Mitsubishi i-EV registration

Do you own or use a EV. Then this is a good place to discuss things.
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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:23 pm

timpootle wrote:The oficial launch was on Monday. I wasn't notified, or invited to order a car. Were you?


NOPE :? but I bet they sold my details on :evil:

ChrisB
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MB
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Re: Mitsubishi i-EV. Just registered... from Ed. in Plymouth

Postby MB » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:29 pm

ex925 wrote:Another idea is to approach "Motability", seeking to persuade them to include cars such as the G_Wizz and the "i" amongst their options, as I expect EVs might answer many disabled drivers' local mobility needs. Right now, I hope to hear from the local Mitsubishi (AND Ford...) dealer pretty soon. I shall put a reminder in my diary for six weeks from now. (That's the projected primary recovery average for tomorrow's operation). And finally, should we at BVS be campaigning to get EVs added to Motability options, perhaps?



It's a good point. I had a journalist from Mobility Today magazine over to test my G-Wiz last week. He's writing an article about electric vehicles for the magazine.

In the short and medium term, I think it could be a big boost for electric vehicle sales by getting them on the Motability register. The G-Wiz, for instance, is easy to get into and out of and is really easy to drive.
My new book is out: The 2011 Electric Car Guide is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

astra
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Lithium phosphate

Postby astra » Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:08 pm

Could they use cheaper Lithium phosphate batteries to reduce the cost?






version of Mitsubishi's i. (I guess it's going to get called an i Car unofficially!)

As you may or may not know, Mitsubishi have been working on an electric version, which seems to be out in Japan. There's plenty of videos on YouTube about it. I didn't realise the i had made it to the UK until a few days ago, when I caught a guy at a local parking lot in one. We were both interested in each other's cars (he in my City El and me in his i as I wasn't sure if it was the petrol version or not).

Significantly impressed by the car I saw I headed to our local dealer, who let me do a test-drive. The sales guy was great and let me really just drive the thing without doing any hard sales stuff at me. The petrol version, with a small 650 cc engine, seemed capable enough in town traffic and held it's own on the motorway beyond the legal limit. Steering was precise and despite it's diminutive stature the i held the road without any issues at all.

The petrol version however stank at acceleration from standing, with a horrible turbo lag from standing of about half a second or more. Kickdown was slightly laggy but I'm guessing the electric version won't need that! :) I was really impressed by this car as it seems to be a proper vehicle, without the plastic 'kinder toy' feel of some EVs out there. Granted, I drove the petrol version but I've been assured that the electric one will have identical trim and quality. Would I buy the petrol one? No, the engine was far too noisy on acceleration and I missed the nice quiet feeling you get at lights in an EV or a PHEV and no engine thumping away.

There seemed to be room in the back for two adults as well as plenty of room up front. Height is good in front and back too but of course, being so small, trunk space is limited. It would be enough for a few groceries, or weekend away cases. We have a Golden Labrador and a Border Collie. Suffice to say that were we to buy an iEV we'd be putting the dogs on the rear seat!

On the basis of the ride I'd be more than happy to go test the electric one when it comes out and have made sure I'm on the list. Mitsubishi UK have told me they're looking at the Q4 of this year before they get limited numbers through and at that point will probably start selling them in Q1 2009. I'm a bit disappointed that it's not sooner, as my City El has got some charger-based issues and I'm struggling to carry all my teaching equipment and instruments in it. I'm also really pushing what is to all intents and purposes a small city commuter car to the limit with 200+ miles every week of hard work, 40 miles of which is main A road (60mph+) roads with poor quality surface and speed limits well above what the El can cope with.

Anyway, Mitsubishi now have an iEV registration page for those interested in the car... It seems to be UK only at the moment now and I can't see any mention of it on US sites.

http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/i-ev/register.asp If you're a UK resident it may be worth your while to register interest. Perhaps the more who register the faster things will move? Maybe?[/quote]

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timpootle
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Re: Lithium phosphate

Postby timpootle » Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:32 am

astra wrote:Could they use cheaper Lithium phosphate batteries to reduce the cost?


No, they couldn't. We can do what we like, swapping motors and battery chemistry at will to try things out. A car manufacturer does that at the design stage, but then it all gets set in stone for production.

Mitsubishi will have chosen their power supply for a range of criteria, including availability, reliability, cost, power density, energy density, safety, and probably a dozen more.

I am very pleased to see a real electric car for sale (if indeed they are really for sale- I haven't been to the dealer yet to check). You get a manufacturers warranty, product support, spares, a dealer network.

If you want to start tinkering with the design, this probably isn't the best vehicle for you to start with.
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i

Postby Brandnew » Sat Sep 19, 2009 8:27 pm

Just a quick response to comments about the i (petrol version). I have had one for a year. Lovely little car EXCEPT around town it only achieves 30mpg. Mitsubishi are remarkably unconcerned - their response was you can't exect to achieve the figures we quote as they are derived from laboratory testing!!!


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