The Mitsubishi i is a kei car from automaker Mitsubishi Motors, first released in January 2006,
The innovative layout and styling of the i proved an immediate critical and commercial success, exceeding Mitsubishi's initial sales targets by 20 percent and winning thirteen awards in its first year.
Concepts: i, Se-Ro
Two
concept car were exhibited during the car's development. The first was the
"i" Concept, which debuted at the 60th Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003, and previewed the car's striking exterior.
Motoring journalists were quick to seize on the distinctive
silhouette, calling it "a very good egg",
and a "crystal ball" with which to see the future of Mitsubishi.
One reviewer even speculated it to be an allusion by the vehicle's
France-born designer
Olivier Boulay to the Renault 4CV, France's popular
post-war "people's car" with which the
i shared its four-seat, rear-engined layout.
Its styling was formally lauded when the
i won the Grand Prize at the 50th anniversary Good Design Awards from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in October 2006, the first
kei car to win the award.
Explaining the choice of name, the company claimed that "i" could represent the owner ( I, the nominative personal pronoun) as an encouragement to personal expression, or innovation, intelligence and imagination, keywords in the car's development.
The "i" Concept was powered by a 999 cc powerplant with the company's Mitsubishi Smart Idling (MSI) system, which turns off the engine automatically when the vehicle is stationary, and can restart it within 0.2 seconds.
The second prototype, called the Se-Ro and exhibited at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, previewed the production model's more conventional mechanical underpinnings, despite having a more radical appearance which bore little resemblance to the final design.
Technical details
Body and dimensions
A lightweight steel (not aluminium) structure and a rear-engined layout allowed Mitsubishi to incorporate a larger front
crumple zone, in order to meet current safety legislation requirements without compromising interior space.
With no
powertrain in front of the driver, the designers were able to shorten the front overhang and lengthen the
wheelbase to , giving greater legroom for passengers than many comparable
kei cars whose wheelbase is typically less.
The downside of this design was a reduction in cargo-carrying capacity, which was necessarily compromised by the engine's location in the rear.
Drivetrain
The
i has a "rear-midship" engine mounted just ahead of the rear
axle, a highly unusual configuration in a small car where front-engine design has dominated since the 1970s.
The
3B20 three-cylinder powerplant has an
aluminium cylinder block, a displacement of 659 cubic centimetres, and incorporates double overhead camshafts with
MIVEC variable valve timing in the
cylinder head. Initially only an
intercooled and
turbocharged engine was offered, until a naturally aspirated version was introduced for 2007.
A four-speed automatic gearbox transmits power to the
rear-wheel drive or
four-wheel drive wheels, depending on specification.
Suspension, brakes and tires
are used in the front suspension, and an unusual three-link De Dion tube/Watt's linkage is used in the rear.
Front
disc brake with anti-lock braking (ABS) and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) are standard across the range.
In common with many other mid- or rear-engined vehicles its fifteen-inch wheels have uneven-sized tires, 145/65 on the fronts and wider 175/55 on the rears, in an effort to minimise the chances of
oversteer caused by the rear-biased weight distribution.
Specifications
Three individual models, or grades, were available on the car's release in 2006;
S,
M, and
G, in ascending order of price. They all shared the same five-door
hatchback body style and turbocharged engine, but offered differing levels of options and standard equipment. In 2007 the base
S model was given the new naturally aspirated powerplant, and was positioned below the two new grades,
L and
LX, whose engine it shared.
File:Mitsubishi i rear.jpg|Rear view
File:Mitsubishi i interior.jpg|Interior
Domestic and international markets
Mass production began at the company's Mizushima plant in Kurashiki, Okayama, in December 2005,
before it was released for sale on January 24, 2006.
Priced from
Japanese yen1,281,000 to ¥1,617,000, Mitsubishi initially aimed for 5,000 cars per month within the domestic market, and managed to exceed its target in its first month by over 1,000.
