My Wife and I have have 2 imievs. We each drive one everyday. Great commuters. I would say if you are driving less than 50 miles per day. Just charge each night at home. That is the key. Looking at both car combined, over150,000 total miles about $400 total maintenance after 7 years of driving. Most underappreciated car in America.
I have now owned 4 different electric cars. The i miev was my first and I absolutely loved it. Yes, Winter range was a bummer (it was the only EV I have run dry in) but in warmer weather it was a great little machine. On football days I regularly carried three adult passengers to the match. We used my car because it could slot into ridiculously small parking spaces near the ground. Fold the rear seats down and it could hold a full size pallet ( try that in any of the current crop of hatchbacks). A tip I found on a forum was, at dual carriageway traffic lights, when you have a car come alongside, ideally driven by a throttle blipper wearing a back to front baseball cap, turn off the traction control then floor it on green. Used to leave them for dead up to 30!. Yes it was childish but huge fun. If you don't mind a bit of constructive criticism, perhaps you could adopt a less biased style. An open mind is a great starting point when producing a review. Also, comedy is a tricky skill and best avoided until you have practiced it a lot more, preferably off line.. Sorry it's a ramble. I have had a few lemonades.
Each to their own I guess. More than happy to take your constructive criticism on board. Just a shame you can’t take any about, what is ultimately, an incredibly flawed car 🤷♂️
Hey Bjorn, would you mind answering a question? Since you've run dry an i-miev, does it have some sort of emergency tank so to speak or does it simply stop driving after the last bar of charge is used? I've owned one for the years now and never found out ^^
@BuckleUpShow your replies on this review comes across as, how to put it, ... erm... touchy. Needlessly antagonistic. Like you've been called out and you know you overplayed your hand. I agree that the iMiev isn't a great car, even second hand and you didn't cover some of the big flaws as a second hand buy. Because you didn't cover the flaws, and wasted a lot of time in this review on snark you can hardly complain about the pushback you get in the comments. There's nothing in the comment you replied to that suggested they cant take constructive criticism that I can see. Whilst Nissan and Mitsubishi did create two flawed vehicles in the iMiev and the Leaf both were tree shakers for the process. Pun not intended as the Leaf is still barely clinging on as a viable proposition but obviously had Citroën and Peugeot not kept the imiev alive it would have ceased to be as a production line years before it did. Anyhow, the reviewers are right, its an anachronistic review full of snark. You have to endure the snark and the odd silly comment in order to get to the better points in the review. The section while driving was the best. Better pace and better signal to noise ratio. Anyhow you might also want to reconsider wiping your nose with your sleeve on camera.
I can see that you think you're very intelligent. The first commenter accused us of bias, we had no prior opinion of the iMiEV before we started filming that day and the review shows an honest opinion of it. The things we mentioned are what we consider to be significant shortcomings with it. Also the Leaf is leaps an bounds ahead of the iMiEV, to the point we would recommend one of them if someone was looking for a second car electric run around, we would struggle to ever recommend this mitsubishi though.
Rather snarkey review, I'd say. I have two 2012 models from new. We shop, go to work, etc. Wife got t-boned a few years past. Not a scratch on her although a bit shook. The car was fixed up to excellent condition, still driving. Built like a tank. People like you who were obviously raised posh shouldn't review real working people's cars. Most buy/ bought these great little cars not expecting first class. We working stiffs want /need utility and Miev delivers just fine, you git.
When new the i-MiEV was £28,499, at the same time you could buy a Citroen C1, Peugeot 108 or Toyota Aygo for £6495 and it was more comfortable, better equipped and roomier inside. In fact, that's exactly what my parents did. If you're drawing cars to a side in a class war, I'm afraid to say the i-MiEV definitely wouldn't be on the side of the working man. The previous owner of this very car had it as a second vehicle for driving in London when he couldn't to be bothered to find a space for his Rolls Royce. Also, please don’t presume to know anything about me or my upbringing. You couldn’t be further from the reality.
I have Mitsubishi i (my 2nd one), but thinking of a imev version, they are great cars with amazing room inside for it's outside dimensions. It is well made for its purpose and price, its easy to work on and does all what a car needs to do.
@@BuckleUpShow Superficially yes I'd say so too, it is a Japanese k car prinicply, so designed for those compact dimensions and a max power output of 65bhp, the smart car uses this same engine and this car really can be thought of as the real smart for 4, suspension is simple and the car is built to be light but strong, they also wanted to design something that is different. I driven and owned many Maseratis, fancy fiats in my time, anything basically that the common man says is a bad car and found it is more because other common men think that is the case too over it actually being that bad 🙂. For me i wanted a city car, a compact city car that is more narrow than short, which as you may know is far more important in getting i to tight spaces. I also wanted it to be petrol over diesel, automatic, could sit a 6ft person in the back and the front at once, but to also be have low tax and all of the standard amenities too. The car yes doesn't handle like a sports car, but i did buy it to be one, just the best small city car money can buy 🙂
Four years ago I bought a 2012 Peugeot iOn for under £4k. It's used as the daily runabout and now has over 60,000 miles on the clock. The iOn is one of 'The'Triplets' - Mitsubishi imiev / Citroen CZero / Peugeot iOn. They were over £30k when launched and were claimed to have 100k / 80 mile range. It's now 2023 and my iOn still charges to 70 miles in summer and 59 in winter. Simple and ultra-cheap to run, the car recharges in under 4 hours using a 3-pin plug. I either plug her in overnight or - weather permitting - from our solar panels, which means she runs on sunshine! These cars are like a mini Tardis: the rear seats are 60/40 split and fold down to a level floor that can accommodate largish things like a dining chair, garden strimmer etc. The Triplets were designed by Mitsubishi as city cars (Japanese Kei cars). They were originally built as petrol engine cars (hence the transmission tunnel) but were changed to BEV cars by 2011. They don't often come up for sale because their owners love them. Oh, and for a bit of fun you can out-accelerate anything at the traffic lights, no problem. It really upsets Audi drivers!!!!
