Driving Small Electric Cars: What It's Like In The Real World

Reader Jen Danziger explains what it's really like to drive a very small battery-electric car year-round in the Midwest.

In the years following my participation in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize, I have watched with keen interest as major car companies introduced electric vehicles into their fleets.

Obsessed with cars since my teen years, I now have a newly-developed nerdy focus on electric cars.

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Unfortunately, most models are not available in my state, as Illinois doesn't offer the same tax incentives as California and Oregon. My desire to own one is further limited by my income, which is on the south side of 'modest.'

In January 2013, a dealership in Bloomington offered a two-year, $69 monthly lease on the 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV. When the news hit the internet, it quickly ran out of cars. Luckily, my local dealership was willing to follow suit and offer a deep discount.

Within days, I was driving a purple i-MiEV for zero dollars down and $156 per month. I had a new car, for little more than the cost of gas for my 2006 Pontiac Vibe. My tiny electric car experiment had begun.

I live in a rural village in central Illinois. My round-trip commute to work is 28 miles, 20 of them on an Interstate highway. I knew this would pose no problem in the summertime.

But taking possession of the i-MiEV in the winter meant I was briefly faced with range anxiety. The i-MiEV displays only bars for state of charge, and the estimated miles remaining can drop rapidly depending on the wind and temperature.

The first accessories I purchased for the car were a steering wheel cover and a blanket, because the heater devoured battery capacity while barely warming the cabin.

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To make my daily commute, I had to bundle up, turn on the seat heater, and cover myself with a blanket. The 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack wasn't enough to allow the luxury of heat.

I quickly learned that a 120-Volt charging cord wouldn't fully recharge the i-MiEV overnight.

I would start the next day with three-quarters of capacity, and had to drive on the interstate at 45 mph to retain enough charge to return home. As cars careened around me, I stared ahead in my little purple car, careful not to make eye contact with irritated drivers.

A 240-Volt Level 2 charging station was required for regular use. With it I could drive faster in cold weather, and ensure the battery would be fully recharged by morning.

It also made a huge difference with pre-heating the car in the garage. The i-MiEV has a remote control to turn on the AC or heater while it's plugged in. On 120 Volts, the heat trickles out. At Level 2, though, it blasts, making the car toasty on a cold morning.

That heat quickly dissipates, and frankly, driving without heat in the Arctic temperatures of the winter of 2013 was torturous.

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Electric cars are great in warm weather, though. The batteries operate better in higher temperatures, increasing the range so I'm not limited to running errands within a mile of my workplace.

Unlike the heater, the air conditioning was efficient and didn't take a painful percentage of the battery charge. In summer, I found I was more likely to deplete the pack because I fearlessly drove farther afield than in the winter--and the quiet cabin prevented me from hearing if I was driving directly into strong wind.