Mitsubishi i-MiEV: Enter the electric vehicle

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Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Ja­pan is taking great strides in cre­ating products to address the growing concerns of green house gas emis­sions produced by the myriads of motor vehi­cles presently operating worldwide.

Stemming from its early history of intro­ducing economically-friendly vehicles as far back as 1966, the automaker has gone through several proto­types, concept models and production models through the decades.

The company recently made history by becoming the first major manufacturer to bring a fully electric vehicle (EV) to Malaysian shores with the Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle (i-MiEV), with a pilot programme and test demonstration in Langkawi.

 

With zero emissions and a range of 150 kilometres on a single full charge, the EV lets one glimpse into the foreseeable future when fossil fuels would have been de­pleted and mankind must rely on other sources of energy.

At first sight, the vehicle did seem to be on the tiny side with a length of 3,475mm. The front end was notably short as there was no combustion engine. This, along with a relatively long wheelbase of 2,550mm, allowed more interior space.

In lieu of a fossil fuel powertrain were other necessary components of the vehicle: 12 volt battery (to power the vehicle’s electronics), fluid compartments for brake fluid, power steering and so on.

In lieu of a fossil fuel tank and a related fuel cap, there were two electrical inlets to facilitate the replenishment of the 16kWh volt battery: one for normal charging via a normal household outlet (taking up to eight hours) and the other for rapid charging (up to 80 per cent of battery capacity in 30 minutes).

The interior was cleanly laid out with a decidedly dark motif with black adorning the dash, door panels and floor. This included the fabric covering the comfortable seats, allowing reasonably sufficient legroom for four adults.

 

The instrument panel was simple and intuitive, digitally displaying relevant parameters such as speed, battery life (16-bar indicator), low power warning (at one-eighth power or two bars), consumption mode (power, eco and charge), distance (odometer) and two tripmeters. With four passengers, the cargo room in the rear compartment was 235 litres but folding down the rear seats allowed the available space to be more than trebled at 860 litres, again illustrating the advantage of volume allocation in a vehicle without a combustion engine.

How­ever, the i-MiEV was not lighter than a com­parably sized conventional vehi­cle, coming in at a kerb weight of 1,110 kilogrammes, with the lithium-ion battery making up a significant portion of the overall mass.

Thus, taking into account the absence of a conventional engine and several dozen litres of fuel, there was no appreciable weight savings in the design. This raised a doubt as to whether the EV could actually perform like a conven­tional petrol or diesel vehicle.

Starting up the EV, I could not perceive any noise, making it difficult to hear if it was actually ready to be driven off. The visual cues, however, told me that it was indeed in an ‘on’ position.

Placing the shifter in ‘D’ posi­tion, I stepped on the accelerator and noticed that the vehicle was very quiet, generating no noise other than that of the 15-inch tyres and offshore wind from the Langkawi beach front.

The acceleration was quite pleasing as the torque from the electric motor was one that had a flat response of 180Nm from zero to 2,000rpm, giving me decent acceleration on demand.

The handling of the vehicle was magnificent as the curves were negotiated well enough as I zipped down the winding north-south carriageway on the island.

The braking was quite good as I stepped on the brake pedal to avoid slamming into an inconspicu­ous speed bump which could have used a fresh coat of paint. The braking system was one of the salient points in the test drive.

As it was a short vehicle with a slightly longer wheelbase, the turning radius was 4.5m, making the agile and nimble EV a marvel to manoeuvre in tight spots where parking and reversing were con­cerned.

Going into the different driving modes, ‘D’ offered standard re­generative braking power for city conditions, while ‘B’ was suited for downhill scenarios for higher regenerative ability. C position of­fered lower regenerative braking power for cruising.

In terms of safety, the six air­bags, Active Stability Control and Traction Control, along with the (already road tested) compre­hensive braking system and a four-star Euro NCAP rating made this vehicle quite accomplished in this arena.

Adding to this was the assur­ance from Mitsubishi’s technical consultants that safety features surrounding the lithium-ion bat­tery made the i-MiEV drivable on flooded roads (up to one metre depth) and buffered from battery leak or discharge issues in the event of a collision.

As the Mitsubishi Motors Ma­laysia had yet to work out a price platform in relation with related import duties and taxes as well as government incentives, proper assessment of the value of the car based on a defined price tag would not be possible.

However, taking into account the implications of ownership costs and maintenance of a fully electric motor vehicle, the i-MiEV would be a bold, eco­logically-friendly and economi­cally liberating (from volatile fuel prices) step into the future.