2015 Mitsubishi Mirage ES 5 speed manual vs 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV ES

[davidricardo86]

Hello people! I need your opinions on my most recent exploration.

I am considering one of the two Mitsubishi cars in the title. A local dealership lists a few new 2014 i-MiEV ES for slightly less than a new 2015 Mirage ES 5 speed. However, they are including all applicable rebates and not all of them would apply to me, like the military or loyalty rebates. Regardless, they are priced very similarly.



The i's range would be okay for my daily commutes and errands. I actually really like the styling and I've always wanted an electric ever since learning about the GM EV1. I am not worried about "range anxiety" as I fully understand the limits of current electric cars. I really like the idea of not having an internal combustion engine to fuel up and everything associated with an ICE. I think this low cost electric vehicle could save me a lot of money in the long term.

$10,658 - 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV ES
$00,000 - 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage ES 5 SMT

After having watched many YouTube videos about the Mirage ES and i-MiEV ES, the differences become more apprent. The Mirage ES actually has more "tech" and creature comforts like Bluetooth, fast key push start ignition, and if I'm not mistaken cruise control which the i seems to lack.

I haven't driven the i yet but have scheduled a test drive for this weekend and I'm really excited to see what my first mass produced EV is like. Best of all, its a Mitsubishi! I have driven a 2014 Mirage DE CVT and a 2015 Mirage ES 5 SMT which I both enjoyed.

As for traveling long distances, I plan on keeping my 2001 Toyota Echo. Otherwise the i-MiEV would be purely a get-around-Chicago car for me. I've already spotted a public EV charger nearby. I have to check what level it is as a level 2 charger would require equipment installation at my folks home.

At this point, the Mirage just seems like a better choice even with its "dirty" ICE. It seems roomier (the i is actually a Japanese Kei car), more well equipped and can travel longer distances without constant route planning or worry. Gas stations are everywhere but EV chargers are a lot more common in Chicago these days than before the EVs started showing up a few years back.

[alex16]

I love my mirage but i rather have the ev if I already had a echo.

[davidricardo86]

That is my thoughts too. I test drove a local used 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV ($10k, 14k miles) today and I left impressed and wanting more! Now I really want an electric car. The only thing I hate about it is that I'm compromising on some of those extra goodies like cruise control which was something I really wanted but I guess with its limited range, that's not a huge issue.



Driving it was a new experience for me and I enjoyed it a lot. This mom and pop dealership only let me drive it for 10 minutes but i wasn't on planning on buying it anyways.

Tomorrow morning, I will be test driving a new 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV ES at a Mitsubishi dealership. They're asking $11k, with some rebates, and special financing. I'd rather buy a new one with full warranty, may ask for some extras like WestherTech floor mats or accessories. I will be cross shopping with the Mirage. It should be very interesting to say the least.

On a last note, I did a quick google search for EV charging stations and it turns out there's quite a few available near me so that is reassuring until I can have a level 2 unit installed at home, if I decide to go that route. Otherwise, level 1 would have to suffice for home charging.

[davidricardo86]

Just a quick update on my adventure here. This past Saturday, 03/21/2015, I traveled over an hour to have a chance at test driving a brand new 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV ES! I was pretty excited as the price the dealership had advertised was oddly low! Too good to be true? Maybe. It didn't matter, I had to go find out in person so I didn't mind spending part of my day checking out a new Mitsubishi dealer or another all electric car.

I had a rather pleasant drive there thinking how much fun it was to drive the 2012 i-MiEV and couldn't wait to try out another. When I arrived, I was promptly greeted by Mitsubishi employees and the salesman I had spoken to on the phone. We began the discussion about the two cars I was most interested in, the i-MiEV and the Mirage. What I noticed most about the previous mom-and-pop saleman and this Mitsubishi salesman I spoke to about Mitsubishi's electric car was that they mostly portrayed the car in a negative light and focused mostly on the cons or how the car wasn't like an ICE car! As if I didn't already know or comprehend the limitations I simply listened on and could understand why bringing this up was good for someone who had no idea about Mitsubishi's i-MiEV characteristics. They kept reinforcing that the biggest "disadvantage" being the "limited" range that they would harp on about. I explained to both that my job is 20 miles away and 20 miles back home. If I needed to stop at the grocery store, gym or my bank on my way home, technically I would still have enough battery capacity left for such errands and make it home to plugin it in for the night. That's also assuming I would not be able to charge it at work or find a charger on my way to and from home if need be.



I think it would be great to train salesmen, especially those at Mitsubishi "certified EV" dealerships, on how to really sell an i-MiEV. I have to say, I was left feeling discouraged and kind of disappointed. I wasn't discourage about the i-MiEV's "limitations" themselves but rather the lack of knowledge and training the Mitsubishi salesman possessed. The salesman was young, possibly younger than myself and just did not seem very enthusiastic or motivated to want to make me an owner of what I believe is a really cool EV. He didn't even know the 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage ES came with an 5 speed manual transmission! Tisk tisk tisk! That didn't bode too well for him or the dealership. Maybe I should have shown him this video:




After our initial introductory conversation, I asked to test drive the i-MiEV. That is when he brought out a Diamond White Pearl i-MiEV and it put a smile on my face. My color choices at that point were the blue and the white. I asked if I could drive it for at least 15-to-20 minutes on various local roads and he agreed. Surprisingly, the salesman said he could not be out of the store for more than 10 minutes so If I could take the test drive alone he wouldn't have a problem with my time requirement. As happy as that made me feel, I obliged!



