Um, this is a tough one. We’ve driven the Mitsubishi iCar before and found ourselves quite impressed with its adorable looks, tidy packaging, impressive standard kit and respectable dynamics, even if the engine was a bit raucous and the transmission was more indecisive than a four year old in a sweet shop. The Mitsubishi iMiEV is essentially the same car, except it’s powered purely by electricity, but that’s the only real difference between the two cars, which means the next 800 words are going to be a bit of a stretch. If I start to waffle a bit, please forgive me.
So anyway, as I was about to say, there I was, driving around Dublin’s southern suburbs (Sandyford, Leopardstown and Rathfarnam, mostly) in Mitsubishi’s iMiEV, which, as I may have mentioned, is an all-electric car, and I remember thinking to myself: the only thing that’s really different about this car compared to the petrol one is that the iMiEV is electric powered. Did I say that already? Oh, forgive me. My favourite colour is blue. Did I mention that before? No? Ah, good. I do hate to repeat myself.
Cool – I’ve now only about 700 words to go and I’ve just realised that I haven’t had a rant yet, so sit back, relax and enjoy: The Mitsubishi iMiEV you see in the photos is one of only 11 electric prototypes in Europe, and it’s on loan to Mitsubishi Ireland for a few months to see how it copes with Irish roads and weather. It’s also here to help Mitsubishi lobby the government to get its thumb out in terms of sustainable energy, green transport and all that malarkey. Personally, I couldn’t give a monkeys about the green implications of driving electric, because I firmly believe that the whole CO2 scare is media-hyped bunk, just like the most recent threat to humanity, the swine flu ‘pandemic.’ What I do like, however, is the idea of never having to visit a petrol station again. I’d like it if Ireland utilised its wind and wave energy so it could at the very least become energy-neutral or, better yet, an electricity supplier to other countries. I’d like it if we, and other major economies, were less susceptible to the whims of Middle-Eastern oil sheiks, and I can’t say I’m upset by the idea of cars being powered by some new technologies instead of the century-old principle of setting fire to a bag of flammable liquid slung underneath them. To achieve this, all that’s needed is a few quick-charge stations around the country or, as electro-pioneer Tesla is proposing, a standardised cassette-type battery system that would allow a full recharge (in the form of a battery swap) in less than two minutes. Oh, and the VRT needs to go, too. The technology is still pretty new, so it’s still rather expensive, and charging VRT on top of an already high price would be classic (if unsurprising) foot-shooting on the Irish government’s part.
Crikey, only 400 words to go – I’d better get a move on. Anyway, the experimental, hand-made Mitsubishi iMiEV is worth about a quarter of a million euro, but the production version goes on sale in Japan this September and could become available to Irish customers in around a year’s time. PSA will probably build the European version, with Peugeot and Citroën each getting a rebranded version to sell, in the same way that both companies currently rebrand the Mitsubishi Outlander. The electric iMiEV swaps the iCar’s 660cc, three-cylinder petrol engine and fuel tanks for a 64hp electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack, but while the petrol-engined model plods along with just 94Nm of torque, the electric version has almost twice that – a full 180Nm. That helps the iMiEV to accelerate from 0–80km/h 1.5 seconds faster than the petrol model and, best of all, because there’s only one gear and no howling, high-strung engine to worry about, progress is seamless, silent and acceptably brisk. Even accounting for the fossil fuels used to produce the electricity required to charge it, the Mitsubishi iMiEV still burns 64 percent less CO2 than the petrol-powered model (around 41g/km) and it’s a whopping 75 percent cheaper to run per kilometre than the petrol car.
Unsurprisingly, the only real problem with the iMiEV is its realistic range, which is around 100km of careful driving. That’s more than the average commute to and from work, but using the radio and A/C eats into the range even further, and recharging from a domestic socket takes around seven hours, so going anywhere is a bit stressful in it. Even with a high-capacity recharge station, the Mitsubishi iMiEV still takes 30 minutes for an 80 percent charge, so careful planning is required before embarking on even the most straightforward of journeys. Now that there’s momentum behind the electric car, however, it will improve. This is one of the first to the mass market and more will follow, getting faster, lighter, cheaper and with ever-improving range. The iMiEV is an impressive start and I, for one, would love to run one as a long-termer (hint hint) to see just how it fares in the real world. I don’t know if I’d go for the ‘LOOK AT ME!’ red-and-white paint scheme, mind. I’d be more partial to a sky-blue one, to be honest. After all, my favourite colour is blue. Did I mention that before? Ah, crap. I do hate to repeat myself.
Mitsubishi iMiEV
Engine: Permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output @ rpm: 64hp @ 8,500, 180Nm @ 0 (yes, zero)
Transmission: 1-sp direct drive, RWD
Acceleration: 0–80km/h in 13.4 seconds
Top Speed : 130km/h
Recharge Time: 7hrs (domestic) 30mins (high-capacity)
CO2 Emissions: 0g/km (41g/km for electricity)
CO2 Tax Band: A (€104 p.a.)
Weight: 1,080kg
Boot Capacity: 440 litres
Base Price: €30,000 (Est)
Price as Tested: (prototype Mitsubishi iMiEV): €250,000 (Est)
For: Silent, zippy, well packaged
Against: Range, price, recharge time
Rating: 8/10