Saw one of these cute little things in the local dealer, and had a test drive yesterday.
Surprisingly nice to drive; the 660 cc engine is turbocharged, mounted in the rear (it is rear wheel drive). Ride is better than the Smart car, and so is the gearbox - a proper automatic instead of the jerky semi-auto in the Smart. Of course the i-car has 4 seats (and 5 doors) so much more luggage space than the Smart.
Comes with aircon and all mod cons; £35 a year to tax it. The only thing I didn't like was the price - £9000 seems a lot, but on the other hand I think it is better value than the Smart. For comparison, you can get an automatic Hyundai Getz or Kia Picanto with more or less the same spec for a bit under £8000 - and those come with a year's free insurance, 3 years servicing for £100 and a 5 year warranty. Of course, they cost a bit more to tax and run, but the economics are still on the side of the Korean cars, I think.
The i-car would certainly make sense in London, since it is congestion charge exempt like the Smart.
Has anyone else driven one of these?
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The i-car would certainly make sense in London since it is congestion charge exempt like the Smart.
No they're not - neither Smart (unless LPG) or i-car.
They will become exempt next year if Ken changes the rules as porposed, as will countless other Euro 4, sub-121g CO2/km cars.
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With C1, 107 and Aygos at less than £7,000 for a similar spec it does look expensive.
From our smart experiences you buy them because of what they are - a very small two seater - you don't look for alternatives which are similar money, but offer more space.
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It also suffers from the small petrol engine with turbo problem - 6,000 mile servicing. Hope it's cheap to do.
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Also cheaper RFL that alot of motorbikes, which are true congestion busters.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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Also cheaper RFL that alot of motorbikes which are true congestion busters.
Smaller engine than a lot of motorbikes, too.
Do motorbike engines have turbos? I was surprised how well it accelerated with 3 passengers.
You'll certainly stay a lot drier in the car, and you can't carry 4 people + luggage on a bike :-)
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i-car was never meant to be a mainstream car in the UK, it looks different and it's interesting(more than can be said for euro bore boxes). The economics of it might not add up, but for most people in most cars they don't either. The i-car conforms to the Kei car requirements so it's not able to compete with products not designed for that. Be nice to see the Kei car idea used in the UK for those without parking spaces.
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The Getz is a vintage design now hence its cheap and the Picanto automatic is painfully slow although smooth enough ( and yes ive driven one and even an anti-speed merchant like me thinks the car having to kickdown two gears for a moderate incline is unacceptable ).
I would buy the Mitsubishi I think. It has got some favourable reviews from several publications and the car seems like a well rounded design.
I would like to see Kei cars in the UK as with such expensive fuel and ever busier roads, small cars do make alot of sense but we have so few genuinely well thought out city cars ( we have a few but choice isnt that great ).
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I think the kind of spec it has makes it reasonable value *if* you want all that stuff (alloys, a/c, auto, all round elec windows etc).
I presume it's only come here because there's no major mods to sell it here as we drive on the left same as the Japanese do.
Be interesting to see how people used to FWD supermini's cope with it in slippy weather!
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I bought one of these i cars and I am very pleased with my purchase. I have only had it three months and do low mileage so this car is ideal. Does anybody else have one of these and are you experiencing poor fuel economy. The dealer syas it should return 55 mpg, we are only getting 40mpg. Also we are having difficulty with the gearbox, it is suppose to start in Park but does not always, you have to move to N Neutral to start. The dealer is aware of the problem and this will be sorted.
I would love to hear feedback from other users of this vehicle and see if you are having the same problems!
Edited by Black Molly on 05/03/2008 at 18:31
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I have had one for a couple of weeks and am struggling to get mid 30s mpg.
What has your dealer offered to do about it?
I am bitterly disappointed as the main reason for buying one was the advertised 50-55mpg.
I am arguing with my dealer about getting a refund as there are lots of other small cars available that offer mid 30s mpg.
There is a recall notice for gearbox problems so check with your dealer about it.
It may be that the problem you have will be cured by the recall modification.
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Mitsubishi......problems.....struggling.....We've been here before.
Come back, Renault - all is forgiven.
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Fair to say that some economy cars need to be driven economically to get the combined figures. I foudn this with my 05 Smart 4-2. When it was brand new I struggled to get 40 mpg but once I adapted to its way of doing things, I got high 50's.
We are hoping to be able to afford a used 'i' in a couple of years.
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I didn't get brilliant economy in my Smart 4-2 Brabus, but then that was probably down to it being such a laugh to drive! Averaged 40mpg on a mixed diet of mostly urban driving. Same roads gave 45mpg in a C4 1.6HDI.
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I persevered with the car for 5 weeks and then sold it.
I did around 1000 miles in it and never managed to hit 40mpg in any driving conditions.
In addition, the stereo system proved to be useless as well as it is set up for Japanese wavebands and cannot cover the full range of FM frequencies in the UK.
My dealer wanted around £400 to replace it with a UK spec stereo and change the dashboard housing.
I am very disappointed with the whole experience as it is a shame that Mitsubishi have been unable to deliver a car that offers the fuel economy it promises.
Perhaps, in the next year or so, on of the car manufacturers will produce a small 5 door automatic petrol car that really does deliver 50mpg fuel economy?
I hear there's a new Honda Jazz on the horizon.................perhaps that'll be the one!!??
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