Mitsubishi i-MiEV – Mitsubishi Electric Car

MMAL’s(Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited) president and CEO, Robert McEniry said the future of cars is showcased in the i-MiEV, pointing out that even the likes of Porsche and Ferrari are embracing electric or hybrid vehicles and that the i-MiEV is not a gimmick but the first of the next generation of electric vehicles.

Image taken from: Mitsubishi-i-MiEV-2010-050-625x415.jpg

Some interesting facts about the i-MiEV is its 160km range per charge, which takes 7 hours on a normal household plug. Once the “fast-charge” infestracture is available here you can charge the car to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes. It can travel at up to 130km/h using three different modes: Drive, Eco and Brake.

Image taken from: http://cdn.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Mitsubishi-i-MiEV-2010-057-625x415.jpg

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV has the ability to read the load on the power grid and only use power when the power grid usage is at its lowest (at night). Of course it can recharge anytime when required. Mr McEniry said the next generation of these vehicles will have the ability to even give back power to the grid when plugged in.

The battery in the i-MiEVs is a 16 kilowatt hour. If you’re unfamiliar with what a kilowatt hour is: a household heater rated at 1000 watts (1 kilowatt), left on for one hour uses one kilowatt hour (equivalent to 3,600 kilojoules) of energy.

Text taken from: http://www.caradvice.com.au/60591/mitsubishi-i-miev-preview-electric-cars-land-in-australia/

Image taken from: http://cdn.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Mitsubishi-i-MiEV-2010-088-625x415.jpg

Image taken from:Mitsubishi-i-MiEV-2010-110.jpg

Image taken from:Mitsubishi-i-MiEV-2010-115.jpg

As far as I am concerned, although Mitsubishi i-MiEV has the fast- charge system, we can not find charge station everywhere. Beside this, the battery is too heavy to carry. Furthermore, this kind of cars are not suitable for driving for long distance or for climbing the rolling hills, because of the low power. But we cannot deny that electric cars protect environment, comparing with gasoline cars. As it's a new technologic car, the cost is higher than normal car. That means not everyone can support it, though it's environmental friendly car. However, I believe that the price of electric car will get lower and lower in the future, as  the technology of electric car becomes more and more mature.

Posted by: Monica