While I can’t argue with the fairly objective first 2/3 of your comment, the reason these are rarely for sale is because no one bought one. Oh, and I’m fairly sure I could out accelerate this car… by running
We like out little 2012 MiEV. My Lady insisted on RWD with a budget of $10K, so there wasn't much choice. But after 9 years it still has 100 km range and it's great for parking and driving around the city. It has "enough" power - it can run easily at 100 km/h on the highway. We just folded down the rear seats so we have lots of cargo space for such a small car. But yeah... it doesn't exactly handle like a Porche.
Glad to hear you both enjoy yours! As I say in the video, it’s fine for city driving and the visibility is excellent especially out of the preposterously big windscreen! But if you want something that handles and can go more than 50-60 miles then you need to look for something else. The Nissan Leaf seems like a much better used buy in the UK to me.
@@BuckleUpShow The issue with used Leafs in the same price class is that they are much higher mileage and the Leaf batteries seem to deteriorate a lot quicker that the Imievs. For a cheap getting-to-the-shop-or-busstop-car the IMiev is about as cheap as it gets. Granted, new they were horribly overpriced but secondhand they're a bargain now (at least in Norway).
@@odin1899 I agree that it makes much more sense now to buy it used but I've just checked Autotrader here in the UK, and you can get a Leaf for the same price as an iMiev/iOn/C-Zero. The mileage is slightly higher but usable range on the iMiev was 40 miles on a good day, the Leaf I drove soon afterwards could easily go 80 miles. Both cars were a similar age and would sell for roughly the same amount. No competition as far as I'm concerned.
@@BuckleUpShow The used prices in the UK could of course be quite different compared to Norway's EV prices. I paid around 35000 NOK/3500 EUR for our 2014 IMiev with a hair's breadth under 60000 km. That thing does a 100 km with ease on a summer's day. The one you drove must've had a pretty trashed battery if it struggles to go past 40 miles/65 km. I looked at Leafs as well but the prices for a used one in ok condition with *just* 0% SoH on the pack go north of 60000 NOK/6000 EUR with a much higher mileage than the electric wheelbarrow that we got instead. (And these things are a hoot over speedbumps, I got some airtime on them I think).
What a very poor review, of a great little car! You do not understand it at all! It's built on a Kei car platform, which was a tiny, cheap road tax city car. You can not expect too much from it. Having said that, my 2010 model is still going strong. Zips through city traffic easily, yet happy to easily cruise down the highway at 100 kph. Fold down those rear seats and there is a ton of space for cargo. Fantastic little cars!
Thanks for your feedback, however I perfectly understand what this car is. Compared to all other small cars on offer here in Britain, it’s insanely expensive, badly put together, uncomfortable and the range is terrible. We have a lot smaller cars than the iMiev here and they do everything better. It maybe sounds like you haven’t had a lot of experience with what else is out there on the market.
@@BuckleUpShow My prospective is from Australia. Badly put together? My I-MiEV is 12 years old and has only had tires replace. 12 years ago, the range was market leading. It was the first production EV in the world. Uncomfortable? It wasn't designed for giants like yourself or my self. Expensive? Well yeah, 12 years ago it was leading edge tec, which is always expensive, Their latest offering, announced 2 days ago, looks to be very competitive price wise. Anyway you should spend more time with a car before you review it.
One car having no issues is anecdotal rather than empirical evidence. There were EVs out at the same time that had more than twice the range and the first "modern" mass produced EV was the GM EV1. The Nissan Leaf followed the iMiev six months later which is a much, much better car (and was £3,000 cheaper when new). There are many other small cars (including kei cars) that will take tall drivers with ease (including but not limited to; the VW up!, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo etc etc). But otherwise good job 👍
Mitsubish launched the i-MiEV - the first mass-produced electric vehicle in the world in 2009. It was well before the Nissan Leaf. The battery management system on the i-MiEV is way better than the Leaf. That's why the Leaf of the same age battery is degraded and rubbish now. Plus the Leaf weights over 700 kgs more than the i-MiEV. EVs today are getting up to 3x heavier than an i-MiEV. How much energy do you need to push that around? And how much battery weight and cost? The i-MiEV weighs 1030kgs. So put the same kw battery in the i-MiEV and your range is more than 50% more than a Leaf. Loads more than the heavy EVs of today. The only one to come a bit close is the BMW i3. It is physics guys. Bigger the mass the greater energy you need to push it. Plus when the i-MiEV was made more than 75% of the cost was the battery. It still would be today if it wasn't for all the expensive gadgets in new EVs you don't need just waiting to breakdown and be a pain to own. The i-MiEV is simple hense it's reliability even over a decade on. And because batteries are still so very expensive you can fit a 30kw battery into an i-MiEV, today a small battery and therefore cheaper, the range is more than double than what it was when new. This is the best city car you can buy today albeit used. Simple and reliable. EVs are by far the best city car. What do you need in a city car? Compact easy to park fit anywhere even between bollards. Light, good physics for moving a mass. They are still cute comfortable and don't look too much out of date. And are unique. Your not just one of the crowd in an i-MiEV. They are brilliant little machines.
