My car has no tailpipe...

...it has no ICE or gas tank either.

I love my Prius, and it will remain my long distance car, but I pulled the trigger today and bought a Mitsubishi I. It's a perfect size and range for 90% of my driving, and it's here now. The Federal tax credit brings the price into the range of a standard Prius. Dealer gave a $1250 discount from MSRP.

 

Well, after 48 miles, I can't write the most in depth review, but I picked it up at the dealer yesterday with 5 miles on the odometer and a full tank of electricity. The range remaining (RR) was 73 miles. After 48 miles of driving, the RR reads 45, which means my driving style added some 20 miles to the range if I continue using this tank the same way. (ok, enough of this tank language). I think being an experienced Prius driver, helps conserve charge...although you have to lose the P&G strategy. The stick shift lets you select three driving modes with increasingly heavy battery regeneration. Applying the brakes seems to have the same regenerative capacity as the three driving modes and I don't see that it matters which one or how you use them...but I need to experience it more to learn. But if you are going down a really steep and long hill, I can see how it would pay to use the Eco or Braking driving mode.

The car feels quite solid on the ground. for a funny looking small car, it has a quite heavy feeling for its size. The batteries give it a low center of gravity. The interior room is also excellent for its outward size.

I will be using it for commuting to work, errands, visiting the folks, and probably trips into Manhattan, where I expect to park it quite easily.

The interior might leave you a little disappointed because it is spartan...The door armrests could have been a little longer, wider and softer. I would have preferred for the heat/AC controls to be a little higher up on the dash. But the seats seem quite comfortable and supportive with enough leg room up front. The back is well...the back. The rear seats fold down easily enough even from the tailgate giving plenty of cargo room.

The electric motor whines a bit, but it is not an uncomfortable sound. The pedestrian warning noise is a little high pitched and I do sort of find it annoying when I drive with the windows open.

Being so light and spartan is part of what gives the imiev its EPA rating as the most efficient car at 112 mpge. It's SciB batteries are supposed to be able to handle twice as many charges as other LiIon batteries (up to 6,000 cycles), but packs a little less juice. So I am hoping to not experience capacity loss anytime soon.

I'd be happy to answer questions.

 

I'm not really expecting to save money on electric. My actual charge per kwh, with taxes,etc. comes out to 25 cents. I figure that at this rate, and with my Prius getting at least 50 mpg, and gas at $4.00 per gallon, it will be a wash. I'll have to find my Kill-o-watt meter and let you all know how much juice I'm sipping.

Con Ed does have a time of use program, which I will probably NOT sign up for because while they give you a rate about 6 cents perkwh less from 10PM to 10 AM, they actually charge you more than normal (I haven't been able to figure out how much more yet) during the day. So, it's a crap shoot. And Con Ed charges more for juice during the summer, and if you use more than a certain amount. Ahhh, the joys of living in the big city.

 

Have not tried the chaedemo charger...I have heard there are literally none in the US, and certainly none in NY that I know of. I really don't plan on charging my car anywhere except home and maybe work. I'm self employed, so I will pay for my juice no matter what. Also heard recently that chaedemo will not be the quick charge standard adopted in the US.

I am not aware of any switch to turn off the noise maker.

I'm 5' 10", 220 lbs, and fit in quite easily, and the doors, seats, roofline make entering and exiting almost effortless. I'll even by able to wear my Fedora during the winter.

As far as the three driving modes, as I may have mentioned before, I like having them there, and I can see the advantages of each, but I'm almost certain you can achieve the same level of regen with the brake pedal.

 

If you read this SciB battery review, you will run out and get a Miev now.

Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV Powered by Toshiba Li-Ion’s - CleanMPG Forums

 

Good idea about the stock. Thanks.

 

all things to be considered... You seem well versed on the financial side of things...and I know that in the summer Con Ed struggles to keep the NYC grid going which puts a great deal of financial pressure on them. They need more daytime customers in the summer like they need a hole in the head.

I find their time of use rate schedule to be a joke...yes they will give you a lower rate at night, but they raise your daytime rate, so chances are you don't come out ahead.

 

I've never heard of con Ed offering green energy. All of NYCs power comes from natural gas and nuclear, so from a CO2 perspective, it is considered fairly "clean".

I've looked at PV costs and they are ridiculous here. The dealer/installers want to rob you blind. One company is offering a lease plan where the break even point is 30 years.