventional gasoline-powered i. If you take into account the CO2 emissions produced by Japan's electric power plants (most use nuclear power) that produce the electricity required to refuel the car, then the i MIEV emits only 28 percent of the CO2 of a comparable gasoline-powered i.
Coming to a Store Near You
The 2010 Mitsubishi i MIEV is expected to go on sale by the end of 2009 for around 2.5 million yen ($24,000), although Japanese government subsidies for zero-emissions cars reduce this price by 50 percent.
As a kind of preview as to what's coming in terms of future zero-emissions cars, the i MIEV is a significant breakthrough. But to tell the truth, we were hoping for a car with a reliable real-world range of at least 90 miles — not just a theoretical range — which would permit a useful half-day trip before a quick recharge at lunchtime.
This is certainly the direction Mitsubishi wants to go. At the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show, it displayed the i MIEV Sport, a futuristic concept car with an aluminum chassis, a hub-mounted electric motor for each front wheel and a single electric motor to power the rear wheels, plus the promise of 90 hp and a 120-mile cruising range.
At this point, however, our short drive demonstrates that while the next generation of lithium batteries might provide better performance at less weight and size than the current nickel-metal hydride batteries, they still deliver only barely acceptable performance and cruising range.
For the moment, the i MIEV is a useful city runabout, but it needs a battery pack that's half the size and weight of these lithium-ion cells with twice the range before it can deliver the utility we expect from a real automobile. Right now, the Mitsubishi i MIEV is an emissions solution, not a transportation solution.
Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.
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