In my mind I thought; finally I can REALLY test drive the i-MiEV and see how it drives. After adjusting my mirrors, seating position and familiarizing myself with the car, I silently rolled off the dealership lot in the ECO drive position and into the streets amongst the other ICE cars. I just love how quiet it is to drive an electric car however with the radio off I could really hear the whine of the electric motor as I accelerated from a stop. ECO mode reduces the amount of power available via the accelerator leaving only about 1/3 of the power available in the standard D drive. You can definitely notice the difference but in stop and go driving one can adjust and learn to hypermile in ECO drive mode. It felt similar to how i try to drive my Toyota Echo. In B drive mode, the regenerative braking became a lot more strong and apparent. I used this when coming to stop signs and stop lights in order to avoid using the brakes much. The other cool thing being that it aided in recharging the batter, slightly, and probably most advantageous by reducing premature brake wear. Win win. I rarely drove in standard D drive mode as I never felt I needed full power and could easily drive at all times in ECO drive mode in order to achieve the longest battery run times. When I did use full D power, it was to stomp the accelerator pedal to the metal to get a feel of the i-MiEV's all out acceleration. Wow, I was impressed with how much torque it provided from a stop and even raced a Mustang from a stop light. lol The Mustang won by a a car or two but the i-MiEV kept up with it and traffic very well. I had no issues driving it aggressively when needed and easily when I wanted to enjoy the smooth quiet ride. Like the Mirage, a lot of reviewers online dislike the i-MiEV's looks and powertrain. Like many owners here have proven, don't go by what reviewers always say and test drive the cars yourself like i did and you might actually leave pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed my test drive alot! Acceleration and torque was simply awesome, quick and sufficient. The ride quality felt smooth, quite and nimble. I guess that's because the batteries are placed at the center of the car underneath the passengers at a low ride height giving it a low center of gravity. Another thing I like was that the electronics weren't overly complicated. The instrument cluster is very easy to understand and there aren't a whole lot of bells and whistles like fancy displays you see in a Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius. I didn't mind, I had the information I needed and nothing else. All in all, I left even more enthusiastic about the i-MiEV and definitely want to own one now. If only I could find a price that isn't out of my budget.

Another strike against this Mitsubishi dealership was the deceptive pricing of this very enticing i-MiEV! The advertised price was $10,658 not including titles, taxes, and registration, etc. Okay, that seems pretty good so far. Well it turns out this price was AFTER all possible rebates and state and federal government credits! The "actual" selling price was actually $18,158, before said fees! Maybe i was naive to think a brand new car would be sold so cheaply or i simply didn't understand and take into account the federal and state EV credits but this price seem way out of what I thought would have been an affordable and doable car. The Total MSRP with optional equipment ($445) and destination ($850) was originally $24,290. Even at $18,158, it was a decent discount but were talking about a 2014 model when the 2016 was just recently announced and will be arriving at dealers by the end of this month, late March 2015!



At the end of our conversation, the salesman wanted to get me behind the wheel of a Mirage as he and I agreed it was overall more practical. However, I wasn't convinced nor completely satisfied with my experience. I am now aware of how little I know about the i-MiEV, its pricing, federal and state credits, and the charging station hurdle I have to overcome. If I were to buy an EV, I would need to have a 230-250V Level 2 charger installed at my home. The supplied 120V charger would work but Its slow in comparison to a Level 2 charger and I want to reduce charging times without resorting to a (probably very expensive) Level 3 charger. Once I have all these figured out, I will be ready to decide.


My next adventure? I found a pretty good deal on a used 2012 i-MiEV with only 2,259 miles on the odometer and this little dealer is asking $9000 for it! I'm going to go check this one out tomorrow during my lunch break and if all goes well, this may be the one...

[Daox]

Great story. Thanks for sharing!

I too would absolutely love an EV. I've driven a few of them (DIY conversions and OEM models), and even had installed a PHEV kit (plugin to recharge) in my 04 Prius at one point. If you haven't tried it... you just have to.

[MetroMPG]

Out of curiosity, what's your interest in an EV?

I had a home-built EV for 6 years -- a "just for fun" $1000 project. Even though it was a piece of junk made out of other pieces of junk, I loved driving it for local trips.

[grsupercity]

Yea, I have the same problem selling volts. People not under standing the tax incentives. i think the gov needs to explain that better

[Canoehead]

According to some guy I just heard on the radio - EV is more environmentally friendly if the source of your electricity produces less than 600 tonnes of carbon per GW-hour. That means that using coal to make electricity to power a car is actually worse than just using gas to power the car. Wiki seems to suggest Chicago makes electricity with a nuclear/coal split of about 49%/48%. I'm not sure the electric car is actually much if any greener. I'm guessing the coal/nuclear split would be around 500 tonnes carbon per GW-hour, and of course there are other issues with air quality around coal, and long term nuclear waste disposal. That said - electric cars are super cool! You could be almost perfectly green and carbon neutral if you put a solar array on your garage or a wind turbine in your back yard and made your own power!

Guy on radio link:http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/el...nces-1.3007409

[grsupercity]

That is where wind turbine farms, and hydro power come in nice

[Canoehead]

That is where wind turbine farms, and hydro power come in nice

Yup. And it looks like in Michigan about 6% of your electricity comes from renewables. Illinois is less than 1%. That's per Wikipedia, though, so I don't know how accurate it is. Point being using more electricity in Quebec makes sense, as it is 100% renewable hydro-electricity. In West Virginia coal country, though, an electric car is really a coal-fired external combustion engine.