July 27, 2010: Top Speed 86.2 mph

Got to work having driven 33.5 miles and used up 8 kWh. Plugged in at work and filled it up again. By the time I left the office at about 10:45 p.m. the car was fully charged.

On the drive home I hit 139 km/hr. That's 86.2 mph. That was on level freeway. It wouldn't go any faster than that so we can say top speed is 86.2 mph. Drove 22 miles home, using 5 kWh. Had I not hit top speed like that I might only have used 4 kWh.

A couple more things about the i MiEV: all four side windows have one-touch auto up and down. There is also keyless entry and keyless start. These are conveniences to which I've grown accustomed in the month I've driven this car. You push a button above the driver's door knob and all doors unlock. Push it again and they lock. I know this is not necessarily new, but I am surprised and delighted to find it on this car.

The rear seats fold forward for carrying stuff around, too. It expands the usefulness of this thing.

I haven't had to turn on the heater yet, this being summer and all, but heaters will be a real drain on the range of EVs. AC Propulsion just put together a prototype mail truck for the USPS and, while the drivetrain is electric, they went with a gas heater. USPS thought that was fine. An electric heater would've eaten up huge gobs of range. This will be an issue as EVs become more commonplace and are used in other climates. Or you could, as I have done with old, heaterless beaters I've had over the years, wear a jacket.

I would really like Mitsubishi, and all EV makers, to use the brake pedal to activate regen. Without it, all you're doing when you stop is grinding the disc brakes. The i MiEV activates regen when you lift off the accelerator pedal but does not increase the regen when you step on the brakes. Ideally I'd like to have a knob or something that would allow me to control by hand the amount of regen the car is making. It would slow to a stop with better efficiency, get more juice back into the battery and all but eliminate wear and tear on the brakes. The brakes on AC Propulsion's old Honda Civic are still like new, after over 100,000 miles. That car has a slider switch to adjust the amount of regen. The Vectrix electric scooter I rode a year or two ago had a twist throttle that actually reversed the motor, functioning as a reverse gear. It was real cool. The Nissan people scoffed at my suggestion for allowing more control of regen in their Leaf. I haven't suggested it to Mitsubishi yet.

By Mark Vaughn