Mitsu's iMIEV Turns Even Jaded New Yorkers' Heads

Mitsu's iMIEV Turns Even Jaded New Yorkers' Heads

By John O'Dell March 20, 2008
By Robert E. Calem, Contributor

New York -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has developed a fully electric version of its i minicar for the domestic Japanese market and is exploring plans to import it to the U.S., the company announced at the New York International Auto Show.

Called the iMIEV, for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle, it is powered by an 88-module, four-cell lithium-ion battery pack that sits under the passengers and a motor, charger and inverter positioned above the rear axle.

The layout is based on the “rear-midship” platform of the gasoline-powered i that has been sold in Japan since 2006, and it means the EV version can retain that car’s full interior volume – with no loss of space for passengers or cargo. Tetsuro Aikawa, managing director in charge of product development at Mitsubishi in Okazaki, Japan, said the range of the iMIEV in the U.S.  would be 80 miles in city driving or 75 miles at highway speeds (78 combined city/highway), based on Mitsubishi’s own tests.

It would not be possible to increase the range without a complete redesign of the present vehicle to accommodate a larger battery pack, he said in an interview with Green Car Advisor.

But Mitsubishi considers the range to be sufficient for in-city driving, which is the company’s intent for the vehicle, Aikawa said.

With its current structure, Aikawa conceded, the car would not pass U.S. side-impact safety tests. Nevertheless, the company will conduct fleet tests of the iMiEV with a U.S. power company beginning next fall, he said.

Following that test, he said, the company will determine whether there could be a viable market for the electric vehicle in the U.S. that would make it worthwhile to modify the Japanese market vehicle to comply with U.S. safety standards.

The charging system in a U.S. car also could be altered.

The Japanese vehicle will have both a 30-minute "quick charger" and a 110/220-volt charger system that requires 7-14 hours to fully charge the car. But the quick charger may be left out of a U.S.-bound iMIEV because of the lack of rapid charging stations here, Aikawa said.

In a road test of the iMiEV concept vehicle earlier this week in New York , the car performed well, with a ride that was comfortable, though not cushy, even on one stretch of cobblestone road.

With the transmission in standard “Drive” mode, acceleration, while not thrill-inducing, was certainly sufficient to keep up with the slow-moving city traffic, which rarely surpassed 40 miles per hour.

Switching to “Eco” mode dialed the power far down, however, and acceleration from a stoplight was agonizingly slow – but all the better to generate curious and approving stares from a crowd of jaded New Yorkers.

If that brief reception was any indication, Mitsubishi might have a chance to score big with this one.

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.