By the end of 2006, approximately 37,000 had been sold.
[ "Mitsubishi “i” to go on sale in the UK" , Automotoportal, February 16, 2007] The company has already exported the
i to
Singapore,
Brunei,
Hong Kong, and
New Zealand,
where like Japan they drive on the left, and introduced it to the
United Kingdom on July 1, 2007, with a price of
Pound sterling9,000 and a target of 300 sales per year.
Annual production and sales
|
|
|
| 2005 | 19,705 | 16,105 | 3 | 16,108 |
| 2006 | 31,725 | 29,498 | 454 | 29,952 |
| 2007 | 12,163 | 15,540 | 892 | 16,432 |
| 2008 | 8,501 | 8,793 | 267 | 9,060 |
| 2009 | 6,344 | 6,439 | 36 | 6,475 |
| 2010 | 4,655 | 4,685 | – | 4,685 |
| 2011 | 3,651 | 3,828 | – | 3,828 |
| 2012 | 2,340 | 2,328 | – | 2,328 |
(source: Facts & Figures 2012 [2], Mitsubishi Motors website)
Special editions
From July 25 to 31, 2006 the company displayed a unique
Mitsubishi i Hello Kitty edition at the
Mitsukoshi department store in
Tokyo's
Nihonbashi district. Based on the
two-wheel drive G model, it had a pink
paint scheme with co-ordinated interior, "Princess Kitty"
on the doors and windows, a ribbon decal on the roof, and themed
head restraint with small,
Felinae ears. The car, which was described as "the most quintessentially Japanese car...ever" for fusing two of the country's
—
Hello Kitty and
keijidōsha[ "The ultimate kei? Mitsubishi i Hello Kitty 'Princess Kitty' edition", Alex Nunez, Autoblog.com, July 7, 2006]—was eventually sold in a charity auction on behalf of
UNICEF.
Other limited production models include the i Play edition, a run of 3,000 cars only available in white or black, and featuring a dashboard-mounted slot for an iPod nano,
Also 100 of the i Kurashiki edition with denim upholstery, to be sold at a single Mitsubishi dealership in Kurashiki, Okayama, the Prefectural where the bulk of Japan's domestic Jeans manufacturers are located.[ "Mitsubishi releases jeans-themed "i" Kurashiki Edition", Alex Nunez, Autoblog.com, December 14, 2006]
1st Anniversary special editions based on the L and M grades were also introduced in early 2007 to commemorate the car's first year on sale.
Electric car version
Mitsubishi has given the
i a prominent role in the company's alternative propulsion research projects, developing a version using their
MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) technology in 2006 and exhibited at the 22nd International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition in
Yokohama. MMC provided three
electric utility with vehicles in 2006 and 2007 in order to evaluate how a "fast-charge"
infrastructure might be developed for electric vehicles.
Fleet vehicle testing by five power companies was conducted later in 2007,
with a view to future public sales between 2008 and 2010.
[ "Mitsubishi i MiEV Single Motor EV", James Fraser, The Energy Blog, October 12, 2006][ "Mitsubishi i: In Detail", F. de Leeuw van Weenen, WorldCarFans.com, August 18, 2006]
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car was launched in Japan for fleet customers in July 2009 and for the general public in April 2010.
Awards
The
i won the 2007 Car of the Year award from the Japanese Automotive Researchers and Journalists Conference (RJC),
and two other "Car of the Year" awards, from the Carview Corporation website and the Consumer's Choice.
It also won the "Most Advanced Technology" Special Achievement Award at the 2006–07 Japan Car of the Year awards, where it was nominated unsuccessfully in the overall Car of the Year category,
and ranked first in the Japan Mini-Car APEAL Study published by J.D. Power Asia Pacific in October 2006, with a higher score than any previous winner.
Aside from the 2006 Good Design Grand Prix, its style won Design Awards from the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (JAHFA), and the magazines Popeye and Car Styling.
See also
External links
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