Hi Hugh, that's very impressive. Almost all of that was wrong. Shall we take each point in turn? The General Motors EV1 was the first mass produced electric car in the world. The i-MiEV wasn't available to the public until 2010 outside of Japan, and guess what came out the same year - the Nissan Leaf. But of course the Leaf faded into obscurity, similar to the i-MiEV. Oh wait, no. That's not what happened at all. The Leaf went on to global acclaim, winning European and World car of the year in 2011, and then went on to become the best selling electric car of all time. A title it held until 2020, when it was overtaken by the Tesla Model 3. I have driven both an i-MiEV and a first generation Nissan Leaf - both of the same year - and the Leaf had an 80 mile real world range, whereas the i-MiEV only had a 40 miles. And yes, while the Leaf may have weighed more, (not by the amounts you suggest because all your weight figures are incorrect) it's a proper car, with enough space and range for a family to consider buying. I'm happy to accept that electric cars are too heavy, but until there is a fundamental battery technology advancement, that's how it's going to be. I cannot, however, accept your point about the i-MiEV being out on sale today. It's weight would increase drastically to meet safety regulations, otherwise it would not be allowed onto the roads. I cannot stress enough, how wrong you are about this being 'the best city car you can buy today'. In fact, it's probably the exact opposite. I can't think of any other city car that I would rank lower than this. And I've driven a lot of them. It's certainly 'unique' as you put it, and the only reason 'your (you're*) not just one of the crowd' in an i-MiEV is because it was so expensive and terrible when it was new, nobody bought one.
way to biased! the car does his job flawless! it's a devil little machine! i'm 1.95m and with me on the front seat i can also fit in the rear seat. It gets to 70km hour in a heartbeat (a slow one). you haven't fold the rear seat and there's a big feature for loading. Drives and handles very nice! you have to learn how to drive it! and by the way axles distance is equal to an audi A3! It just looks smaller!
@@BuckleUpShow In your little bubble, maybe. It's a proper efficient run around that's highly sought after second hand - especially with the price of oil going around today It was ultimately a 2005 Japanese Kei car that was converted to help meet stricter fleet emissions requirements in the EU and US - and ultimately develop the Outlander PHEV.
The price of the iMiEV adjusted for inflation would buy you a Kia eNiro with a 280 mile range today. The only way the iMiEV could sell even half decently is by selling for less than £10000, which wouldn't be financially viable for mitsubishi.
28 Miles ? Seriously - mine goes almost 100 miles (OK I am lying it goes 110Kilomiters) and the seats are not uncomfortable - We are paying $7 USD a gallon for gas here in New Zealand and I never buy gas
Yes, seriously. That’s what the read out was saying. Even if yours goes 70 miles, I’d still rather pay £2 per litre for petrol than choose to take any of my journeys in one of these.
@@BuckleUpShow I bought me a tesla model 3 but its going to take me another 3 months to receive it - Waiting 6 months to pick up your new car takes all the fun out of buying new
I don't know if it's a good car or not, but a clown pretending that he can't figure out how to use anything doesn't tell me anything about it. Pretending that you can't fit in the back seat when you clearly can isn't a flaw. It's a small, lightweight car, pointing out that it's small and lightweight isn't a flaw. Expecting luxury in a car that isn't a luxury car, isn't a flaw.
You don’t know if it’s a good car or not, but you’re still going to use your extensive knowledge of nothing to write this comment 😅 I’m comparing it to every other small car I’ve driven (and I’ve driven nearly all of them) and the point is, it’s flawed compared to them.
You can’t do a review on a car that’s not a Ferrari or a rolls Royce and expect it to be like one ,I’ve been in the trade for 45 years and had many top line cars including Porsches and Mercedes. Believe or not I own one of these and it completely paid for itself in 4 years of ownership no servicing apart from a check over of balljoints and tyres ,I call it a makita grinder with wheels . Made in Japan to execute duties in the city and it’s does just that like a surgical instrument .0 to 60 in 9.8 seconds is faster than most basic saloon cars..do I care that it doesn’t pull over a g on the skid pan! No not at all ,do the brakes work to a standard for the size of the car, of course they do..has the battery degraded in 6 years of ownership, sorry no it hasn’t not one bit ..a tool to do a job very well indeed and made in Japan as we all know the leaders in reliability wold wide…in busy congested traffic it’s superb because it’s so narrow you can just slip through traffic easily,anyway that’s my whinging done,apologies..😂
Not sure I mentioned Ferrari or Rolls Royce. As I’ve said a hundred times in the comments already, this ‘car’ doesn’t have any redeeming features as far as I can tell. And that’s just comparing it to other city cars, nothing special.
@@BuckleUpShow one of the best redeeming features is that it cost practically nothing to run with no service bills apart from an mot and the odd tyre and ball joint compared to other cars .. I understand it’s pretty dull but you’ll never beat jap stuff for reliability Just saying 😃..what ever you do don’t turn the heater on or you won’t arrive at youre destination..hope that made you laugh..✌️😆
We have a Mitsubishi i (petrol version) of this car, so I was hoping to enjoy a decent review of this car. All I can say is that you clearly hated it from the off. The graphics/decals aren't standard on the car so I fail to see the relevance. I didn't finish the video because of your adenoidal voice and wide stretchy arms. Someone below has commented on the stupidly small tyres and that they are only available from one manfacturer. FYI they are the same size and profile as on the Mk2 Smart Car so tyres are widely available from Continental to budget tyres in summer, winter and all season variants. There's so many inaccuracies in this video because no research has been done. You clearly want to be an automotive journalist or want to establish a decent TH-cam channel, but you need to open your eyes more!
Hi. This is a perfectly fair review of this car, it's not a very good car. It is useful only really for busy cities where having zero tail pipe emissions is important, but other than in very stormy weather you would probably be better off on an electric moped. To our knowledge the decals were fitted by the dealer, they certainly predate the current (second) owner, and failing to mention them would be a rather odder choice than making a quick reference to them. I don't think you know what adenoidal means, you just know its an insult. The iMiEV tires are 145/65R15 while the second gen smart fortwo is 155/60R15, or in other words, a different size. If you believe there are any other inaccuracies please do let us know. Ignoring the glaringly obvious shortcomings of this vehicle would be the antithesis of "opening my eyes", from all here at the Buckle Up team have a lovely evening, I'll be toasting to your anger and outrage from the drivers seat of this weeks press car 😉
Readily available tyres on order and quite reasonable, thank you. I don't have confirmation bias, but by G-d your smart ass review builds up my loyalty.
