While Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV may have been a weird looking, unusually small and wildly expensive car, it was also a dead-set pioneer.
After all, it was an all-electric car sold in Australia in 2010, and thus punched everyone. It wasn’t long for our market, which shouldn’t have surprised anyone, but the path it helped carve is becoming a super highway.
Appropriately, Mitsubishi has just revealed what a spiritual i-MiEV successor means, meaning a tiny electric K-car aimed at Japan. Mitsubishi EK X EV. There is also a Nissan version, as detailed.
Unfortunately, this time around, it will not be possible to reach the Australian coast if one of the few i-MiEV diehards out there is surprised.
“There are no current plans to bring this to Australia, but as we move towards 35 electrified models by 2030, we will see what the Alliance is offering,” said a spokesman for Mitsubishi Australia.
“Currently our focus is on delivering all new Outlander PHEVs to the local market in Q3.”
The beautiful little eK X measures 3395 mm long, just like the i-MiEV, and 1475 mm wide. For the context a Mazda 2 measures 4065 mm long and 1695 mm wide.
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Mitsubishi i-MiEV
In Japan, two-thirds of Nissan Leaf also costs 2,398,000 yen (about 26 A26,000).
Despite its refrigerant-cooled 20kWh EV battery, the Mitsubishi weighs only 1080kg, offers an urban driving range of 180km on charge and allows loading even from two-way vehicles – something that is highly preferred in earthquake-prone Japan.
Its drive motor produces 47kW of power and a powerful 195Nm of torque, almost twice as much as the petrol version, and its regenerative braking function allows the claimed one-pedal driving.
It has active parking assistance software and various active safety options in addition to front, side and on-screen airbags. It comes bundled with a phone app that lets you remotely manage AC and monitor charging.
These smaller Kei cars are cheaper to insure and register than a conventional car. It is a car class that is unique to Japan, and was introduced after World War II to encourage manufacturers to build affordable new cars. They are imported in parallel to Australia by some private firms.
Do you think there are opportunities for a small one in Australia, Affordable EV, and a reborn i-MiEV in this example? Will it work a second time? Tell us below.