considering a imiev

[PV1]

This is the guy I talked to when I was there. Seemed pleasant and patient.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w3foo3arrwqrhjp/Screenshot%20from%202015-07-06%2012%3A04%3A58.png?dl=0

 

[JoeS]

With the exception of the Tesla, every single EV I've test-driven I've been fed BS by the salesperson. Very few of them know the phrase "I don't know, but I will look it up for you".

mentaluproar - it's the car that you are attempting to judge for yourself, irrespective of what a salesperson or reviewers say, and by now (if you've been reading these pages) you know more about it than they do. Go somewhere else and drive one and maybe take an older fart in a business suit with you for the test drive.

Have you made your checklist of things you specifically want to evaluate during your test drive? Examples: turning radius, visibility (with/without headrests) and obstruction to vision by the A-B-C pillars (less than other modern cars, but not great), acceleration and panic braking, operating all the console controls, especially play with the 'shift' lever to see how nicely you can control regen, see how 'ECO' mode works, evaluate the ease of putting back seats up and down and flat floor stowage volume back there, check the convenient location of charging port, etc. On the negative side, be sure you go over some bumpy road surfaces and a grooved highway to see how you like/dislike the way the car handles that. If you get a chance to go down a swooping curve at speed while decelerating and then hitting a rough surface you can see how ASC kicks in and disables regen to "stabilize" you.

If you're evaluating range, be sure you know the distances you will be driving, exactly. Remember what we've been saying: range is whatever you want it to be, simply adjust your driving accordingly. Leadfootin' and jackrabbit starts and 80mph Interstate jaunts are fine for daily driving :roll: , but if you occasionally need to push the range limits then you transform into a featherfooting drafting 55mph hypermiler. If you're like most people, you'll soon discover how rare that need really is.

Since you live in a rental unit, are you sure you still have a commitment from the landlord which allows you to put in a 240vac EVSE?

Have fun, be objective, and don't let the salesforce bug you.

 

[mentaluproar]

I test drove an i at Vandevere. Once again, I called ahead and asked if it was charged, and once again, they lied and told me it was.

With half a charge, I took to the freeway. The car wouldn't just go a straight line. I kept getting blown around. Getting to my destination and back to the dealership (not my home), with AC, without speeding, drained the battery. It seems the i won't work for me after all.

The radio never worked with my iPhone either. Neither USB nor bluetooth worked reliably.

I spoke with the landlord today and he's trying to find a way for me to spend less on this EVSE install. There is a small alley between the buildings that I could park in. He's going to let me have that spot exclusively and have the unit installed against that side of building, which is much closer to the breaker box. However, I need to make sure the fire department is okay with this. They may need access to there.

 

[JoeS]

...With half a charge, I took to the freeway. The car wouldn't just go a straight line. I kept getting blown around...

As someone who spends half his time driving at high speeds on the Interstate (and with around 40K miles in the i-MiEV under my belt), I cannot let that comment go unchallenged. This is a small car you're driving, not a heavy luxury sedan. Were there significant crosswinds? Was the pavement grooved? What was the condition of the road surface? What were the tire pressures? The car does respond to the occasional rough road surface, and we simply deal with it. Sorry, but I have no problem keeping the car fully under control and going in a nice straight line at any speed.

 

[mentaluproar]

...With half a charge, I took to the freeway. The car wouldn't just go a straight line. I kept getting blown around...

As someone who spends half his time driving at high speeds on the Interstate (and with around 40K miles in the i-MiEV under my belt), I cannot let that comment go unchallenged. This is a small car you're driving, not a heavy luxury sedan. Were there significant crosswinds? Was the pavement grooved? What was the condition of the road surface? What were the tire pressures? The car does respond to the occasional rough road surface, and we simply deal with it. Sorry, but I have no problem keeping the car fully under control and going in a nice straight line at any speed.

I'm used to getting blown around by a passing semi on the freeway while driving my Echo. This wasn't that. There was a bit of wind that day, but hardly enough to call it windy. I didn't check the tire pressure, but based on looking at the tires, they were not flat. I was driving I77 south between Vandevere auto outlet and Portage. The roads were not grooved, except for the sides I kept drifting into. They were actually pretty good roads for an Ohio highway. Not freshly paved, but perfectly fine.