No, MiEV stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle, the car was already called the I in ICE form presumably inspired by apples naming convention, and in apples naming convention I means intelligent. Intelligent - Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle
Fun test, thanks for that! The best joke with a used i-MiEV is that you can basically drive on reserve with a full battery before you have even covered a meter ;-)) My current MB Diesel can go almost twice as far without having to forego performance ! Who dares to go on the motorway with such a snail (sorry turtle ;-)) when the planned exit is only 20 km away ;-))? Even with a new car you have to think carefully about whether you want to listen to the "9th Symphony by L. van Beethoven" on the way and in the middle of it the car has become an immobile (deaf ;-)) concert hall.
Mitsubish launched the i-MiEV - the first mass-produced electric vehicle in the world in 2009. It was well before the Nissan Leaf. The battery management system on the i-MiEV is way better than the Leaf. That's why the Leaf of the same age battery is degraded and rubbish now. Plus the Leaf weights over 700 kgs more than the i-MiEV. EVs today are getting up to 3x heavier than an i-MiEV. How much energy do you need to push that around? And how much battery weight and cost? The i-MiEV weighs 1030kgs. So put the same kw battery in the i-MiEV and your range is more than 50% more than a Leaf. Loads more than the heavy EVs of today. The only one to come a bit close is the BMW i3. It is physics guys. Bigger the mass the greater energy you need to push it. Plus when the i-MiEV was made more than 75% of the cost was the battery. It still would be today if it wasn't for all the expensive gadgets in new EVs you don't need just waiting to breakdown and be a pain to own. The i-MiEV is simple hense it's reliability even over a decade on. And because batteries are still so very expensive you can fit a 30kw battery into an i-MiEV, today a small battery and therefore cheaper, the range is more than double than what it was when new. This is the best city car you can buy today albeit used. Simple and reliable. EVs are by far the best city car. What do you need in a city car? Compact easy to park fit anywhere even between bollards. Light, good physics for moving a mass. They are still cute comfortable and don't look too much out of date. And are unique. Your not just one of the crowd in an i-MiEV. They are brilliant little machines.
I’m not sure how this was ever allowed to leave the concept stage. I must say that all of the EV’s I’ve driven that have come out in the last two years have been as good as, if not better than their combustion powered equivalent.
You have no idea. Mitsubish launched the i-MiEV - the first mass-produced electric vehicle in the world in 2009. It was well before the Nissan Leaf. The battery management system on the i-MiEV is way better than the Leaf. That's why the Leaf of the same age battery is degraded and rubbish now. Plus the Leaf weights over 700 kgs more than the i-MiEV. EVs today are getting up to 3x heavier than an i-MiEV. How much energy do you need to push that around? And how much battery weight and cost? The i-MiEV weighs 1030kgs. So put the same kw battery in the i-MiEV and your range is more than 50% more than a Leaf. Loads more than the heavy EVs of today. The only one to come a bit close is the BMW i3. It is physics guys. Bigger the mass the greater energy you need to push it. Plus when the i-MiEV was made more than 75% of the cost was the battery. It still would be today if it wasn't for all the expensive gadgets in new EVs you don't need just waiting to breakdown and be a pain to own. The i-MiEV is simple hense it's reliability even over a decade on. And because batteries are still so very expensive you can fit a 30kw battery into an i-MiEV, today a small battery and therefore cheaper, the range is more than double than what it was when new. This is the best city car you can buy today albeit used. Simple and reliable. EVs are by far the best city car. What do you need in a city car? Compact easy to park fit anywhere even between bollards. Light, good physics for moving a mass. They are still cute comfortable and don't look too much out of date. And are unique. Your not just one of the crowd in an i-MiEV. They are brilliant little machines.
You are funny! And video informative! 👍🙏
Thank you for having a sense of humour, many in the comments don’t.
My Wife and I have have 2 imievs. We each drive one everyday. Great commuters. I would say if you are driving less than 50 miles per day. Just charge each night at home. That is the key. Looking at both car combined, over150,000 total miles about $400 total maintenance after 7 years of driving. Most underappreciated car in America.
Really glad that you both enjoy yours but not sure I could manage 150,000 miles on those seats!
can a tall person 6 foot /185cm fit?
Robert, the reviewer, is 188 cm
@@hughenden6 yes I am 6’
@@BuckleUpShow thanks, i must i have missed that part
I have now owned 4 different electric cars. The i miev was my first and I absolutely loved it. Yes, Winter range was a bummer (it was the only EV I have run dry in) but in warmer weather it was a great little machine. On football days I regularly carried three adult passengers to the match. We used my car because it could slot into ridiculously small parking spaces near the ground. Fold the rear seats down and it could hold a full size pallet ( try that in any of the current crop of hatchbacks). A tip I found on a forum was, at dual carriageway traffic lights, when you have a car come alongside, ideally driven by a throttle blipper wearing a back to front baseball cap, turn off the traction control then floor it on green. Used to leave them for dead up to 30!. Yes it was childish but huge fun. If you don't mind a bit of constructive criticism, perhaps you could adopt a less biased style. An open mind is a great starting point when producing a review. Also, comedy is a tricky skill and best avoided until you have practiced it a lot more, preferably off line.. Sorry it's a ramble. I have had a few lemonades.
Each to their own I guess. More than happy to take your constructive criticism on board. Just a shame you can’t take any about, what is ultimately, an incredibly flawed car 🤷♂️
Hey Bjorn,
would you mind answering a question? Since you've run dry an i-miev, does it have some sort of emergency tank so to speak or does it simply stop driving after the last bar of charge is used? I've owned one for the years now and never found out ^^
@BuckleUpShow your replies on this review comes across as, how to put it, ... erm... touchy. Needlessly antagonistic. Like you've been called out and you know you overplayed your hand.
