Sainte-Jerome, Quebec Ecological Tranportation Day

Ecological transportation information day happening today 14 July Journée Transport écologique
Saint - Jerome, Quebec
Place de la Gare Bonjour Québec (centre-ville) (City Center)Canada

Information For those considering electric Vehicles , ,

Charging systems and installations vehicle information & test drives, Charging network information, Government subsidies Grants/incentives etc,

Just got back from this event,

Extremely hot outside at the time of our visit, 91 F, 33C - met with several other I Miev owners and swapped evaluations, - all seemed happy with their purchase and performance of the MIEV

Other vehicles that were there were
the Leaf, Volt, Prius, Insight

One Miev owner bought 5 months ago & has experienced some winter driving here in Quebec -
He expressed that he would research & experiment with installing a small propane heater in order to extend his winter driving range.
When I say winter - here in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it can get down to - 31 F (-35C) for several days in a row
These temperatures & the heater/defrost demands on maximum, can limit range substantially.

On of our concerns was leaving the Mieve un-plugged for up to 12 hours in these conditions in the train station parking lot - So I was greatly relieved to find they had installed 2 new charging stations last week.
The same owner recalled having left his Mieve unplugged, on several occasions, for up to 12 hours in theses conditions without having any bad experiences .

All the Mieve owners agreed that a hard shell storage container should be installed for the 110 charge cable &
Driver right side arm rest was needed

All our experiences have things looking up so far

wish we had that kind of event here! Thanks for posting about it.

Interesting to read about owner's experience with winter

I'm seriously considering purchase of an i-Miev, and think it will work for me. Still trying to sort out home electrical and range requirements under a variety of scenarios for this to be our only family vehicle (we currently have a 2007 Matrix 5sp).

Re the heater/defrost, even though we are counselled to use the seat warmer rather than the ambient cab air heater, isn't some level of heated windshield defrost required in cold weather to keep the windows clear? (meaning some level of heater use is necessary even if dressed warmly for cold weather)

oakvillblake
I have spent a lot of time on goggle maps , This last couple of weeks
making maps up of our most common routes we normally travel ,
I saved them noting the distances Km (Miles)
I noted the location of Public charging station in relation to these maps as well

Maps like
1) The daily commute
2) The daily commute adding a grocery/ banking detour
3) Several maps of visiting different family members
4) Visiting different friends

I f you look closely at the driving routes you do now, with the vehicle you have now, and put them on goggle maps, this may help you see if an electric car with it's range can work for you as an only car.

It may work for most of your scenarios, and
If you are flexible & willing to do some changes for the longer trips, it can come together

We have incorporated stopping for "top off charging" on several of our longer trips,

Example: On the way back from visiting one daughter, We stop at a larger shopping facility, that offer level 2 charge stations, It's location also offers many more stores with in short walking distance too.

We do our groceries, shop for the odd item we are looking for, grab lunch or a coffee at the Golden Arches, check on messages with the free WiFi, and before you know it 2 hours have gone by and you're on our way.

Best is if you can arrange to top off at your destination using your 110V charger while you are visiting.This may be all you need to do depending on distances.

Here is a link to a winter driving discussion going on that may be of interest

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=224