 

[PV1]

I know in cold weather, my i-MiEV tends to wander, but around 80 F is the sweet spot for efficiency and ride. Of course, you'll get blown around by semis, but unless it is noticeably windy, the i-MiEV goes pretty straight. I've had a gust of wind blow me clean out of my lane once, even activating the stability control, but it did the same to the Cavalier in front of me.

ICE cars usually have the front wheels toed-in for easy straight-line travel. High efficiency cars, such as the i-MiEV and 1st gen. Honda Insight, have zero toe-in. This helps to extend range, but at the expense of easy highway driving. To make the i-MiEV handle the highway better, you could have the front tires toed-in slightly.

 

[mentaluproar]

The way it blew around on the freeway was really severe. It was great until I hit th freeway. Then, that charge level turned into a countdown and I was constantly correcting the steering.

 

[tigger19687]

I have that too, not as severe. But then again I come from an F-350 with a TON for wheel play when I drive.
Driving a car car is very different and I have gotten used to it.
I didn't think that the highway speed was too bad when I took my last adventure

 

[rkarl89203]

On our recent adventure to the Milwaukee area we were on I-94-w for a short period of time.
A bit of drift too, but it was grooved pavement with major construction.

 

[Don]

The radio never worked with my iPhone either. Neither USB nor bluetooth worked reliably.

You do have to program the radio to your specific phone. It's a pretty simple process and it uploads your phones directory into the radio so when someone calls you, you can see who is calling before you answer. Once programmed, it recognizes your phone each time you get into the car automatically. It also works with more than one phone

WE use a USB memory card exclusively for music - We have more than 400 songs on the USB stick with room for 3X or 4X more. Works flawlessly. You can also upload your music into the hard drive in the radio, though we've never bothered trying to set that up

In short, don't worry about the usb/radio/phone interface - If you get an iMiEV, you won't be disappointed with that aspect of it, once you get everything paired up and working correctly

I have to agree with the others as to the car's driving stability. We've done everything from 15 mph to 80 over all sorts of roads over the past 3 years and it's a very stable car . . . . for a compact. It has a much longer wheelbase than most other cars of similar size and a longer wheelbase always equals better directional stability

Smart 4 Two - 73.5"
Chevy Spark - 93.5"
Ford Fiesta - 98"
Honda Fit - 99.6"
iMiEV - 100.4"
BMW I3 - 101"

Don

 

[jray3]

When I first got my first i, the highway wander was one of our biggest adjustments, especially for my wife (I've piloted many jalopies on long trips). Zero toe-in, skinny tires and the shorter wheelbase compared to our old Civic took some getting used to, along with the linear feel of electric power steering, but now it is second nature and the 'steering lag' of our gassers is what seems primitive, unresponsive and imprecise.

 

[mentaluproar]

We tried pairing the phone, directly connecting it, etc. It just wouldn't work. But that's not important. This car was unstable and the range was poor.

Steering is different, but I knew going into this it would be. Every car will be. I don't have power steering.

 

[Don]

Sounds like an iMiEV might not be right for you

Don

 

[sandange]

+1 what Don said,

Sounds like you are looking for a highway car.
If you're planning on doing mostly highway.

The Miev is best on city and secondary roads.
It's not a highway cruiser.
Mind you I often drive on the highway - but it's usually in rush hour so the speed is below the limit. When the road is open, I keep it down to 85-95 kmph ( 55-60 mph )

 

[wmcbrine]

You can also upload your music into the hard drive in the radio, though we've never bothered trying to set that up

If we're talking about the Mitsubishi Multi-Communication System -- at least the 2012 version -- weirdly, it won't let you copy pre-encoded MP3s to the hard drive, neither from USB nor CD. The only way to get music onto the drive is to rip audio CDs directly with the MMCS, which it does at only 3-4x. It includes a slightly dated subset of CDDB, which you can supposedly update (I did the update, but it still failed to recognize the newer albums I tried), and it will also read CD-Text titles.

 

[rkarl89203]

I guess if you want a luxury car, buy a luxury car.
The i-Miev has limitations, not for everyone.
If you have an extra 90 grand buy a Tesla.

 

[mentaluproar]

That's okay. I had a feeling it wouldn't work out, but this is hardly a bad car. I can see why lambert keeps hunting for them.