I agree that the iMiev isn't a great car, even second hand and you didn't cover some of the big flaws as a second hand buy.
Because you didn't cover the flaws, and wasted a lot of time in this review on snark you can hardly complain about the pushback you get in the comments.
There's nothing in the comment you replied to that suggested they cant take constructive criticism that I can see.
Whilst Nissan and Mitsubishi did create two flawed vehicles in the iMiev and the Leaf both were tree shakers for the process. Pun not intended as the Leaf is still barely clinging on as a viable proposition but obviously had Citroën and Peugeot not kept the imiev alive it would have ceased to be as a production line years before it did.
Anyhow, the reviewers are right, its an anachronistic review full of snark.
You have to endure the snark and the odd silly comment in order to get to the better points in the review.
The section while driving was the best. Better pace and better signal to noise ratio.
Anyhow you might also want to reconsider wiping your nose with your sleeve on camera.
I can see that you think you're very intelligent. The first commenter accused us of bias, we had no prior opinion of the iMiEV before we started filming that day and the review shows an honest opinion of it. The things we mentioned are what we consider to be significant shortcomings with it.
Also the Leaf is leaps an bounds ahead of the iMiEV, to the point we would recommend one of them if someone was looking for a second car electric run around, we would struggle to ever recommend this mitsubishi though.
@@BuckleUpShow and there you go again. Talk about QED.
At least show some capacity for self reflection.
Rather snarkey review, I'd say. I have two 2012 models from new. We shop, go to work, etc. Wife got t-boned a few years past. Not a scratch on her although a bit shook. The car was fixed up to excellent condition, still driving. Built like a tank.
People like you who were obviously raised posh shouldn't review real working people's cars. Most buy/ bought these great little cars not expecting first class. We working stiffs want /need utility and Miev delivers just fine, you git.
When new the i-MiEV was £28,499, at the same time you could buy a Citroen C1, Peugeot 108 or Toyota Aygo for £6495 and it was more comfortable, better equipped and roomier inside. In fact, that's exactly what my parents did.
If you're drawing cars to a side in a class war, I'm afraid to say the i-MiEV definitely wouldn't be on the side of the working man. The previous owner of this very car had it as a second vehicle for driving in London when he couldn't to be bothered to find a space for his Rolls Royce.
Also, please don’t presume to know anything about me or my upbringing. You couldn’t be further from the reality.
Wow. Both of you are snarky gits...
@@BuckleUpShow Yeah, the iMiEV was initially about $30,000 new in the USA.
You wouldnt say he is a git in his face though lol
We're guessing that (and the very valid points raised in our response) are why the original commenter hasn't replied 😂
I have Mitsubishi i (my 2nd one), but thinking of a imev version, they are great cars with amazing room inside for it's outside dimensions. It is well made for its purpose and price, its easy to work on and does all what a car needs to do.
Power to you if you like yours but to me, it came across as a very flawed car indeed.
@@BuckleUpShow Superficially yes I'd say so too, it is a Japanese k car prinicply, so designed for those compact dimensions and a max power output of 65bhp, the smart car uses this same engine and this car really can be thought of as the real smart for 4, suspension is simple and the car is built to be light but strong, they also wanted to design something that is different. I driven and owned many Maseratis, fancy fiats in my time, anything basically that the common man says is a bad car and found it is more because other common men think that is the case too over it actually being that bad 🙂. For me i wanted a city car, a compact city car that is more narrow than short, which as you may know is far more important in getting i to tight spaces. I also wanted it to be petrol over diesel, automatic, could sit a 6ft person in the back and the front at once, but to also be have low tax and all of the standard amenities too. The car yes doesn't handle like a sports car, but i did buy it to be one, just the best small city car money can buy 🙂
Four years ago I bought a 2012 Peugeot iOn for under £4k. It's used as the daily runabout and now has over 60,000 miles on the clock. The iOn is one of 'The'Triplets' - Mitsubishi imiev / Citroen CZero / Peugeot iOn. They were over £30k when launched and were claimed to have 100k / 80 mile range. It's now 2023 and my iOn still charges to 70 miles in summer and 59 in winter. Simple and ultra-cheap to run, the car recharges in under 4 hours using a 3-pin plug. I either plug her in overnight or - weather permitting - from our solar panels, which means she runs on sunshine! These cars are like a mini Tardis: the rear seats are 60/40 split and fold down to a level floor that can accommodate largish things like a dining chair, garden strimmer etc. The Triplets were designed by Mitsubishi as city cars (Japanese Kei cars). They were originally built as petrol engine cars (hence the transmission tunnel) but were changed to BEV cars by 2011. They don't often come up for sale because their owners love them. Oh, and for a bit of fun you can out-accelerate anything at the traffic lights, no problem. It really upsets Audi drivers!!!!
While I can’t argue with the fairly objective first 2/3 of your comment, the reason these are rarely for sale is because no one bought one. Oh, and I’m fairly sure I could out accelerate this car… by running
We like out little 2012 MiEV. My Lady insisted on RWD with a budget of $10K, so there wasn't much choice. But after 9 years it still has 100 km range and it's great for parking and driving around the city. It has "enough" power - it can run easily at 100 km/h on the highway. We just folded down the rear seats so we have lots of cargo space for such a small car. But yeah... it doesn't exactly handle like a Porche.
Glad to hear you both enjoy yours! As I say in the video, it’s fine for city driving and the visibility is excellent especially out of the preposterously big windscreen! But if you want something that handles and can go more than 50-60 miles then you need to look for something else. The Nissan Leaf seems like a much better used buy in the UK to me.
