% What A Noob Writer Learned From Driving An iMiev % http://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2012/12/19/what-i-learned-from-driving-the-mitsubishi-electric-car/ [image] What I Learned From Driving the Mitsubishi Electric Car by Hannah Elliott 12/19/2012
[image http://specials-images.forbes.com/imageserve/0aXIbZqa87goi/0x600.jpg?fit=scale&background=000000 ] I am shallow. Looks matter, and I will admit to preferring a hot car with a good brand image to something with considerably less than that. Give me the R8, something from AMG, the SL, the Dino, a vintage Rolls. Anything with clean lines and thoughtful design. With the stunted iMiev, it is likely many men will feel emasculated driving it, and many women feel less than glamorous, to say the least. On the other hand, if pious efficiency is your thing, you may feel terrific behind the wheel. Last weekend I drove the Mitsubishi iMiev around New York City, most notably up and down Park Avenue doing the rounds across Manhattan’s Upper East Side. IMiev–an acronym for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle—is a five-door fully electric hatchback car. It has a mile-per-gallon equivalent of 112mpg, emits no CO2 and releases no exhaust fumes. And at roughly 2,500 pounds and half as long as, say, a long-wheelbase Maybach, it’s a dream to park in such space wastelands like Manhattan. (I was able to park directly in front of the Metropolitan Museum twice, thanks to such a diminutive stature.) Inside the car feels surprisingly roomy—due no doubt in part to its four doors and high roofline–and comes with a radio, heat/cooling, heated seats, three driving modes and navigation. The “premium” package offers a rear camera to help fit into those tight parking spots. (It does not, however, have some of the finer things in life: leather accouterments, cruise control, sunroof or power seats, for starters. A USB outlet comes only in the premium package.) I’m not going to say much about the performance other than that the powertrain combines a 63-hp electric motor with a 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. That should tell you plenty–this isn’t exactly Grand Prix-level power. The [brakes] are regenerative ... and the steering evocative of a golf cart. But you already knew that. Still, there’s plenty of good this car can do, as long as you don’t expect it to be something it’s not. It could even give you insight into what kind of person you are—or reaffirm what you already knew. Read the slideshow to find out what it told me as I drove it. [© 2012 Forbes.com All Rights Reserved] ... http://www.thefreedictionary.com/defeminized For all EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date Here are today's archive-only posts: EVLN: Fiat 500e Is The First EV To Feature The Bosch Battery Pack EVLN: Only electric cars to escape London's congestion charge EVLN: pih Caddy to be Volt’s luxe cousin EVLN: Outlander pih has an off-road torque edge + EVLN: Spark's optional L3 20 Minute Charge ability {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-iMiev-drive-men-will-feel-emasculated-women-defeminized-tp4660240.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
