What you're looking at is a right-hand-drive Mitsubishi i spotted in Toronto, as in Toronto, Canada... as in on the North American continent. Mitsubishi's initial line was that the i would be for the Japan Domestic Market only. Then they exported it to Hong Kong, Singapore and Brunei. Then New Zealand. Then Britain. And Australian cities are next in the crosshairs. Wherever it has shown up, it's been a sales sensation, which is handy for Mitsubishi as sales in Japan have slumped to 1,200 cars per month from almost 8,000 per month in March 2006.
So will North America be getting its first 660cc kei car? Not a chance say sources within Mitsubishi's Tokyo HQ. Then the i spied in Toronto is almost certainly a plug-in electric i MiEV undergoing testing. Everyone will have to wait until 2009 or even 2010 to get their hands on one of those, but when they hit markets worldwide they'll have sticker prices under 2million Yen - that's about $17,500 today.
Well spotted Allan!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rwcmick @ Aug 29th 2007 2:12PM
the i has been used in focus groups in the LA area. no real commitments from mitsu, but they are looking into it.
LBuzzer @ Aug 29th 2007 3:04PM
It may also be Transport Canada (our federal DMV) doing fuel efficiency testing. They had a VW Polo and an Audi A1 at some point in their fleet.
Whatever, we here in Canada like small cars and Mitsu should bring boat loads of the i to Canada.
Derek Kreindler @ Aug 29th 2007 3:10PM
Mitsubishi showed off a bunch of their JDM products to local journalists sometime this summer, us Canadians like smaller cars and they wanted to gauge reaction to the i, the Grandis mini-minivan and the L200 truck. There were a couple articles in the Toronto Star about the i. This is the same model that was shown off, and it had the 660cc motor, it was not a plug-in electric.
Since we got the Smart here a couple years ago, the thinking is that Mitsu will launch this as a Smart competitor, since the Smart has been a huge hit despite its limited practicality.
William @ Aug 29th 2007 3:20PM
I believe CanadianDriver has an article regarding the JDM vehicles. They also showed the Colt 3-door and 5-door. The 5-door Colt was also spotted by a reader of TheHollywoodExtra in Toronto.
William
vdk @ Aug 29th 2007 3:36PM
umm... has anyone seen a silver Hyundai with camo on it driven by a korean guy, north of Finch on Yonge Street?
I know I have. And yeah, it was larger and wider than a Sonata. And it wasn't a coupe. Genesis anyone?
Derek Kreindler @ Aug 29th 2007 4:01PM
Probably an Equus or one of the larger Hyundais from Korea. Are you sure it had camo? I saw a Dihatsu Terios downtown near Chinatown but it turned out to be a diplomatic-plated car. Ive also seen a Euro market VW Bora and just yesterday I saw an Opel Zafira with diplomat plates at Avenue and Davenport.
vdk @ Aug 30th 2007 12:15PM
It was silver with black camo on it... I'm sure I've seen tape on the front and back ends. I've also seen a DIESEL 530d touring... a 5-Series Touring (Wagon) with diplomat plates. There's a lot going on in Toronto eh? :)
Dylan @ Aug 29th 2007 4:14PM
THat makes sense that they're testing it here as they may be testing its viability distance and traffic wise since toronto will over the next couple years be outfitting the city with plug in stations all over the place in order to facilitate the use of plug in electric cars.
Jason K. @ Aug 29th 2007 4:32PM
I was in Downtown Toronto (near "Sushi on Bloor") about couple months ago and saw a Mitsubishi i parked in front the restaurant. Could the i in the picture be the same as the one I saw?
Don @ Aug 29th 2007 5:18PM
I do believe that's Autoweek's Ronan McGrath behind the wheel of that particular "i".
St.J @ Aug 29th 2007 5:25PM
sweet car, it just needs three inches more rear leg room. Adults over say 5'11" will be saying uh uh.
Barney @ Aug 29th 2007 6:04PM
Canadians buy economical vehicles and probably Canada will be on the list first. The Smart car sold in Canada two or three years prior to even being offered in the States.
rib @ Aug 29th 2007 7:33PM
Is that the auto mechanic outside the international centre???
if so, amazing I live so close :)
aman @ Aug 30th 2007 12:36AM
I'm surprised that they are testing the car here in Toronto. i mean (lowercase intended) there are so many places that are better. LA or NY for use in heavy traffic, Arctic or Carribean for extreme weather testing. BTW i saw a G8 with Michigan plates a while ago. Uncamoflauged. Is it already out?
vdk @ Aug 30th 2007 12:17PM
Winter is coming .... don't forget about the extreme COLD test!
aman @ Aug 30th 2007 3:24PM
Well I did say extreme weather, that includes the cold, and while Toronto does get very cold in the winter, there are plenty of other places for extreme weather. Winnipeg, nunavvut, plenty of places.
gary @ Aug 30th 2007 8:39AM
What you've seen is an iCar, which is one of several models Mitsubishi has in Canada at the moment doing feasibility studies. I have more shots of it here:http://flickr.com/photos/thegarage/sets/72157600360616157/
Also included: Colt, L200 and Delica.
V @ Aug 31st 2007 10:09AM
You are welcome. ; )