@@BuckleUpShow The issue with used Leafs in the same price class is that they are much higher mileage and the Leaf batteries seem to deteriorate a lot quicker that the Imievs. For a cheap getting-to-the-shop-or-busstop-car the IMiev is about as cheap as it gets. Granted, new they were horribly overpriced but secondhand they're a bargain now (at least in Norway).
@@odin1899 I agree that it makes much more sense now to buy it used but I've just checked Autotrader here in the UK, and you can get a Leaf for the same price as an iMiev/iOn/C-Zero. The mileage is slightly higher but usable range on the iMiev was 40 miles on a good day, the Leaf I drove soon afterwards could easily go 80 miles. Both cars were a similar age and would sell for roughly the same amount. No competition as far as I'm concerned.
@@BuckleUpShow The used prices in the UK could of course be quite different compared to Norway's EV prices. I paid around 35000 NOK/3500 EUR for our 2014 IMiev with a hair's breadth under 60000 km. That thing does a 100 km with ease on a summer's day. The one you drove must've had a pretty trashed battery if it struggles to go past 40 miles/65 km.
I looked at Leafs as well but the prices for a used one in ok condition with *just* 0% SoH on the pack go north of 60000 NOK/6000 EUR with a much higher mileage than the electric wheelbarrow that we got instead. (And these things are a hoot over speedbumps, I got some airtime on them I think).
What a very poor review, of a great little car! You do not understand it at all! It's built on a Kei car platform, which was a tiny, cheap road tax city car. You can not expect too much from it. Having said that, my 2010 model is still going strong. Zips through city traffic easily, yet happy to easily cruise down the highway at 100 kph. Fold down those rear seats and there is a ton of space for cargo. Fantastic little cars!
Thanks for your feedback, however I perfectly understand what this car is. Compared to all other small cars on offer here in Britain, it’s insanely expensive, badly put together, uncomfortable and the range is terrible. We have a lot smaller cars than the iMiev here and they do everything better. It maybe sounds like you haven’t had a lot of experience with what else is out there on the market.
@@BuckleUpShow My prospective is from Australia. Badly put together? My I-MiEV is 12 years old and has only had tires replace. 12 years ago, the range was market leading. It was the first production EV in the world. Uncomfortable? It wasn't designed for giants like yourself or my self. Expensive? Well yeah, 12 years ago it was leading edge tec, which is always expensive, Their latest offering, announced 2 days ago, looks to be very competitive price wise. Anyway you should spend more time with a car before you review it.
One car having no issues is anecdotal rather than empirical evidence. There were EVs out at the same time that had more than twice the range and the first "modern" mass produced EV was the GM EV1. The Nissan Leaf followed the iMiev six months later which is a much, much better car (and was £3,000 cheaper when new). There are many other small cars (including kei cars) that will take tall drivers with ease (including but not limited to; the VW up!, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo etc etc). But otherwise good job 👍
My next car, where can I buy it?
Good luck finding one, there’s only 170ish left in the UK
Mitsubish launched the i-MiEV - the first mass-produced electric vehicle in the world in 2009. It was well before the Nissan Leaf. The battery management system on the i-MiEV is way better than the Leaf. That's why the Leaf of the same age battery is degraded and rubbish now. Plus the Leaf weights over 700 kgs more than the i-MiEV. EVs today are getting up to 3x heavier than an i-MiEV. How much energy do you need to push that around? And how much battery weight and cost? The i-MiEV weighs 1030kgs. So put the same kw battery in the i-MiEV and your range is more than 50% more than a Leaf. Loads more than the heavy EVs of today. The only one to come a bit close is the BMW i3. It is physics guys. Bigger the mass the greater energy you need to push it. Plus when the i-MiEV was made more than 75% of the cost was the battery. It still would be today if it wasn't for all the expensive gadgets in new EVs you don't need just waiting to breakdown and be a pain to own. The i-MiEV is simple hense it's reliability even over a decade on. And because batteries are still so very expensive you can fit a 30kw battery into an i-MiEV, today a small battery and therefore cheaper, the range is more than double than what it was when new. This is the best city car you can buy today albeit used. Simple and reliable. EVs are by far the best city car. What do you need in a city car? Compact easy to park fit anywhere even between bollards. Light, good physics for moving a mass. They are still cute comfortable and don't look too much out of date. And are unique. Your not just one of the crowd in an i-MiEV. They are brilliant little machines.
Hi Hugh, that's very impressive. Almost all of that was wrong. Shall we take each point in turn?
The General Motors EV1 was the first mass produced electric car in the world. The i-MiEV wasn't available to the public until 2010 outside of Japan, and guess what came out the same year - the Nissan Leaf. But of course the Leaf faded into obscurity, similar to the i-MiEV. Oh wait, no. That's not what happened at all. The Leaf went on to global acclaim, winning European and World car of the year in 2011, and then went on to become the best selling electric car of all time. A title it held until 2020, when it was overtaken by the Tesla Model 3.
I have driven both an i-MiEV and a first generation Nissan Leaf - both of the same year - and the Leaf had an 80 mile real world range, whereas the i-MiEV only had a 40 miles. And yes, while the Leaf may have weighed more, (not by the amounts you suggest because all your weight figures are incorrect) it's a proper car, with enough space and range for a family to consider buying.
I'm happy to accept that electric cars are too heavy, but until there is a fundamental battery technology advancement, that's how it's going to be. I cannot, however, accept your point about the i-MiEV being out on sale today. It's weight would increase drastically to meet safety regulations, otherwise it would not be allowed onto the roads.
I cannot stress enough, how wrong you are about this being 'the best city car you can buy today'. In fact, it's probably the exact opposite. I can't think of any other city car that I would rank lower than this. And I've driven a lot of them. It's certainly 'unique' as you put it, and the only reason 'your (you're*) not just one of the crowd' in an i-MiEV is because it was so expensive and terrible when it was new, nobody bought one.
way to biased! the car does his job flawless! it's a devil little machine! i'm 1.95m and with me on the front seat i can also fit in the rear seat.
