Mitsubishi iMiEV Electric Car Tour (Extended)

[@yumcha16]

this is actually a really well thought out great affordable electric car. surprising it never got much publicity

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

It was also REALLY poorly advertised. Most people have never even heard of it.

[@tarassu]

@@BenjaminNelsonX I bought one two weeks ago. 44 000km (27 000 miles), 2012. Its near-freezing now and I can do 80km with slight heater and 95km without heater. Will add Webasto in the summer. My commute is 70km. I'm also 5,5 year Leaf user. I need two cars as there are two drivers in the family. Third car BMW diesel, for towing and long trips above 150km. Compared to Leaf iMiEV has SIGNIFICANTLY better traction control software. Also iMiEV charges faster (range per minute) than 24kWh Leaf.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

@@tarassu One thing I've always liked about the iMiEV is how fast it charges for a little car with a 3.3kW charger. As a rear-wheel drive car, it's surprisingly good for towing!

[@wojciechmuras553]

It was painfully overpriced. Starting at 30,000€ was insane, when a similarly sized petrol car cost 6,000€... It just couldn't go well.

[@toyotaprius79]

I loved this to no end. I hope most i-MiEVs will live long lives over at least 2 decades with most owners like yourself.

[@toyotaprius79]

I found a black CZero abounded in Dublin. Most curious/concerned, those cars should be kept running

[@j0381ack]

Thanks Benjamin. At last, a good honest and accurate review of a very underrated car. As a fellow 2012 iMiEV owner, I can confirm everything you pointed out and explained. I have a base model, first owner with 82 000 km (over 50 000 miles) on mine. I received a set of winter tires for free as an incentive from Mitsubishi when I purchased my Miepster and with them on, this little gem is bulletproof in handling snow and ice in our Canadian winters. In have not spent one penny on repairs so far and after the first ''service'' which cost $86 and change, I never took it back to be serviced again. I put service in quotes, because they service nothing, they only check this, check that and take your money for it. I trust that the built-in diagnostic would alert me if a problem arise, although I can not imagine what could go wrong given the brilliantly simple workings of this car. I replaced an ageing Volvo V70 cross country with all wheel drive with the Miepster in 2012 and I do not miss the Volvo as far as handling snow is concerned. The Volvo was better on long trips though and warmer inside on those cold days, but she cost me a Lot of money in gas and maintenance. Oh my gosh! She would only run on premium. Never again. I am so done with paying an arm and a leg to the gasoline industry. They are not doing our children who will inherit our failings, any favors you know...

[@Liefpj]

Wow i guess all i needed for my 2012(59,000km) imiev is snow tires? In 2016 winter, I got stuck like 4 times last winter in brand new enasave tires. Out of fear(and a newborn), i stored the imiev this 2017 winter. In Winnipeg, we had a more colder winter and way less snow then 2016 winter. My range goes from 130kms(july/august) to 40kms blasting my heat! Looking to getting a 2013 volt now.

[@K1989L]

Some time ago I dismissed the iMiev and C-zero as "obsolete" electric cars that nobody wants anymore. But now that I have come to look at it.. it really is a very good option for a second car in the family. Here it is the most inexpensive electric car that can be called a car. You could have it for half the price of a Leaf or especially an E-UP! And all three of those have about the same range! (In the lowest price point) And Leaf has the rapidgate thing going.. The iMiev seems to be be a great car if you can live with it's quirks. I really start to like it!

[@patrickmorford5818]

Thanks for the tip on protecting the wing bolts. I paid 5.2 k for my imiev with a lower trim level and 23k miles. These are great cars. I transport my Hase Kettwiesel with the hatch closed. This is a great video. The silent ending shot was fantastic.

[@jontscott]

Nice tour, I like the utility and headroom, 4 seats will not cut it for me as I has three kids, but my '05 Ford Escape Hybrid works for that (minus the plug in charge part for now.)

[@magedanwar1967]

Absolutely delighted marvellous

[@perrymathis4557]

Very informative. Love mine and you showed a few things I was unfamiliar with. Subscribed

[@Junior2uu]

Very nice review really appreciate it

[@webslinger2011]

Loved my old micra. Also used it to haul stuff.

