Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Electric Car) Launched in Malaysia, RM136k !

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia has launched the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV in Malaysia, marking the first electric vehicle (EV) being sold officially in Malaysia! I guess the public's biggest question about the i-MiEV is what's the price. Well, it's RM136,118.50 OTR without insurance even with full tax exemption. It's an inevitable high price to pay since producing an EV doesn't come cheap and EVs' number of sales haven't achieve economies of scale.

 Second most important question is, how much will it cost me for driving an EV? A full charge of around 8 hours from a house's power socket will cost you about RM3.50 at current electric tariff, which enable you to travel for 150km. Besides, you'll get to enjoy a low RM10 annual road tax. By the way, the i-MiEV has 5-year warranty for its battery pack as well as free maintenance of up to 100,000km. Service interval is 20,000km due to the absence of engine (means lower maintenance cost too). But a car with this price is not about the money, it's about making the world a cleaner place.

 An electric motor with 49kW (67hp) and 196Nm of torque is used to power the i-MiEV. Top speed is 130km/h. No carbon footprint will be created while the immense amount of torque is available from standstill, how fun is that? With all four wheels located near to the edges of the car and a low-mounted rear engine, the i-MiEV promises nimble handling albeit the tall-ish body.

 The 2550mm long wheelbase promises ample legroom for the occupants. However, it might be a squeeze to fit 3 adults at the back since it's just 1475mm wide, the maximum width of a kei-car. GPS, auto headlights, automatic climate control, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter are some standard features. Safety wise, six airbags, Active Stability Control (ASC) and Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) rigid body construction for the i-MiEV.

For future owners of i-MiEV or EVs, there are charging station in KLCC and Lot 10 parking lot where you can charge your EV for free! Mitsubishi's first EV centre, SAG Star along Jalan Chan Sow Lin also provide free charging station. May the world a better place for our future as well as generations to come.

Check out my previous i-MiEV test drive experience here!

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