It gets to 70km hour in a heartbeat (a slow one).
you haven't fold the rear seat and there's a big feature for loading.
Drives and handles very nice! you have to learn how to drive it!
and by the way axles distance is equal to an audi A3! It just looks smaller!
A lot of this is subjective. I’ve driven lots of small cars and lots of electric ones too. This car is not better than any of them.
16:00 Hey, the familiar wiper motor sound from the '70s is back! I like that sound :-)
I think you might be on your own with that one 😅
Underrated car
We're not sure that's possible
@@BuckleUpShow In your little bubble, maybe. It's a proper efficient run around that's highly sought after second hand - especially with the price of oil going around today
It was ultimately a 2005 Japanese Kei car that was converted to help meet stricter fleet emissions requirements in the EU and US - and ultimately develop the Outlander PHEV.
This review is so savage 😂. I feel sorry for the I-MiEV drivers arguing in the comments.
Please don’t
Hi. I would like to ask whether anyone does not know where is located the horn and how to fix/change it in case it is not working.
Thank you.
Any owners in the comments want to help this man out?
Very subjective review. It's designed for a specific purpose.
Which is?
@@BuckleUpShow it is predominantly a city car, not a replacement for a family car. If it was re introduced today I think it would be popular.
The price of the iMiEV adjusted for inflation would buy you a Kia eNiro with a 280 mile range today. The only way the iMiEV could sell even half decently is by selling for less than £10000, which wouldn't be financially viable for mitsubishi.
@@BuckleUpShow Agree, certainly not more than £15,000
@@BuckleUpShow Transportation, duh.
The bolt on the sides make it go faster. Guessing the head unit was the most expensive part of this car xd
I think you could be right
28 Miles ? Seriously - mine goes almost 100 miles (OK I am lying it goes 110Kilomiters) and the seats are not uncomfortable - We are paying $7 USD a gallon for gas here in New Zealand and I never buy gas
Yes, seriously. That’s what the read out was saying. Even if yours goes 70 miles, I’d still rather pay £2 per litre for petrol than choose to take any of my journeys in one of these.
@@BuckleUpShow I bought me a tesla model 3 but its going to take me another 3 months to receive it - Waiting 6 months to pick up your new car takes all the fun out of buying new
I don't know if it's a good car or not, but a clown pretending that he can't figure out how to use anything doesn't tell me anything about it. Pretending that you can't fit in the back seat when you clearly can isn't a flaw. It's a small, lightweight car, pointing out that it's small and lightweight isn't a flaw. Expecting luxury in a car that isn't a luxury car, isn't a flaw.
You don’t know if it’s a good car or not, but you’re still going to use your extensive knowledge of nothing to write this comment 😅
I’m comparing it to every other small car I’ve driven (and I’ve driven nearly all of them) and the point is, it’s flawed compared to them.
...and yet if you compare it to a golf cart or a skate board, it's fantastic! Lower your expectations.
It’s a car. It was sold as a car. I think I’ll stick to comparing it to other cars.
You can’t do a review on a car that’s not a Ferrari or a rolls Royce and expect it to be like one ,I’ve been in the trade for 45 years and had many top line cars including Porsches and Mercedes. Believe or not I own one of these and it completely paid for itself in 4 years of ownership no servicing apart from a check over of balljoints and tyres ,I call it a makita grinder with wheels . Made in Japan to execute duties in the city and it’s does just that like a surgical instrument .0 to 60 in 9.8 seconds is faster than most basic saloon cars..do I care that it doesn’t pull over a g on the skid pan! No not at all ,do the brakes work to a standard for the size of the car, of course they do..has the battery degraded in 6 years of ownership, sorry no it hasn’t not one bit ..a tool to do a job very well indeed and made in Japan as we all know the leaders in reliability wold wide…in busy congested traffic it’s superb because it’s so narrow you can just slip through traffic easily,anyway that’s my whinging done,apologies..😂
Not sure I mentioned Ferrari or Rolls Royce. As I’ve said a hundred times in the comments already, this ‘car’ doesn’t have any redeeming features as far as I can tell. And that’s just comparing it to other city cars, nothing special.
@@BuckleUpShow one of the best redeeming features is that it cost practically nothing to run with no service bills apart from an mot and the odd tyre and ball joint compared to other cars .. I understand it’s pretty dull but you’ll never beat jap stuff for reliability Just saying 😃..what ever you do don’t turn the heater on or you won’t arrive at youre destination..hope that made you laugh..✌️😆
We have a Mitsubishi i (petrol version) of this car, so I was hoping to enjoy a decent review of this car. All I can say is that you clearly hated it from the off. The graphics/decals aren't standard on the car so I fail to see the relevance. I didn't finish the video because of your adenoidal voice and wide stretchy arms. Someone below has commented on the stupidly small tyres and that they are only available from one manfacturer. FYI they are the same size and profile as on the Mk2 Smart Car so tyres are widely available from Continental to budget tyres in summer, winter and all season variants. There's so many inaccuracies in this video because no research has been done. You clearly want to be an automotive journalist or want to establish a decent TH-cam channel, but you need to open your eyes more!
Hi. This is a perfectly fair review of this car, it's not a very good car. It is useful only really for busy cities where having zero tail pipe emissions is important, but other than in very stormy weather you would probably be better off on an electric moped.
To our knowledge the decals were fitted by the dealer, they certainly predate the current (second) owner, and failing to mention them would be a rather odder choice than making a quick reference to them.
I don't think you know what adenoidal means, you just know its an insult.
The iMiEV tires are 145/65R15 while the second gen smart fortwo is 155/60R15, or in other words, a different size. If you believe there are any other inaccuracies please do let us know.