[@gabrielmarcilio4944]

Great, great, great. Thank you so much,sir. Very detailed and in-depth. You made the video perfect by showing the motor compartment, the aftermarket heater, and all the uses that this car has. I recently discovered your channel and started watching all your videos, they are awesome. I also loved the hour long presentation about your solar garage great project. I have 2 questions: You mentioned that your latitude is 43 degree, did you set the roof inclination to 43 degrees to maximize the solar efficiency? and, when you are driving in ECO or B do the brake lights go on when you let the foot off the acceleration pedal? You are my new favorite channel, keep up the great work. PS: you might have changed my mind about buying a leaf, I think this one is a better bang for the buck now.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I couldn't make my garage roof quite as steep as I would have liked to. Local building codes limited the maximum height of the garage, and thus the angle of the roof because of it. The angle is still very good for solar, particularly because the building otherwise faces due south. On this car, in the Eco or B modes, it does NOT put on the brake-lights. My Vectrix electric motorcycle features manual control for regenerative braking, which can be quite firm - that DOES activate the brake light. I believe that the Chevy Bolt also activates the brake light in at least the heavier regenerative braking mode. I do sometimes just lightly touch the brake pedal if I am in the B mode and coming up to a long slow-down before a red-light or similar situation with any other traffic behind me, just to make sure they know I am slowing.

[@debbieellis8717]

Great video! I currently use the convenience charger. Does the preconditioning remote work when connected to the convenience charger?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Yes.

[@Liefpj]

Wow i over payed for my 2012 about $2,800 usd, bought it back in 2016, and that was for the lower trim model! Mine did come with fog lamps. Oh man, my winter car(mazda3) has bluetooth,,,now i am hooked. Wish i got the SE model. Plus that backup cam looks like a great safety feature. I just fit a Wendy’s big soda in my dash cup holders. Do you think the b mode messes with driver behind you?

[@markweatherill]

Very interesting! With LEDs in the headlight low beams, take care to ventilate them; the housings are completely enclosed with no airflow unless you leave the rear covers off.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

You can read about the LED headlight upgrade at: 300mpg.org/2016/01/08/led-headlights/ The LED bulbs have small fans built into the back of them. Overall, they have been working really well, and I like the quality of light from them.

[@RMTFamily]

Sure is a cute little car.

[@ocbus7209]

I want to buy this car or the Mitsubishi Mirage!

[@S0RREN]

This video pulled me back from havenly hights of Tesla 3 and now new Tesla Roadster. And yeah... when my old diesel stops for good (or get banned by goverment) witchever comes first. This is the sort of car I'll be looking for.

[@Tinman2955]

Can you tell me more about the aftermarket heater you installed? I am converting a geo metro and would like to install one of these gems. Thanks

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Hi Sterling! I have some info on that heater at my blog, including a number of KZbin videos about it. 300mpg.org/imiev-heater-installation/

[@michaelannen4168]

I use it as a truck, installed a hitch, two trailers etc.

[@yvettie7833]

My 2012 Mitsubishi I-MiEV is ruined or frustrated! Don't worry! I bet another Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV can do it!

[@jekroes]

Ben, where did you get the Pella jacket??

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Hi John, the family business is in residential remodeling. My Dad got it a long time ago and gave it to me. It probably originally came from a salesperson for how many windows my Dad bought that year!

[@jekroes]

BenjaminNelson I work for Pella Corporation so thank your dad for the business and thank you for your videos. I've been watching for years.

[@dwarf365]

Thank you sir! Enjoyed this video a lot! Wish I could afford one but I doubt they will survive long enough that I can buy one ( Can't usually afford more than 1k). Can always dream right? Was hoping you were going to punch it after you pulled out of the garage. lol Oh well ;)

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Didn't want to run over my video camera. One thing you CAN do in this car is set the hand-brake, press the accelerator to the floor, and then release the brake! I'll have to try that this winter in an open area with traction control turned off!

[@Georgatzis]

Wait until your charger go bad ( what is happen 8 to 10 cars )or the battery pack! Then you need a charger for 4000 euro and a battery pack for 10.000 Euros! And don t think that you can buy a used because all are vin coded !!! So driving an imiev is more expensive as a normal small car after 15 years! Thanks to Mitsubishi that show as once again what is to drive an electric car!! Green drive looks different !

[@backwoodsbungalow9674]

Sadly Mitsubishi is failing customers. Fortunately, there are several videos on KZbin showing how owners have replaced capacitors. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGS9iKKpiN6kbbM

[@Fekillix]

The US/NA iMiev is sooo much uglier than the Japan/EU variant. Poor thing got fattened up xD