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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWith $69 a month lease, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV becomes America’s cheapest electric car
The market for electric vehicles has grown past the early adopter stage into a typical pull of supply, demand and price and with automakers building more plug-in cars than customers have demanded so far, price has only one direction to go. The clearest example to date of pure economics in action comes from an Illinois dealer who's offering a two-year lease of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric sedan for $69 a month before taxes.
The i-MiEV won't win either the talent or beauty portions of any pageant. While it's efficiency rating of 112 mpg-e ranks among the best for any EV car, it's only capable of 62 miles of range on a full charge. Consumer Reports called it "a glorified golf cart of limited use," and with a sticker of $32,000, the mystery of Mitsubishi selling 588 i-MiEVs last year isn't why that's so low, but who bought them.
O'Brien Mitsubishi, a dealership in Mitsubishi's U.S. base of Normal, Ill., appears all out to change that. As caught by Autoblog Green, O'Brien has advertised a $69 a month, two-year lease of an i-MiEV before about $2,100 in fees, or a $169-a-month deal with the fees rolled in. As with all electric car leases, the dealership keeps the $7,500 federal tax credit that goes to the vehicle's buyer.
While the i-MiEV's deal applies at just one dealership, price breaks and discounts have come to other EVs as well. Nissan announced earlier this month it was lowering the sticker price on the base-level 2013 Nissan Leaf EV by $6,000, making the out-the-door price $21,300 including the federal incentive -- a discount of 18 percent from last year's model. Given that automakers have to sell more EVs in the coming years to meet state pollution regulations, expect better deals to get plugged in.
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/69-month-lease-mitsubishi-miev-becomes-america-cheapest-211851404.html
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)The problem I have is that my car would need a recharge before returning home.
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Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)It would work in some cases and not others. Sometimes the commute is just beyond the range of these types of vehicles, but in many cases it would be a workable solution. I might consider one in a few years, when time comes to replace my 08 Yaris. We will see what is available then, the range and my needs. Right now I could probably make it work for me with a 56 mile round trip commute, but it would require recharging every night to do so.
trof
(54,256 posts)In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)sparklee
(3 posts)With the back seats folded there is room for a pair of 55 gallon drums (50 cubic feet). It's a city car, it's supposed to be small and easy to park.
sendero
(28,552 posts)... but it's a Mitsubishi. One of the handful of manufacturers I would not own product from in any circumstance.
I ventured into the car business for a couple of years. I found out a few things including, Saturns are (were) actually cool cars, Toyotas "reliability" is hugely overrated, Honda's reputation is well deserved and I wouldn't have a Mitsubishi period
PasadenaTrudy
(3,998 posts)I'm currently loving Mazda. I have a 2012 Mazda 3. Feels more solid than the Toyotas and Hondas I've owned. I test drove a Prius and thought the seats were awful, for me at least. I couldn't get comfortable. I like the seats in Volvos, but I'm not rich enough to deal with maintaining a European car....
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)It's a 2002 and I use it for work (based in central FLorida and routinely drive as far as Miami, Ft Myers, and up to Ocala) and have barely done anything other than get the oil changed regularly. Thinking back, it's easily the most dependable car I've ever owned. Now, considering it's the same truck as a Ford Ranger I don't know how much of that is Ford and how much is Mazda but Mazda is on the paperwork so you will be hard pressed to get me mad at Mazda ever.
Chrysler, on the other hand...don't get me started...
RILib
(862 posts)My 1969 Mustang has been doing well for 40 years, although now it's starting to need too much repair work.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)a 1965 Pontiac LeMans that he bought brand new. It was a daily driver up into the 90s and then sat in his garage for 15 years. A few years ago he started having it restored and now we go over there and go on drives every couple of weeks or so. It is crazy fun to roll around town in that car. Other than paint and the air cleaner cover (which got swiped from a garage in the 80s) it's all original. Lol, he even has 2 aftermarket rear seatbelts still in their original boxes in the trunk. He never got around to installing them.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)with 147K on it. Now semi-retired and I really enjoy that truck, but it was just too much in gas for the daily commute (hence now being the extra vehicle in the family). It's a good truck, haven't done much beyond normal maintenance. Needs a good wax job now, so that is on the Spring list of things to accomplish.
sendero
(28,552 posts).. of them. They are not quite Hondas, but very good cars and when the price is considered excellent buys.
harmonicon
(12,008 posts)I borrowed it a few times when I was back in the US for awhile last year. I think it's an incredible car. There's very little I would change about it. My dad's now has over 100k miles on it and still runs like new.
benld74
(9,904 posts)run $1600 and up not counting installation
sparklee
(3 posts)EVSEupgrade.com will take the included 120V/8A adapter and modify it to work at 12A on either 120 or 240 volts. I have access to a 240V/16A charger at work but I usually don't need to charge at that rate.
sparklee
(3 posts)I bought one of these cars nine months ago and am still happy with it. Ask me anything.
Golf carts used to be gasoline powered, by the way. They were replace by electrics because those were cheaper to operate and had better performance. Similarly, the gas version of this model doesn't perform as well as the electric upgrade.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)The Peel P50 supposedly got 100 miles per gallon and only cost 198 British pounds when it was new. The car is so small that you can drive it to work, drive it into the elevator of your office building, and then drive it down the hallway of your office suite to your work cubicle.