The i-MiEV ES 2012 is 100% Electric

Last week, my husband and I got to see one of these cute little cars in person. The Farmers’ Market, in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, set aside one of the side streets for the purpose of displaying electric vehicles. This area gathered quite a large crowd of people, many of whom were asking questions about the vehicles to the salesmen who were standing nearby.

Right now, I am driving a 1994 Chevy Cavalier. I love my car, but I realize that it won’t last forever. It was really interesting to get to check out a few different types of electric vehicles. The one that really caught my eye was the i-MiEV ES 2012 The car is 100% electric, and does not use any gas at all. MiEV stands for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle technology. It is an integrated management system.

Look closely, and you will see a drawing of an electric plug over what would normally be the part that you would open up to fill your car with gas. Instead of using gas, this car is powered by electricity. You need to plug it in. The car comes with a portable charging cable that plugs into a standard 120V household outlet. The car’s battery can be fully charged in about 22.5 hours. Another option is to purchase a home charging dock, which is wall mounted, and can give the battery a full charge in 7 hours.

The car gets 112 MPGe, or “Miles Per Gallon electric”. You cannot measure electrical charge by the gallon, so this is the easiest way to compare the fuel efficiency of the i-MiEV to a vehicle that uses gas. This electric vehicle can travel 62 miles on a fully charged battery. I work from home, and don’t often have to drive further than the local grocery store, so that could work for me.

The i-MiEV comes in four colors: white, black, silver, and a nice burgundy color that seems a very fitting choice for a car that may be driving around in Central California’s wine country. The flyer I picked up about this electric vehicle when I was at Farmers’ Market has all kinds of financial incentives to encourage Californians who qualify for a rebate to purchase the car. I’m going to have to think about this one a bit more, but I am interested.