I was drawn to the car a month ago before it showed up in the showroom, next to where my office was. I was with my colleague who was actively shopping for a replacement for his 5-year old Mercedes A190. In July we finally paid a visit at the showroom during a lunch break to actually kick its tires, check out the interior and touch its metal skin. We did not have a test drive but simply were curious. Finally my colleague found himself a shining black VW Golf 1.6FSi with a good price. And we thought the price of HK$128,000 was high. We liked it a lot but could not readily accept its compactness.
There was some form of attraction just by looking at the early images and reading the spec sheet. I could not clearly tell you what exactly the factors were. I did not actually like the K-car concept. And I thought the "i" or any K-car would be too small and underpowered. What really drew my attention was its design/engineering, simplicity and effectiveness as a means of daily transport. I have then read many magazines about the "i", and all seem to respond positively after the test drive. One magazine reporter was delighted by the effectiveness of its air conditioning in the hot summer of Hong Kong, and the nimbleness of the 900kg chassis.
I have always high respect for the engineering at Mitsubishi, although not always in the "design" area. "i" seems to get both right. I like the look and I don't mind being seen in owning and driving one. I like the big slanted windshield and the supersized "double-wishbone" single-armed windshield wiper. It is so Mercedes. Of course it was designed as a platform for the next generation Smart-for-four, or in a slightly shortened and modifed form - the Smart-for-two.
I have no idea how it feels to drive it. I am not a big fan of 660-cc 3-cylinder turbo engine, which should be okay in terms of power and refinement (hopefully). The 0-100kph time of 12.5 seconds does not impress, but is not too slow either. A lot of small family, mid-size 2.0L sedans and 7-seaters also fall in this performance level. No big deal if it is good to drive. Fortunately Mitsubishi or Sime Darby did not opt for the dreadful CVT gearbox, but a well-engineered 4-speed auto box. It was reported to be excellent and working very well together with the small turbo engine.
In terms of fuel consumption it should be frugal. 18.4km/L (10.15 mode) and the 35L fuel tank should give a max. range of 644km. My guess is that it will have a 450-500km range for every fuel stop, approx. HK$400 per fill-up and around HK$0.8/km (based on HK$14/L fuel price).
Having said so much about the car, I think I should ask for a test drive to find out more.
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