2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Mitsubishi Extends MiEV Tech with Plug-in Hybrid Concept

Mitsubishi isn't resting on its laurels after the successful launch in Japan of its i-MiEV electric city car.

The company plans to show two new concept EVs at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show - a mini-cargo van built off the i-MiEV minicar platform, and a four-seat plug-in hybrid crossover it is calling the Mitsubishi PX-MiEV (right).

The PX - Mitsubishi's nameplate shorthand for plug-in crossover - is the first big-vehicle use of the company's "Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle" technology, or MiEV.

Quiet Carrier

The i-MiEV Cargo concept is a pretty simple one: a slightly stretched i-MiEV with a cargo box behind the front seats.

Electric delivery vans make enormous sense in most cites, where short-haul delivery vehicles don't often travel far from home, spend a lot of time idling, and rarely are driven at high speeds.

Replace the gas or diesel engine and fuel tank with an elecric mtor and batteries and you've got a quiet, non-polluting cargo carrier that's a whole lot cheaper to operate than one with an internal combustion engine.

We hope this is one concept that Mitsubishi will put on the road, soon.

Plug Me In

The big news though, would be a decision to turn the PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid concept into the real thing.

As Mitsubishi describes it, the PX would use a 1.6-liter gas engine and a pair of electric motors, one front and one rear, and be able to travel in all-electric mode for about 30 miles.

The system would deliver fuel economy of around 120 miles per gallon under Japan's mixed-use test, which is the only number we have but isn't really applicable in the U.S, where highway speeds are higher and account for a larger portion of the drive cycle.

The plug-in system is smart grid-capable - the idea being that a production model in an area with a two-way grids would be able to use electricity stored in its on-board batteries to power home appliances during the day (when the vehicle's not in use transporting someone somewhere) to help lower an owner's residential utility bills, or when a natural disaster has cut off regular power.

The electricity stored in the PX-MiEV would, of course, have been taken on during the night, when rates are lowest.

Healthy Car

The concept also offers window glass that protects passengers from UV-A radiation and an negative-ion oxygen enricher for the interior air that ,the company says, will help "reduce fatigue" - the passengers', we imagine, not metal fatigue.

In addition, the seat material is hypoallergenic and kills offensive odors and bacteria - a great idea if the car would be used to haul the teenagers home from soccer practice, or if chilidog-loving dad is a frequent driver.

There's also an electron suspension with three ride heights and a driving monitor system that detects driver drowsiness and "emits a distinctive aroma to alert him/her to the situation."

Hmm......wonder how that meshes with the odor-eating seats?

Taking Care of Business

The PX xconcept also has electronically controlled four-wheel drive that controls the output from the front and rear motors to provide the best power split under all conditions, and an electronic yaw system that controls the left-right torque split and the degree of energy recover during deceleration (regenerative braking).

There's actually a lot of control going on in the PX concept: it uses a Mitsubishi-developed operating system that selects the best of three drive modes from among:

• The EV mode, which kicks in at low to middle speeds, sending juice to the front electric motor and shutting down the gas engine.although the default is front-wheel drive in thios mode, Mitsubishi sauys is automatically switches to four-wheel drive in rain, snow or whenever the system detects a slippery or loose road surface that demands maximum traction;
• The series hybrid mode,in which the gas engine doesn't directly power the wheels but generates electricity to provide more juice to the battery, which powers the front and - when necessary - rear motors;
• The parallel hybrid mode, when, at higher speeds, the car operates like a conventional hybrid, with the gas engine driving the wheels, assisted by the electric motors as additional power (both motors) or the stability of four-wheel drive (rear motor working with front gas engine).

The concept plug-in can be charged from 100- or 200- volt (Japanese standards) residential power supplies or form a commercial fast-charge station and has a feature that allows an owner to remotely begin the charging process (in case, for instance, you've gone into the house and put on your favorite slippers when you realize you forgot to start the charger and don't want to walk back ort to the garage to turn it on).

The numbers (Mitsubishi didn't provide any blended gas-electric data) have the gas engine at 114 horsepower with maximum torque of 92 ft.-lbs. and the electric motors, working in unison, at 80 horsepower and 148 ft.-lbs. of torque.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor 

Posted by

John O'Dell September 30, 2009, 2:54 PM

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Auto Shows, Japan, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric

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