Ignoring the glaringly obvious shortcomings of this vehicle would be the antithesis of "opening my eyes", from all here at the Buckle Up team have a lovely evening, I'll be toasting to your anger and outrage from the drivers seat of this weeks press car 😉
As of May 2022, Mitsubishi has launched a new EK X EV with Nissan's help by rebadging as Nissan Sakura.
Is it any better than this?
@@BuckleUpShow Hell yeah!
Probably the biggest "negative" on it is that only ONE mfr makes that odd size so it's hard to get tires for it.
Yeah, I can imagine that’s very annoying and probably needlessly expensive on such a small car.
Readily available tyres on order and quite reasonable, thank you. I don't have confirmation bias, but by G-d your smart ass review builds up my loyalty.
Someone’s triggered…
@@BuckleUpShow Cookie time, Junior.
Ah yes, resorting to insults always makes you look like the one in the right. Nice to see you ignored our response to your other comment 😊
That was a subjective and biased review, only focused on the negatives..excessively.
Which part was biased?
How tall are you?
2 yd 2"
Nice !!! Wait until you need a suspension! Front shocks 700euros :)
Don't worry Matheos, it's not our "car"
Beavis and Butthead car review 😂
Could you put that in a way that a Brit might understand?
correction....Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle.......
You missed out an I 😉
The iMiEV feels ancient now considering all the amazing electric cars you can get now for £40k
It’s crazy that this thing ever cost that much!
I doesn't stand for intelligent with IMiEV, it stands for Innovative Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle.
No, MiEV stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle, the car was already called the I in ICE form presumably inspired by apples naming convention, and in apples naming convention I means intelligent.
Intelligent - Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle
Fun test, thanks for that! The best joke with a used i-MiEV is that you can basically drive on reserve with a full battery before you have even covered a meter ;-)) My current MB Diesel can go almost twice as far without having to forego performance ! Who dares to go on the motorway with such a snail (sorry turtle ;-)) when the planned exit is only 20 km away ;-))?
Even with a new car you have to think carefully about whether you want to listen to the "9th Symphony by L. van Beethoven" on the way and in the middle of it the car has become an immobile (deaf ;-)) concert hall.
Thanks for watching
I remember when they first came out and I took a look. at that time I said no way
I can understand why my friend!
Mitsubish launched the i-MiEV - the first mass-produced electric vehicle in the world in 2009. It was well before the Nissan Leaf. The battery management system on the i-MiEV is way better than the Leaf. That's why the Leaf of the same age battery is degraded and rubbish now. Plus the Leaf weights over 700 kgs more than the i-MiEV. EVs today are getting up to 3x heavier than an i-MiEV. How much energy do you need to push that around? And how much battery weight and cost? The i-MiEV weighs 1030kgs. So put the same kw battery in the i-MiEV and your range is more than 50% more than a Leaf. Loads more than the heavy EVs of today. The only one to come a bit close is the BMW i3. It is physics guys. Bigger the mass the greater energy you need to push it. Plus when the i-MiEV was made more than 75% of the cost was the battery. It still would be today if it wasn't for all the expensive gadgets in new EVs you don't need just waiting to breakdown and be a pain to own. The i-MiEV is simple hense it's reliability even over a decade on. And because batteries are still so very expensive you can fit a 30kw battery into an i-MiEV, today a small battery and therefore cheaper, the range is more than double than what it was when new. This is the best city car you can buy today albeit used. Simple and reliable. EVs are by far the best city car. What do you need in a city car? Compact easy to park fit anywhere even between bollards. Light, good physics for moving a mass. They are still cute comfortable and don't look too much out of date. And are unique. Your not just one of the crowd in an i-MiEV. They are brilliant little machines.
Great little car and worst review ever!
Ooft, that's gonna be a hard disagree from us Jason
No wonder EVs got a bad name looking at this abomination
I’m not sure how this was ever allowed to leave the concept stage. I must say that all of the EV’s I’ve driven that have come out in the last two years have been as good as, if not better than their combustion powered equivalent.
You have no idea. Mitsubish launched the i-MiEV - the first mass-produced electric vehicle in the world in 2009. It was well before the Nissan Leaf. The battery management system on the i-MiEV is way better than the Leaf. That's why the Leaf of the same age battery is degraded and rubbish now. Plus the Leaf weights over 700 kgs more than the i-MiEV. EVs today are getting up to 3x heavier than an i-MiEV. How much energy do you need to push that around? And how much battery weight and cost? The i-MiEV weighs 1030kgs. So put the same kw battery in the i-MiEV and your range is more than 50% more than a Leaf. Loads more than the heavy EVs of today. The only one to come a bit close is the BMW i3. It is physics guys. Bigger the mass the greater energy you need to push it. Plus when the i-MiEV was made more than 75% of the cost was the battery. It still would be today if it wasn't for all the expensive gadgets in new EVs you don't need just waiting to breakdown and be a pain to own. The i-MiEV is simple hense it's reliability even over a decade on. And because batteries are still so very expensive you can fit a 30kw battery into an i-MiEV, today a small battery and therefore cheaper, the range is more than double than what it was when new. This is the best city car you can buy today albeit used. Simple and reliable. EVs are by far the best city car. What do you need in a city car? Compact easy to park fit anywhere even between bollards. Light, good physics for moving a mass. They are still cute comfortable and don't look too much out of date. And are unique. Your not just one of the crowd in an i-MiEV. They are brilliant little machines.
you dont get much for your money
Chinese are now sadly making the best EVs
Not sure why it’s a sad thing that the Chinese are making the best EVs?
Jobs for the boys
Uh, Tesla?
Well you better check out Mitsubishi's new EK X (Cross) EV / Nissan Sakura.
Looking through all the comments from all the butt hurt little toy car owners on here is hilarious.
Great review 👍
Thanks for watching, Steve! We aim to be impartial, and if the car is naff we'll say so 😂