Lithium Drive: First photos of U.S.-spec Mitsubishi i-MiEV revealed ahead of LA debut tsla, tnr.v, czx.v, rm.v, lmr.v, alk.ax, sqm, fmc, roc, lit, li.v, wlc.v, clq.v, res.v, ree, avl.to, nsany, f, gm, rno.pa, dai, byddf, hev, aone, vlnc

AutoBlogGreen first reported the sketches of wide body i-Miev for US market a few weeks ago, now we have the real pictures. In this composition and, particularly, with price announced for US market Mitsubishi will have some chances to compete with Nissan Leaf now in U.S.

"We were writing before about our experience in a test drive of European version of Electric i-Miev. Electric drive experience was amazing: total silence, full torque from the start, car was very responsive and dynamic to the controls. The downside was with its design and feel - that you are in an "electric car" where you have to sacrifice some comfort with its very narrow body and price was definitely on the upside with a tag above 30k euro before states rebates. We were seriously doubting that these cars could have any commercial success at that pricing level. 

Today's news bring a second life to Mitsubishi in electric space - wide body give it a look of the real car, but "better" - with electric drive. We hope that interior and gadgets will match at least Nissan Leaf and price of 30k USD for the range of 100 miles on one charge will bring a serious competitor to the Nissan Leaf and Renault Fluence."

"The better is the Lithium Drive - electric drive has a very special feeling. We have test drives with Mitsubishi iMiev, Renault Fluence and Nissan Leaf. All cars have a very high torque and very smooth drive, they are almost totally silent inside at the slow speed. iMiev with its price at 30k euro after rebate will struggle once Renault EVs and Nissan Leaf will hit the road. It is smaller and you have a feeling of a "special electric car", when you have to give something in order to be green. We think that the future is open for the models, which will provide "normal, but better" experience as the comparable CE model, but we could be wrong here - people could opt for urban transport solution as well. Renault is on top of the electric game now, in Europe at least."

AutoBlogGreen:

We first saw sketches of what Mitsubishi's i-MiEV might look like when it arrives in the United States, and now we have the first official images a week before the car's public debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Sure, the production-ready i-MiEV you see here loses many of the aggressive-looking elements of the preview sketch, but Mitsubishi has indeed followed through on its promise to offer more robust dimensions and an upgraded interior.

The U.S.-spec i-MiEV is 11.2 inches longer, 4.3 inches wider and 0.2 inches taller than the JDM version. We're glad that Mitsubishi has added a lot of length and width while only minimally increasing height, since that should beef up the rather narrow i-MiEV's stance here on American roads. Inside, the interior looks substantially more comfortable, with a two-tone color scheme and a redesigned center stack, encompassing updated audio and HVAC controls.

Mitsubishi is still targeting an on-sale date near the end of 2011 for the all-electric i-MiEV, with prices coming in below $30,000 (before government rebates). Hit the jump for Mitsubishi's official press blast."

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