Daily quick-charging won't really affect battery life of Mitsubishi i

Repeated use of a DC Fast Charge, "Level 3" quick-charge unit negatively affects the long-term performance of the battery pack that powers most plug-in vehicles, right? Wrong, according to Mitsubishi.

Officials over at Mitsubishi believe that even daily use of a quick-charge unit won't have much overall affect on the battery pack found in the 2012 Mitsubishi i. Bryan Arnett, manager of electric vehicle product strategy at Mitsubishi Motors North America, told Green Car Reports, "We expect a daily quick charge not to have a significant toll on battery life."

According to Arnett, the automaker expects its battery packs to retain around 80 percent of their original capacity after ten years of real-world use. That 80 percent estimate reportedly includes frequent use of a quick-charge station.

Still, Mitsubishi is smart enough not to really encourage exclusive use of quick-charge stations. Rather, the automaker is implying that a once-a-day quick-charge won't hurt life or capacity much, so go ahead and quick-charge your i whenever necessary.