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Mitsubishi Motors i MiEV
- Thread starter DDB
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- Electric Vehicles
SByer
'08 #383
I think it's more Mitsubishi screwing themselves over with overly optimistic range estimates. If they had stated it was a 50-mile range car, I doubt there would have been a problem.
Ouch.
Mitsubishi announces UK pricing for i-MiEV: £33,699 - Autoblog Green
Like the comments say, there are ICE versions of the i in the country and they were sold at £9000. The similar Honda Jazz is £11k.
Mitsubishi announces UK pricing for i-MiEV: £33,699 - Autoblog Green
Like the comments say, there are ICE versions of the i in the country and they were sold at £9000. The similar Honda Jazz is £11k.
My wife and I visited a newly opened local Mitsubishi dealership in Edinburgh two weeks ago. I was fully intending to transfer an iMiev deposit I put down about a year ago at the (then nearest) Fife dealership.
The actual experience wasn't up to my expectations - it fell way short.
The salesman knew next to nothing about the car despite having two weeks notice of my visit.
He couldn't tell me when or where I would be able to test drive an iMiev - but he did mention that "senior Mitsubishi employees like his boss had had a chance to drive the car." Well didn't that make us feel special -obviously as customers we don't rate the privilege of a test drive - keep that for company execs only.
He also couldn't say when they would actually start delivering to customers (but he did emphasise that priority would go to councils and other fleets).
Then came the price - for the first time I got a sense that he may know something - and what he had to say wasn't promising: Low to mid £30,000s. Of course this is now confirmed.
What a disappointment:
- As far as real world buyers go, this is an unproven car.
- It is based on a relatively low spec platform (Mitsubishi i - a £9000 kei car).
- It has just 16kWh of (potentially unreliable air-cooled) battery.
- The claimed range of 100 miles keeps eroding - down to 80 on EU cycles; I have heard 60 on US cycles and 50 in real driving.
I left that dealership without transferring my reservation and with clarity that (at least for now) the iMiev won't be for me.
I also realised just how poorly it compares with a Tesla Roadster: three times the price of course, but that gets you:
- over three times the battery (53 kWh)
- liquid cooled/heated battery which gives me much more confidence of longevity than passive air-cooled
- proven in two years of driving by real retail (non-fleet, non-"test programme") customers
- proven to be able to meet and exceed it's 244 mile US test cycle range in real driving and regularly delivering over 200 miles for ordinary drivers
- 0 to 60 times about three times quicker based on much much higher peak kW motor
- luxury fit-out
(Only two seats though. Can't have everything!)
But to me it's really interesting that you can now make a comparison between two "available" homologated "production" electric cars in the UK (quotes apply to the iMiev which still falls short of available in my experience - unlike the Tesla), and the Tesla actually seems to win on Value for Money!
kWh/£ - win for Tesla
Miles range/£ - Tesla
kW/£ - Tesla
Acceleration/£ - Tesla
Iconic vehicle, style, luxury - well that's very subjective but the Tesla Roadster takes it for me!
The actual experience wasn't up to my expectations - it fell way short.
The salesman knew next to nothing about the car despite having two weeks notice of my visit.
He couldn't tell me when or where I would be able to test drive an iMiev - but he did mention that "senior Mitsubishi employees like his boss had had a chance to drive the car." Well didn't that make us feel special -obviously as customers we don't rate the privilege of a test drive - keep that for company execs only.
He also couldn't say when they would actually start delivering to customers (but he did emphasise that priority would go to councils and other fleets).
Then came the price - for the first time I got a sense that he may know something - and what he had to say wasn't promising: Low to mid £30,000s. Of course this is now confirmed.
What a disappointment:
- As far as real world buyers go, this is an unproven car.
- It is based on a relatively low spec platform (Mitsubishi i - a £9000 kei car).
- It has just 16kWh of (potentially unreliable air-cooled) battery.
- The claimed range of 100 miles keeps eroding - down to 80 on EU cycles; I have heard 60 on US cycles and 50 in real driving.
I left that dealership without transferring my reservation and with clarity that (at least for now) the iMiev won't be for me.
I also realised just how poorly it compares with a Tesla Roadster: three times the price of course, but that gets you:
- over three times the battery (53 kWh)
- liquid cooled/heated battery which gives me much more confidence of longevity than passive air-cooled
- proven in two years of driving by real retail (non-fleet, non-"test programme") customers
- proven to be able to meet and exceed it's 244 mile US test cycle range in real driving and regularly delivering over 200 miles for ordinary drivers
- 0 to 60 times about three times quicker based on much much higher peak kW motor
- luxury fit-out
(Only two seats though. Can't have everything!)
But to me it's really interesting that you can now make a comparison between two "available" homologated "production" electric cars in the UK (quotes apply to the iMiev which still falls short of available in my experience - unlike the Tesla), and the Tesla actually seems to win on Value for Money!
kWh/£ - win for Tesla
Miles range/£ - Tesla
kW/£ - Tesla
Acceleration/£ - Tesla
Iconic vehicle, style, luxury - well that's very subjective but the Tesla Roadster takes it for me!
I'd be surprised if the US range is lower, given the EPA / EU difference for the Roaster.
However, this price is not good and gives more ammo to the EV naysayers.
It also doesn't bode well for the Leaf - assuming they sell the entire package - with its bigger similar battery.
However, this price is not good and gives more ammo to the EV naysayers.
It also doesn't bode well for the Leaf - assuming they sell the entire package - with its bigger similar battery.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure the Leaf is planning much more volume than the iMIEV and Nissan also has better deals on battery packs. So I'm fairly confident it'll end up less than the iMIEV.
Just as an aside, Mike Boxwell says he's getting about 90 miles of range out of his i MiEV right now.
This pricing is a little nuts though. And the um, service? Anyway, eventually they're going to have to figure out the pricing is bonkers and once the Leaf comes out, they'll have to compete or just throw in the towel. They're gasser range is as underwhelming as their electric pricing and it's painfully obvious that someone up the ladder has some decisions to make.
This pricing is a little nuts though. And the um, service? Anyway, eventually they're going to have to figure out the pricing is bonkers and once the Leaf comes out, they'll have to compete or just throw in the towel. They're gasser range is as underwhelming as their electric pricing and it's painfully obvious that someone up the ladder has some decisions to make.
The figure came from Tesla themselves. Interestingly, the UK page on the website says 236 miles, whereas the spec sheet says 211 miles.
A quick google search (site:teslamotors.com 236) gives a different interpretation. The new official EPA (US) range for the 2010 Roadster is 236 (down from 244 for the 2008 model: This was news to me, maybe there is a thread elsewhere?).dpeilow said:
Whereas, as you point out, the EU spec sheet gives the European Electric Vehicle Combined Cycle range as 211 miles.
Impact on iMiev comparisons: the Tesla may end up with an official range "only" ~2.5 times the iMiev. (I also take note of Mike Boxwell's 90 miles report - as reported to him by the display in the iMiev - and weigh that against Tesla owners' reports to reach a similar figure.)
However comparing Tesla Roadster and iMiev really is comparing very dis-similar things!
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
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